Ghent (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Dozens of organisations are demanding clarity from Ghent officials regarding plans to save €120 million annually, but detailed explanations remain elusive.
“Where does that sum originate? Do they also want to make more money? How will the city accomplish that? “
They gave the city council an open letter. There are also no specific responses.
Regarding the savings initiatives being considered behind closed doors, the mayor and aldermen of Ghent, Belgium, are keeping their mouths shut.
Every year, the city hopes to locate 120 million euros. There are numerous rumors going around, ranging from hundreds of layoffs to the elimination of services. The city has no desire to verify anything. Outside the city hall, worries are intensifying.
With the backing of youth groups, trade unions, and other associations, a group of civil society organizations wants the city to communicate more openly.
“We don’t know where that 120 million euros comes from. Why don’t we talk about deficits? Does the city also look at new income?”,
asks Esther Vandenbroucke of vzw De Zuidpoort.
Representatives of dozens of associations gathered at the steps of Ghent city hall to reinforce their demands, before the start of the city council.
“We are asking for transparency, timing, and consultation and dialogue. There is a lot of expertise within the organizations, we certainly want to think along.”
Additionally, they presented the city council with an open letter that has been signed about 300 times since then.
The administrative agreement is also cited by the organizations. The city aspires to create a thriving, sustainable, and social city. How they intend to accomplish it is the question.
Due to the ongoing uncertainty, a number of associations must also modify their own operations. Concurrently, a demonstration against the reductions in the planning of a jazz festival was held at the municipal hall.
The dispute was also presented to the city council by the opposition. Tom De Meester (PVDA) and Jonas Naeyaert (Vlaams Belang) are interested in knowing which services will be discontinued. Regarding what is now on the table, they have particular inquiries.
“Stop beating around the bush!”,
they say.
“How many more times are you going to ask this question?”
asks alderman Burak Nalli (Voor Gent).
“We are busy with a major reform exercise. The rumours are what they are. We are working on this day and night. We will communicate when the multi-year plans have been drawn up. The staff deserves our utmost care, we will always continue to support them.”
“I understand that everyone is getting annoyed, we want to substantiate this properly. We will have the debate about the choices when we have made decisions. There is no point in that now,”
alderman Christophe Peeters (Voor Gent) also agrees.
The open letter delivered by civil society organizations is as follows:
Dear city council,
We are addressing you with great concern about the announced annual savings of 120 million euros. Since the announcement of this drastic measure, the silence from the city hall has been deafening. While the policy is stalling, confidence is in danger of wavering.
The savings plans are happening behind closed doors, without any form of transparency or insight into the process. What is your vision? Where do you want to go? How did these shortages come about and how do you want to close this hole? Is it just about savings or is there also a search for income? Pertinent questions that we can only guess at ourselves.
The absence of communication not only raises questions, it also causes budgetary problems for civil society organisations and makes it impossible for us to map out a long-term vision ourselves. It creates uncertainty for coordination and employees. If we do not know what support we can count on for the multi-year plans, sometimes there is no other option than to put employees on notice or employees decide to leave the organisation themselves. Human suffering and a loss of accumulated expertise that can be avoided.
The lack of communication about the savings fuels the fear that the necessary investments to eliminate inequality in our city will not be made. This extinguishes the hope for a Ghent that everyone agrees with, as the administrative agreement promises.
We hold participation and consultation in high regard. After all, you build the city from the bottom up. In the run-up to the elections, we tried with all our might to explain the importance of democracy and to close the gap between citizens and politics. The way the budget discussions are now being conducted is fueling distrust in politics again.
We therefore request without delay:
Transparency and clear communication about the origin of the shortage, the vision to eliminate it, linked to timing
A consultation and dialogue between civil society, citizens and the city to shape this challenge together
The guarantee that the ambitions in the administrative agreement for “a prosperous, social and sustainable city that includes everyone” will be realised
Ghent has a tradition of governing in dialogue with civil society, we ask to keep it that way. Ghent deserves cooperation, vision and well-considered and supported choices — together with the citizens and not above our heads.
