The citizen survey “Toekomsten van Brussel” has resulted in an insignificant document

The final report of the Toekomsten van Brussel (Futures of Brussels) was presented in the Brussels Parliament. This is the name of the long-announced States General during which institutional questions about the organisation of the municipalities, Public Social Welfare Centres (OCMWs), police zones and the Region were discussed. “Unfortunately, it is in fact yet another citizen survey that has resulted in an insignificant document. Half a million euros of taxpayers’ money down the drain,” says Brussels MP Mathias Vanden Borre.

In fact, it didn’t get any further than a presentation of the report. That is because the Brussels majority did not want to hold a substantive and political debate as it is too delicate and we are too close to the elections. “As I predicted, parliament has only been able to take note of the whole process. In no way whatsoever was parliament involved in the process of the Toekomsten van Brussel,” Vanden Borre explains.

“Divided opinions”

That is because a great many questions can be asked about the content. Indeed, the initial intention was for the recurring questions about the organisation of the municipalities, OCMWs, police zones and the Region to be discussed without any taboo. But in the report, we note that issues such as a merger of municipalities or mergers of police zones were not explored further, neither in the further analysis nor in the experts’ recommendations, because those issues “gave rise to divided opinions within the population”. “That is strange reasoning: when has an issue ever not led to divided opinions,” Vanden Borre wonders.

Election manifesto

It is noteworthy that the expansion of Brussels and the reorganisation of community powers were extensively discussed in the report, even though these issues were not within the scope of the survey. “It is more like an election manifesto by the Défi party, the former FDF party,” notes Vanden Borre.

Given the runaround

“The mismanagement that appears to be the norm in Brussels thus continues to exist. The masterminds behind this project - the Ecolo/Groen and one.brussels-Vooruit parties - have been given the runaround regarding institutional reforms. Not one iota has changed throughout the legislative term. They have let everything slide during the entire legislature and have never called attention to it. They will probably soon go to the voters with exactly the same promises. Brussels residents deserve better. The institutional disorder continues and it is only the parties that have been in power here for decades that benefit from this,” Mathias Vanden Borre concludes.