This story is a complex tale of cronyism involving multi-million dollar government deals, affected farmers, a family business, and shady government actions. It is divided into three parts:
1. **Victims**: The story begins with a farmer named Wiertsema who was cheated out of a land deal with Groningen Seaports, a government agency involved in a secret Google data center project.
2. **Family Business**: Another family business, Bakker Bierum, became significantly richer due to their dealings with Groningen Seaports, which involved buying land from Wiertsema and reselling it at a much higher price, all within the context of the same government project.
3. **Government's Role**: The government's actions and role in these deals come under scrutiny, especially its lack of oversight and involvement in questionable agreements. It is revealed that the government paid an exorbitant amount for leasing land, raising questions about its financial decisions.
Throughout the story, secrecy, conflicts of interest, and suspicious deals raise concerns about the government's handling of these matters, leading to accusations of fraud and bribery. The role of Groningen Seaports, which operates with government backing, is central to the controversy. The story highlights a lack of transparency and accountability in these government dealings, leaving the affected parties feeling cheated and wronged.
1. The story is about a complicated multi-million dollar deal involving the government and farmers.
2. The story begins more than 10 years ago with Groningen Seaports, a full government agency, needing land for a data center.
3. The government agency was secretly negotiating with farmer Wiertsema to buy his land.
4. Groningen Seaports offered a fantastic price for the land, which Wiertsema found to be a wonderful deal.
5. However, Groningen Seaports later withdrew from the purchase.
6. Wiertsema then tried to negotiate for wind turbines on his land, but Groningen Seaports stated that no wind turbines would be built there.
7. Wiertsema felt cheated and decided to fight the government in court.
8. Bakker Bierum, a family business, was benefited from the government's actions.
9. Groningen Seaports and Bakker Bierum concluded a secret deal, which was hidden in a settlement agreement.
10. The settlement agreement granted wind turbine rights to Bakker Bierum, which was worth a significant sum.
11. The government refuses to provide the settlement agreement or any other documents related to the case.
12. The province, as a shareholder of Groningen Seaports, is responsible for the actions of the company.
13. Groningen Seaports and Bakker Bierum concluded a secret deal for the province to lease 50 hectares of agricultural land for 26 years at a cost of 8 million euros.
14. The deal is considered unreasonable and could have been done cheaper through expropriation.
15. The government's actions have led to the conclusion that people have been duped and that the actions of the government and bodies that facilitated this are far-reaching and unjust.
16. The speaker believes that there should be further investigation into the matter.