Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs on Wednesday mentioned having been in frequent contact with her counterparts of Curaçao and Aruba about a joint response to new conditions proposed by the Netherlands for continued COVID-19 liquidity support. According to her, “Unfortunately this has not always prospered as they would have desired, as each country has their challenges.”
That was indeed regrettable, because there is strength in unity. Still, the positions taken by the three respective governments are not far apart.
For one thing, they agree that doing without more of the soft loans provided by The Hague is not an option. They also know some of the restructuring measures on the table are needed certainly with the current financial-economic outlook, especially if also accompanied by investments to improve the business climate and promote growth.
The draft Kingdom Law to establish a Caribbean Reform Entity remains a sticking point because of its far-reaching authorities, in effect superseding those of democratically elected representatives and the public administrators they lawfully appointed. The biggest issue may well be the lack of local input regarding both this new controlling body and the programmes to be implemented under its supervision. As Curaçao’s Prime Minister Eugene Rhuggenaath aptly stated, it is important to own not only the problems but also the solutions.
If the latter is taken as point of departure during ongoing talks leading up the crucial Kingdom Council of Ministers meeting next week Friday, it should be possible to find common ground in the best interest of the hard-hit populations of these islands for whose benefit all this is ultimately meant. They are the ones who will suffer dire social consequences if the path of reasonable compromise is not chosen by all parties. involved.
