WILLEMSTAD – The Curaçao government has decided to relaunch the Future Proof Organization (FPO) program, a reform initiative aimed at modernizing and strengthening the island’s civil service. The Council of Ministers approved the restart after earlier phases of the program failed to deliver sufficient progress.
The decision follows a renewed assessment of FPO, which is coordinated by the Ministry of Governance, Planning and Public Services.
Earlier Efforts Stalled
By opting for a restart, the government is implicitly acknowledging that previous attempts to future-proof the public administration became stalled. The FPO program is intended to address long-standing structural weaknesses, including poor policy execution, weak internal management, and limited implementation capacity.
The reform is widely seen as a prerequisite for other government reforms, particularly in the areas of financial management and effective policy implementation.
Tighter Governance Structure
The program’s governance has been adjusted. The Secretaries-General of the Ministry of Governance, Planning and Public Services and the Ministry of Finance have been jointly tasked with drafting a new project and implementation plan.
They will be required to report on progress every quarter. The consultation body of Secretaries-General has been designated as the steering committee, placing responsibility for the reform squarely with the senior civil service leadership.
Risk of Limited Oversight
While this structure is intended to reduce fragmentation between ministries and improve coherence, it also introduces risks. The reform is being overseen by the same senior officials responsible for the current functioning of the civil service, limiting external oversight and counterbalance.
As a result, effective monitoring will depend largely on whether political leaders and Parliament actively use the quarterly reports to demand corrections and enforce accountability.
The central role given to the Ministry of Finance suggests that FPO is strongly focused on improving process control, internal oversight, and execution capacity. This appears to be a direct response to persistent implementation problems, including project delays and weak budget control.
Need for Clear Benchmarks
Although mandatory quarterly reporting marks an improvement compared to earlier phases, it remains unclear which concrete targets, deadlines, and measurable outcomes are attached to the renewed FPO program.
Without clear benchmarks, critics warn that the initiative risks once again becoming an exercise in planning documents and progress updates, rather than producing tangible improvements on the work floor.
Ultimately, the success of FPO will not be measured by its relaunch, but by whether political leadership is prepared to intervene decisively if the reform once again fails to deliver results.