WILLEMSTAD – Curaçao is spending significant public funds on rented office space, even as several government-owned buildings remain vacant or underused, according to findings in a recent report on property management.
The report reveals that ministries often choose to rent commercial buildings due to poor condition, safety issues, or lack of maintenance at government-owned locations. However, these rental decisions are frequently made without a cost-benefit analysis or a long-term accommodation strategy.
In multiple cases, rental contracts were extended automatically, despite the availability of government properties that could have been refurbished at lower cost over time. The lack of coordination between ministries has led to parallel rental arrangements, driving up expenses unnecessarily.
The report warns that continued reliance on rented facilities, without a comprehensive housing policy for government services, will result in structurally higher operational costs for the country.