"Is the Government letting financial aid and NIBUD cooperation fade away?"
WILLEMSTAD - The PNP faction in Parliament, led by Mrs. Ruthmilda 'Mimi' Larmonie-Cecilia, is demanding urgent clarity from the Minister of Social Development (SOAW). Following a recent working visit to NIBUD in the Netherlands, it has become clear that crucial cooperation aiming to help our people out of debt and poverty is in jeopardy. "We are witnessing total negligence. Projects like the 'Geldkrant' have stalled, and the agreement with NIBUD threatens to expire without action. Who is standing up for the common citizen struggling with the cost of living?" Larmonie-Cecilia asks.
On December 8th, during a visit by the Kingdom Relations Commission to NIBUD, the institute expressed serious concerns. The cooperation protocol, signed in November 2023 under PNP leadership, expires in 2026, yet the current government has shown no signs of renewing it. This means Curaçao risks losing essential tools for poverty alleviation.
What happened to the 'Geldkrant'?
The PNP questions why the 'Geldkrant' project, an effective tool for teaching financial literacy during difficult times, has been frozen or halted after just one edition. "At a time when inflation is high, and our people need financial guidance more than ever, it is incomprehensible that working initiatives are being stopped," Larmonie-Cecilia emphasizes in her letter to Minister America-Francisca.
The faction is concerned that a lack of vision is leaving thousands of citizens in a legal limbo, stuck in debt with no prospect of a 'clean slate' (schone lei). It also appears that debt counseling units and staff training are no longer being prioritized.
The PNP has sent a series of sharp questions to the Minister of SOAW regarding this issue. The faction wants to know if social priorities have indeed been pushed aside. Our people deserve better than a policy of indifference.