WILLEMSTAD - The Board of Financial Supervision Curaçao and Sint Maarten (Cft) is positive about the collection of arrears in the second half of 2021. The Cft states in a response to the fourth implementation report 2021 Curaçao.
The provisional deficit of Curaçao is largely lower than the maximum permitted deficit set by the Kingdom Council of Ministers (RMR). The provisional deficit stands at 342 million guilders, while the maximum deficit for the entire year is 488 million guilders.
This does not mean that all is well. Normally there is a standard of no deficit, but due to the impact of the corona crisis, this has now been deviated from with the permission of the Kingdom government in The Hague. According to the Cft, this is not entirely without risks. “Curaçao is waiving the increase in license fees, which means that an alternative form of financing must be found,” said the college.
In addition, the Cft is concerned about the development of personnel expenses regarding the fourth quarter, as the underlying item salaries, wages and remuneration are almost back to the level of before the corona crisis.
Furthermore, according to the Cft, the implementation report lacks information about the Early Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VVU) and its impact on personnel costs. The Cft asks the Minister of Finance, Javier Silvania to provide an explanation before March 31 on the development of personnel costs, the inflow and outflow of personnel and the effects of the VVU scheme.
According to the Cft, the scope to adjust Curaçao’s budget during the year is limited. The Commission has repeatedly pointed to the worrying development that the realization on goods and services is shifting further and further towards the end of the year.
According to the Financial Supervision Act (Rft), Curaçao must indicate in the implementation report for the fourth quarter what measures are being taken to compensate for the deficit. Curaçao has also been requested to make clear by means of a report which measures the government has in mind to compensate for the deficits for 2020.