WILLEMSTAD - The General Audit Chamber of Curaçao (ARC) and the Ministry of Finance have a difference of opinion regarding whether the Parliament has indeed granted approval to the agreement between the Government, the Central Bank of Curaçao and Sint Maarten (CBCS), and Gi-Ro Settlement Holding (GSH).
This is revealed in the ARC's report on the 2020 financial statements of the Government of Curaçao. It concerns an amount of 267 million guilders, agreed upon on December 28, 2020, in connection with the settlement of Girobank. The ARC explains that the agreement was made subject to the suspensive condition of approval by the Parliament.
According to the Ministry of Finance, the Parliament provided approval for this obligation when approving the budget of the Government for the fiscal year 2021. In a third amendment note, an explicit explanation is given regarding the resolution for Girobank.
However, as stated by the ARC: "For the Audit Chamber, after consulting various sources, it is uncertain whether this approval is equivalent to the approval that the Parliament had to give for the agreement." It is explained that the government automatically receives approval from the Parliament for domestic loans in the form of treasury bills and bond loans once the budget is approved. However, the repayment arrangement for domestic debts to the CBCS is not a loan, treasury bill, or bond loan.
"Although the story about the concluded agreement with the CBCS is included in the third amendment note (explanation), nowhere is it explicitly mentioned in the legislation of the approved budget that the Parliament has approved this agreement. The Audit Chamber is of the opinion that the approval by the Parliament of this agreement should have been explicitly stated in a national ordinance (law). In the agreement, it is stated as a suspensive condition that the Parliament should approve the agreement.
Therefore, the Audit Chamber expects to find specific approval by the Parliament regarding this agreement in a national ordinance. This could be a separate national ordinance or a national ordinance when approving/amending the budget or approving the financial statements, clearly stating that the Parliament has agreed to this agreement. Since this is not the case in the national ordinance approving the 2021 budget, the Audit Chamber cannot conclude that the approval has actually been given by the Parliament. As a result, the Audit Chamber considers this obligation as uncertain," states the ARC.
The Audit Chamber also points out that when the Government enters into an agreement, it must be documented in a national decree. This is stated in Curaçao's highest law, the Constitution. However, according to the ARC's findings, this national decree was not provided when inquired with the Ministry of Finance. "As a result, the Audit Chamber is not certain that this national decree actually exists. Without this national decree, the agreement could not be legally signed."
The report further explains that the Government is required to fulfill its obligation to the CBCS in 60 installments on a quarterly basis (over a total of 15 years), starting three years after the signing of the agreement. The repayment amounts to approximately 23.6 million guilders per year (repayment plus interest).