WILLEMSTAD - On 27th May 2021, the board of IMANA met with representatives of the coalition to form a new government. The meeting was held at the ACOYA Resort. The meeting had as its primary focus to welcome the new government and discuss economic concerns and opportunities.
The new parliament members expressed concern and understanding that COVID has weakened the economic base of Curacao and that their focus is on UNITY as the cornerstone to build back the economy. There is a good understanding that now that COVID appears to be under control, the time has come to focus on economic growth as this will create badly needed jobs.
Parliament is aiming for a V-shaped recovery. Initially the focus will be on large-based tourism projects (such as Corendon and Sandals), with the hope that CORC will be able to restart the refinery. If all these materialize, we may even see a double-digit recovery.
IMANA emphasized the importance and the urgency to act NOW. We should not forget that we are still in a time of CRISIS so moving quickly is very important. IMANA expressed concern that the process of installing the new government (“screening process”) is taking much too long, and IMANA is hopeful that by end of the month the new government can be installed. It is clear that once the new government is installed, they will “hit the ground running” as they have a good understanding of where to focus efforts.
IMANA discussed concerns and ideas on how to boost downtown business, the “liquidity crunch” and preparing for centennial celebration of Indian business in Curacao.
Everyone knows that there is a cluster of Indian owned businesses downtown. How do we boost the productivity and attractiveness of our downtown area? This is a topic of concern for IMANA.
IMANA president Jack Mirpuri mentioned, “we have noted that creating a Duty Free Downtown is mentioned by the new cabinet in their government plan (“regeer akkoord”). We applaud this. It is very important if we are to invigorate our downtown”.
IMANA and other organizations such as DMO and VBC have tried to get a good downtown duty free system in place. Mirpuri “We are glad that this is part of the government’s plans. It is important that a simple and transparent system is implemented without too much red tape.”
Another area that IMANA would like to see improve is the parking in Punda. It makes no sense that parking is managed by a third party – who makes money on this - and nothing comes back to Punda. The solution is that either DMO must be in charge of parking, OR there has to be understanding that part of the money made on parking MUST come back to punda to upgrade the infrastructure. In this regard DMO (punda) and SKO (otrobanda) can work together. Only if we plan this properly will our downtown flourish once again. If the right steps are taken it will surely create many jobs downtown.
IMANA mentions that the second lock down has created an impossible situation around the island. there is not enough circulation of money in the economy. If businesses are to survive it is important that attention is given to this matter. One way to influence this is if banks give the same moratorium on mortgage payments that they did during the lock down of 2020. If this is implemented for 3 months, it will allow businesses to breath. Much needed improvement in the working capital position of businesses can be achieved. IMANA strongly urges the new government to consider this. Members of parliament noted that this is something that they will take up with the Central Bank.
IMANA brought forward that very shortly, in 2025, it will be 100 years since the Indian Community is active in Curacao. This is cause for celebration!
IMANA board member John Daryanani states, “The first Indian businesses settled in Curacao in 1925/26. Indian businesses have become an important part of the local economy supporting over 4000 direct and indirect jobs. Several generations of Indian origin have been born in Curacao. I am one of them. We will celebrate 100 years with several exiting new ventures.”
IMANA discusses some possible ways to celebrate the centennial (“100 year anniversary”) of the Indian Community in Curacao. One such ideas was to name a road-circle (“rotonde”) after the famous Indian liberator Mahatma Gandhi. The ideals that Gandhi believed in are many of the issues that Curacao is faced with today, namely seeking equality and the liberty for our society to govern itself, and the abolishment of poverty. Gandhi once said that ‘Poverty is the worst form of violence’ (Papiamento: Pobresa ta e pio forma di violencia). This is something that resonates in Curacao today and has the ear of the new parliament. IMANA expressed hope that the new government will reduce poverty on the island.
IMANA is the organization that represents the Indian community of Curacao. IMANA was established in 1976 with the primary focus being of an economic nature (business related issues). Today this has expanded to include other areas of cultural heritage. There are several entities that fall under the “umbrella” of IMANA. The CIBA (Curacao Indian Business Association) focuses on economic and business issues, while ICAC (Indian Cultural Association of Curacao) relates to cultural matters. A separate foundation, CREFONA, operates the crematorium of Curacao.
The first Indian businesses settled in Curacao in 1925/26. Since then, the Indian businesses have become an important part of the local economy. Today, over 4000 direct and indirect jobs are supported by Indian based businesses.
Several generations of descendants of Indian families have been born in Curacao. They are proud to be YDK (yu di Korsow) of Indian origin. Thus, the foundation has been laid for growing ties between India and Curacao.
On the photo from left to right:
Standing board members IMANA:
Manoj Purswani, John Daryanani, Vijay Rohera, Jack Mirpuri (IMANA president), Nicky Khemlani
Sitting representatives of new Government:
Lisandro Cijntje (PNP), Ramon Chong (PNP), Gilmar (Pik) Pikas (MFK), Javier Silvania (MFK), Sithree (“Cee”) van Heydoorn (MFK)