While the government is campaigning against RAft, they prepared and delivered a 2024 budget to Parliament of Aruba based on the 3.2% interest costs proposed in the Kingdom Law Aruba Financial Supervision (RAFT). The budget presented, on which parliamentarians can already ask questions, is based on a fictitious interest. “The reality is that Aruba, in any case the government, is undecided about the negotiation with the Netherlands and not only fools the community but also the highest body in our country.
They celebrates having delivered a budget on time, but the budget itself is based on a law that they themselves are campaigning against. All this, after the Minister President herself signed accepting the proposal of a RAFT initially. “Even the governor remarked that it is worrying not to know yet what the situation will become with respect to the proposed interest in the budget and presented to us,” during his speech at the opening of the parliamentary year, Croes commented.
The current cabinet continuously brings forward that the situation in Aruba is very positive in the tourist area, but this result is not translating into a positive development for the country and for the community, certainly not financially. That is why the same Parlamentarian Croes argues that every decision that is not being taken, costs the people money and every decision that is taken next should be for the benefit of the people.
Currently the government is talking about making a proposal to the Netherlands to come with another Kingdom Law and not the RAFT that they had already signed two years ago. There is also said of a possibility of a contract of two-year loans with a higher interest rate than the one currently budgeted for 2024. Croes: “At the end of the day all this, all the financial impacts, the community pays with taxes and to a certain moment I believe that if we look at the social situation and the crisis that there is, financially in every citizen’s pocket, Aruba currently needs decisions that are in their benefit really and that we can eventually create space and breathe to be able to invest in this country and create hope once again in the community.”
It is time to put a stop to the political discussion and play with the emotions of the people. After two years as a parliamentarian, I still carry the hope that things will change one day in the higher bodies of Aruba and that the people will be able to get a representation that really has the future of our country in the chest.