The 13 million extra florins in interest expense in 2023 has nothing to do with negotiations on the RAFT. During the public debate to discuss the Supplementary Budget for 2023, some Parliamentarians from The opposition has insisted that the extra 13 million in interest expenses will have to do with negotiations with the Netherlands on the refinancing of the COVID debt and financial supervision under the RAFT Act. He This statement does not correspond to reality and that is why Minister Maduro took the time to Parliament explains in small print what led to this extra interest expense in 2023.
Changes needed from LIBOR to SOFR Minister Maduro explained in Parliament that by April 2023 a change in four bonds should be made. which is in the debt portfolio of the country of Aruba and the related expenses amount to 13 million florins. He The president explained that the reason for the change was because by January 2023 the worldThe benchmark LIBOR (London Interbank Offered Rate,) is used to set interest rates.
For bonds, it ceases to exist in June 2023, and therefore all bonds pegged to LIBOR must be converted to another system. For Aruba this change affects four loans dating from the years 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016. 2020. As they are traded on the international US capital market, they have chosen to SOFR system with Secured Overnight Financing Rate. Since this expenditure came after the 2023 Budget was approved by Parliament, the first Supplementary Budget of 2023 was used to make the 13 million florins available for this necessary change.
The change has nothing to do with RAFT From the explanation it is clear that the extra interest expense is due to a change in the global level that has nothing to do with whether Aruba will be under the financial supervision of Aruba LAFT or RAFT Kingdom Law. With LAFT or RAFT, Aruba would have had to incur these extra costs. The Netherlands itself has also not escaped the extra interest expense due to this global change. For this reason Minister Maduro finds it regrettable that opposition parliamentarians, such as Gerlien Croes, as well as those with detailed financial explanations, choose to remain questionable and lie about the extra interest costs that will be involved in negotiating the RAFT. In the opinion of Minister Maduro, the parliamentarian can avoid many misunderstandings if he treats the information of public finances of our country in a more transparent way seriously.
