During the informative meeting organized by the PPA party, Mrs. Evelyn Wever-Croes, Member of Parliament for the MEP faction, shared key information and an analysis of the consequences that the implementation of HOFA would have for Aruba. The MP indicated that these types of meetings are precisely what the commercial sector has been asking for: to receive information from all angles.
Despite the importance of the topic, Wever-Croes regretted that the factions of AVP and FUTURO were not present. However, she qualified the evening as a resounding success due to the active participation of the commercial sector.
“The members of the commercial sector and the merchants themselves asked many questions, and we provided a lot of information. At the end of the day, that is what is important: that our people are well-informed so they can form their own opinions,” Wever-Croes declared.
The danger of losing financial autonomy During her presentation at the meeting, the MP seriously questioned the political and social cost that this law would bring with it. Wever-Croes posed a fundamental question to the audience:
“How is it that now, when Aruba is financially well-off, we are going to hand the final say over our finances to the Netherlands? Can the Netherlands really do a better job than us?”
The MEP representative reminded those present that the Netherlands has already been managing the finances of Curaçao and Sint Maarten through similar bodies for more than sixteen years, and those results do not show that they are better off than Aruba. “I believe in Aruba, I believe in the strength of our own people,” she emphasized.
Refuting the Government’s arguments Wever-Croes used her intervention to refute several of the arguments that the Government uses to justify the necessity of HOFA:
• On the Financial Rating: The Government advocates that without HOFA, Aruba will lose its financial rating. Wever-Croes clarified that this is not true, since the good rating Aruba currently has is based on its own merits and the achievements the country has attained in recent years.
• On Supervision: She denied that this law is needed to have financial supervision, recalling that Aruba has had supervision since 2015 and that it is functioning properly.
• On Fighting Corruption: The MP qualified the argument that HOFA would help fight corruption as a “lie.” “HOFA has nothing to do with corruption. Corruption is fought right here at home, in Aruba itself, through our own institutions such as the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Court, the Police Force, the Integrity Bureau Aruba, and the Ombudsman. We must continue to invest in our institutions,” she explained.
A very high price for Aruba The MP acknowledged that HOFA has some benefits, indicating that it could help Aruba save around 18 million florins per year. However, she warned that the price Aruba has to pay for this is far too expensive.
“The price is that the final word on our public finances will no longer be decided in Aruba, neither by the Government nor by Parliament. And right now, when we have a financial surplus through a management that achieved a surplus three years in a row, we are proving that we can manage our country financially well,” Wever-Croes explained.
To conclude, she made a call not to shift gears and hand over the keys of management to the Netherlands. She underlined that this is the moment to stand firm in Aruba, so that together they can achieve the well-being of the entire community.
