Forty years after the historic achievement of Status Aparte, Aruba is once again facing a crucial decision that will define the country’s future. According to Member of Parliament Hendrik Tevreden, the debate surrounding the possible introduction of the Caribbean Reform and Financial Supervision Act (HOFA) is not a simple financial discussion, nor a mere debate about interest rates and public debt. Rather, it is a fundamental decision that will determine how this country will be governed for generations to come.
The Real Cost of Lower Interest The MP emphasizes that while the Government places great emphasis on the potential interest rate reduction that HOFA could bring, the real cost of this decision goes far beyond simple figures in florins. Therefore, he asks: What could be the real cost of that reduction?
Tevreden underscores that this is a question that cannot be left solely in the hands of financial experts or economists. This is because the impact is comprehensive, affecting our autonomy, as well as social, cultural, and constitutional aspects, and Aruba’s capacity to determine its own future.
For this reason, there is no reason for Aruba to make a decision of this magnitude without first analyzing the experience of other countries within the Kingdom:
*Sint Maarten: After Hurricane Irma, reconstruction was an urgent necessity. However, the management of funds under strict conditions and external supervision generated structural delays, frustration, and the feeling that the country could not act with the speed the crisis demanded.
*Curaçao: Different forms of financial supervision caused continuous conflicts between Willemstad and The Hague, where economic and budgetary decisions became topics of political negotiation, limiting the country’s room to govern itself.
“Structural supervision always has political, administrative, and social consequences. Aruba must study these examples carefully before making a decision,” Tevreden said.
Internal Control Instead of HOFA The MP expresses concern over the fact that, while the Government argues that HOFA will strengthen our public finances, that same Government continues to make ad hoc expenditures without a structural model properly incorporated into the budget.
Recent documents, such as the ‘Bo Aruba’ report by the General Audit Chamber of Aruba (ARA), confirm that our country faces serious challenges in governance, planning, and financial sustainability. However, Tevreden emphasizes that the solution to these weaknesses is not to surrender authority to the outside, but to strengthen our own internal control mechanisms.
According to the MP, a more mature democracy does not depend on more outside supervision, but on:
*Stronger and more effective parliamentary control.
*Greater transparency in the decision-making process.
*A critical and independent press.
*A community that actively participates in national decisions.
Freedom Has No Price MP Hendrik Tevreden highlights that Status Aparte was an expression of confidence in the Aruban people’s ability to govern their own destiny. Now, 40 years later, the moment has come once again when the country’s future is at stake.
Tevreden indicates that ten votes are already known in Parliament, and a single vote can determine Aruba’s course for decades to come. With this in mind, the MP makes a direct appeal to the conscience of the colleague who holds that decisive vote, hoping they will look not only at today’s gain promised on paper, but at the legacy that cannot be quantified and that the next generation will have to pay for.
“Interest rates may drop, but autonomy, once you lose a part of it, is not easy to recover. Freedom has no price!” MP Tevreden concluded.