During the debate on the first 2026 budget amendment, Dangui Oduber outlined what the chaos within the AVP-Futuro government means for the public’s wallet.
Gasoline and diesel are more expensive than ever. Supermarket bills rise every month, and for families paying rent, electricity, and water, the money runs out before the end of the month. Meanwhile, the government is busy squabbling within its own coalition.
“The people are asking for help, and the government is asking for time,” Member of Parliament Dangui Oduber stated in Parliament.
The help that never arrived
The government itself promised to introduce the budget amendment “in the spring.” The amendment arrived in August, and Parliament is debating it today, with less than two months remaining in the year. In this amendment, there is no rent allowance (huurtoeslag) to help with housing, nor any energy allowance (energietoeslag) to assist with electricity and water bills.
“They spend the money first, then come asking for permission, while the help the people actually need doesn’t even appear in the budget.”
A government without direction
According to Oduber, neither merchants, unions, nor workers know where Aruba is heading. “What plan exists to lower the cost of living? Nobody knows, because the government lacks a clear vision since they are too busy fighting each other.”
On the topic of raising the minimum wage, the coalition speaks with two conflicting voices. Prime Minister Mike Eman called those opposed to the increase “immoral.” Futuro countered that an increase without a study or a plan is “irresponsible.”
“One calls the other immoral, the other replies irresponsible, and both sit in the very same government,” Oduber said. “Minister Wever, if you knew about this plan a year ago, why haven’t you conducted any serious study in an entire year?”
Ministers who don’t talk to each other
In an email, Futuro stated that they were unaware of the decisions made and that there are major contradictions. Futuro requested an urgent coalition meeting, but AVP failed to attend. According to Oduber, there has been no dialogue within the coalition since July.
“How do you expect to address the cost of living, education, crime, and the country’s social problems if the ministers themselves cannot sit down and talk to one another? Without communication, there is no solution.”
The captain abandons the ship
Prime Minister Eman will step down from his post on January 1, 2027, in 57 days. To Oduber, the picture is clear: “It is like the captain abandoning the ship while it sinks, leaving the passengers behind: the people.”
Oduber also questioned why the issue of the minimum wage is being brought up now, just three months before the Prime Minister’s departure. “When a topic arises right before an election, the public has every right to ask whether it is for the worker or for the vote.”
Facts, not words
When MEP was in government from 2001 to 2009, the minimum wage rose from Afl. 1,111.80 to Afl. 1,542.90: nearly 40% higher. In the eight AVP years that followed, the increase did not even reach 11%. When MEP returned to government from 2017 to 2025, the minimum wage increased from Afl. 1,711.15 to Afl. 2,007.05: almost 17% higher, despite two years of pandemic. These are verifiable facts. The public cannot pay their bills with empty promises from a paralyzed government. The people need a government that talks and decides.
