WILLEMSTAD - The public finances of Curaçao are much worse than was assumed a few weeks ago. According to the Financial Supervision Council (Cft), the situation deteriorated in a short period of time by approximately 80 million guilders.

The Cft draws this conclusion from an end-of-year forecast prepared by Minister of Finance Kenneth Gijsbertha. The expected deficit in 2018 amounts to 39.1 million. This amount does not include the legally required compensation of 42.4 million of the 2017 deficit. The Cft makes a hard decision: The government is not able to identify and manage any setbacks in time. The Cft notes that the main causes of the deficits in 2017 and 2018, particularly in the case of taxes, are structural in nature and will therefore also influence the budget for 2019 and subsequent years. "

The Cft points out that, despite all the management measures already taken, such as the commitment and prior supervision, an amount of 16.4 million of unauthorized or unregistered obligations appears to exist. "That means not only that the financial registration system is inadequate, but also that the budget discipline is inadequate. The Cft requests the government to immediately take measures to put internal control, obligations administration and management in order. "

The Cft also points out a 'disappointment' of 11.6 million at Cpost, which is charged to the budget. “The Cft was previously assured that this risk was fully covered. This example also illustrates that the country does not sufficiently map the potential risks to the budget or adequately cover them. These deviations are so great that the Cft expresses its serious concerns about financial management. Perhaps unnecessarily the Cft mentions that financial management also concerns compliance with internal rules and procedures. The Cft finds that there is a fundamental problem regarding the reliability of the figures.