| The coming month it will have been a year since many countries went into lockdown to combat the spread of the coronavirus. Many thought that the worst would be over within 3 to 4 months and that life would go on as usual. That turned out to be an illusion.DisasterFor Aruba, halting the economy resulted in a complete disaster. More than 15.000 people lost their jobs and many others run the same risk. Both categories either became completely dependent on Aruba’s Fase program, humanitarian help, and or financial assistance from The Netherlands. This made it possible to offer aid with regards to food and medical care, to help businesses stay afloat which helped eliminate further unemployment, while public employees and (former) politicians could continue to receive the majority of their income. A small portion of their income had to go to Fase, in order to provide somewhat of an income for the unemployed.RealityEven so, it appears to still be unclear to some, how serious the situation continues to be. Now that The Netherlands has said they are going to stop their humanitarian aid, Aruba will have to find its own way to finance food aid starting the first of July. That equates to a financial necessity amounting to about 1 million Aruban Florins per week. Additionally, the court has deemed the minister of social issues’ decision to not accept petitions to file for unemployment illegitimate. This is why in the coming year it is expected that many more will be fired to allow the businesses a better chance at survival. finally, the government will also have to consolidate its measures with regards to the ‘plan to lower the personal costs’. With Coho’s intention to lower the amount of personnel according to the national average per region, a substantial reduction in the government personnel seems inevitable.ConsequenceThe continual increase of our debt when paired with a major reduction of income resulted in a prolonged decrease in prosperity: there will soon be a significant decrease in the available funds to continue living as we are accustomed to – with flaws and all -. This is why the reduced salary for those working in the (semi-) public sector is truly ‘the next advisable step’ if we wish to set our sights on recuperation. Consequently, economic decisions must be made with regards to other sectors as well, like in the public health sector. While Aruba, despite protests from the concerned sectors, autonomously agreed to the advice received from Caft (the SVB in Curacao) to cut costs as they quickly realized that the health sector’s costs were unpayable. And no matter how difficult it is, while there isn’t any money and all the possibilities to borrow money have been depleted, more of the same measures must be taken to prevent the entire system from collapsing. Therefore, it is crucial that everyone – no exceptions – carries the responsibilities in one way or another during this arduous time.ChallengeThis is why we must take extra care in enforcing the contents of this new challenge this year. Taking our government’s deficient performances in the past into account, and the grand measures which are necessary, it cannot be the case that the government is making all the decisions on its own when these decisions concern many more. The necessary participation of the social union requires a grand change in the political culture. Like the director of social affairs justly said: “we cannot expect miracles from the Social Crisis Plan after neglecting social issues for over three decades”. This is the case in almost all the areas of management in the government. However, the reforms that must take place in almost all forms of government require millions of florins. Much more than Coho has to offer. In addition to the increasing cost of interest (258 million florins in 2021) and the payment of the astronomical debt, Aruba will need to put in a lot of effort to make sure these reforms are successful. This has more priority and is even a requirement to be able to recuperate its salary to the ‘pre-corona’ level. | |
