Finance Minister Ardwell Irion told Parliament what many already feared (see related story): If the latest Dutch liquidity support tranche of 39 million Netherlands Antillean guilders is not received, public finances will become critical by the end of this month or early June.
Since it was approved by the Kingdom Council of Ministers, St. Maarten has sought the intervention of caretaker Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte with – as far as known – no tangible result so far. And it is not just government that threatens to run out of money, but also individuals in need of unemployment and income support as well as businesses and their personnel currently depending on payroll subsidy to survive.
Application for the latter over January and February was closed in the final week of April. One would hope payments can take place soon, because they still regard the first two months of the year and a lot of companies are now at the end of their rope.
It is not for nothing that the Committee for Financial Supervision CFT recently urged speeding up disbursement of these funds to better serve their purpose. Moreover, since the NAf. 39 million loan was intended for the second quarter, its apparently being held back should – by right – affect neither the already pending assistance nor that of March.
Nevertheless, effectively addressing any issue that may be causing this new delay is crucial also in view of the near future. After all, it seems clear that going forward, help will remain a necessity for some time to come.
