WILLEMSTAD – The government of Curaçao has decided to cut the ministers’ salaries by 25 percent. Minister of Justice Quincy Girigorie announced this on Monday during a press conference with the entire council of ministers. Prime Minister Eugene Rhuggenaath was not available since he is recovering from a small surgery.
The salary reduction was one of the requirements that the Netherlands has set for a second financial support package.
Curaçao has not yet decided whether it agrees with all conditions, but according to Girigorie, the point to reduce salaries by a quarter was not a difficult point. “Curaçao is in a crisis. It is an inevitable step. We are in solidarity with the rest of the population.” It is not yet clear whether Curaçao accepts all conditions.
Aruba already agreed to the conditions of the Netherlands last weekend. Curaçao’s Prime Minister Eugene Rhuggenaath, who is currently being replaced by Girigorie, thought that the Netherlands had ‘unrealistic demands’ and said that he was not an ‘errand boy’ of the Netherlands. On Monday, Girigorie took a completely different tone: “Curaçao is in a crisis. It is an inevitable step.”
In order to qualify for the support package of 370 million euros, Curaçao must also reduce the salaries of civil servants and employees of public companies and provide transparency for the financial sector and public companies.
The measures in the Dutch Caribbean islands are gradually being relaxed. The first schools have reopened on Curaçao, and there is no longer a ban on gathering on Aruba.
