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If it would be up to Dutch State Secretary for Kingdom Relations and Digitalization Alexandra van Huffelen, the business community in Curaçao needs to take the lead when it comes to the island’s development. Not just by paying their taxes, but by improving their presence and operations, for example in terms of digitalization. She stated this during her four-day visit to Aruba, Curaçao and Sint-Maarten earlier this month, during which she made the most of the opportunity to talk with locals and hear about their views and wishes for the future of the islands and their people.
Lack of future prospects
The focus of the State Secretary’s visit was on the big potential of the Curaçaon economy, but it also brought some sentiments of local pessimism to the forefront. That’s not so odd when you think that the island has not had an easy time over the past few years. Its economy has been stagnating for a while now and this had led to growing numbers of unemployment, especially among the younger population.
“If we look at the numbers alone, the COVID-19 pandemic has thrown the Curaçaon economy back in time by at least fifteen years” said Van Huffelen during a lunch with members of the VBC (Vereniging Bedrijfsleven Curaçao, or Curaçao Business Community Association), “The income per head of the population has been decreasing for decades. Unfortunately, lots more people are feeling the impact of that trend. There is poverty, there are social problems, people are feeling hopeless”. This observation was also strengthened by two small demonstrations in Aruba and Curaçao during the State Secretary’s visit, mainly expressing discontent with the Wever-Croes cabinet in Aruba and a wish for independence in Curaçao.
Potential is present
There are nevertheless plenty of opportunities for improvement on the islands and this is what the State Secretary wanted to focus on. “There is an excellent port, there are new companies working on sustainable energy extraction from vegetal oils and animal fats”, she explained her vision, “And there are opportunities in the reparation of ships and the demolition of shipwrecks. Hopefully, the refinery can be taken into service in a responsible manner, taking public health and the natural environment into account”.
On top of that, Van Huffelen dedicated a considerable chunk of her time to the opportunities of digitalization, which is part of her responsibilities as State Secretary. “You [the local business community] have access to an excellent ICT network and Curaçao’s datacenter is the best in the whole region by some distance”. As we have mentioned in various articles as well, digitalization could help usher the local economies of the Caribbean Netherlands into the future in a sustainable and nature-friendly way.
Calling on local business communities
Van Huffelen also pointed out that, as an autonomous nation, Curaçao is largely responsible for its own future. This comes down to the role of the local government, as well as the local business community. “Let me be clear: you as local business community need to provide support. The government never has all of the solutions, which doesn’t mean that there isn’t a lot of work to be done still [for the government].
She ended the lunch presentation with a message of hope and positivity for the future. “Curaçao is a beautiful island full of optimistic and resilient people, wonderful nature, incredible heritage, and lots of opportunities for the economy. Let’s make the most of all of that together with un relashon duradero ku rèspet mutuo, a long-term relationship built on mutual respect”.
The basis for this article was originally published on www.caribischnetwerk.ntr.nl in April 2022.
