THE HAGUE--Curaçao and St. Maarten have not yet paid their 2011 contributions for the Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard.
St. Maarten has an unpaid bill of 666,000 euros while Curaçao owes 2.66 million euros. Aruba (1.8 million euros) and The Netherlands (11.49 million euros) have paid their share already. St. Maarten and Curaçao were late with paying last year as well. In that case it concerned the contribution over the last three months of 2010, from October 10, 2010, when Curaçao and St. Maarten acquired country status.
The Daily Herald understands that St. Maarten's share should be paid soon, as the process for payment has been set in motion.
According to sources, The Hague is not amused that again Curaçao and St. Maarten have failed to pay on time. During the May 11 meeting of the Kingdom Council of Ministers, Ministers Plenipotentiary in The Hague Sheldry Osepa of Curaçao and Mathias Voges of St. Maarten were urged to make sure that their governments paid up right away.
The Presidium of the Coast Guard will discuss the outstanding bills in a meeting later this week. The governments of all four countries in the Dutch Kingdom are represented in the Presidium.
The annual operational cost of the Coast Guard, 16.6 million euros, is divided among the countries according to a fixed ratio. The Netherlands pays the largest percentage – 69 per cent – followed by Curaçao which contributes 16 per cent. Aruba's share is 11 per cent and that of St. Maarten is 4 per cent.
Member of the Second Chamber André Bosman of the conservative VVD party criticised Curaçao's and St. Maarten's non-payment and said this was a matter of being a trustworthy government with integrity. "These issues are best measured through finances," he said.
Member of Parliament Ronald van Raak of the Socialist Party (SP) said the two countries' attitude was "unbelievable." He was especially fed up with the Government of Curaçao and called for a "break-up" with Willemstad. "It doesn't make sense to keep giving last warnings to the Schotte cabinet," he said.
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