Financial policies
As the previous government ran a government budget deficit,Wever-Croes shortly after taking office announced that she wanted to introduce budget cuts and initiate talks with the Netherlands about future financial agreements. [5] One of her first measures was to limit the staff attached to each minister. [6] By the next year she had put a cap on government salaries and hoped to put forward a financial recovery plan in June,to avoid an intervention by the Dutch government. [9] In November 2018 Aruba and the Netherlands agreed on budgetary rules for the period 2019–2021 and to have the College Aruba financieel toezicht [ nl ] (CAft) be in place for at least a further three years. [10] [11] Under Wever-Croes an accord was reached in 2019 on an Aruban fiscal council to succeed the CAft per 2021. [12]
In October 2019,Raymond Knops,the State Secretary for the Interior and Kingdom Relations indicated he wanted to give Aruba a formal instruction in the Council of Ministers of the Kingdom of the Netherlands on advice of the CAft,as Aruba did not obey fully by the agreement made the previous year. [13] The next month Wever-Croes flew to the Netherlands to attend the Council of Ministers of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and managed that a formal instruction was not given. [14] In April 2020 Wever-Croes stated that she had managed to make a yearly budget saving of 27 million Aruban florin. [15]
COVID-19 pandemic in Aruba
In order to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic in Aruba,Wever-Croes instated a curfew between 21:00 and 06:00 starting from 21 March 2020. When she took the measure five persons had tested positive on the island. She also introduced a measure that temporarily banned Aruban residents from returning to the country from abroad. [16]
During 2020,the financial position of Aruba was severely affected due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in Aruba,with government revenue falling by 80%. In response the Wever-Croes cut salaries of higher government officials and civil servants by 20% for the period May until December,while also lowering the salaries of regular civil servants with 12.6%. In April 2020 she introduced the Wever-Croes standard,which permanently limited the salary of directors of state run enterprises up till 130% of the salary of the Prime Minister. [15]
In March 2020,Wever-Croes asked the Netherlands to be supported by a gift of 400 million Euro. The Netherlands rejected the wish and stated it would help but not via the form of a gift. [17] On 16 May,Wever-Croes agreed to a first financial aid package subject to certain conditions. [18] By July 2020 Wever-Croes was in negotiations with the Netherlands for a third financial aid package and received a list of 18 new conditions for reforms set by the Netherlands. [19] [20] She wrote a complaint letter to Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on the severity of the terms,stating:"It's almost as if Aruba has become the country-version of the American George Floyd and our own Mitch Henriquez. Mark,we can't breathe like this". [19] Wever-Croes,with the leaders of Curaçao and Sint Maarten shortly afterwards rejected the terms the Netherlands had set. [21] Over July and August Aruba did not receive financing from the Netherlands. [22] In September 2020 the Wever-Croes government obtained 171 million Aruban florin on the local market. [23] The financial negotiations with the Netherlands were still ongoing during October 2020. [24] Mid-November she reached an agreement with the Netherlands,which comprised both short and long term financial support as well as the founding of a "Caribbean entity" charged with handling reforms in governance,finances,education and health care. The agreement also included help of the Netherlands with Aruban debts,allowing for interest benefits. Wever-Croes stated that the Caribbean entity would not take over competences from the Aruban government. [25]
In early October 2020,Wever-Croes stated that financial support measures for businesses would be continued for a further three months. [24]
