Serge Mansur

It is regrettable that we have no choice but to dedicate this flash to our Government’s public finances yet again.

As we have brought forward so many times in the past, our island’s public sector is much too large and therefore way too expensive for this small community of ours. While it should be Government’s task to serve our island’s needs, in reality the public sector has reached a point where it has been reduced to virtually plundering our community to be able to sustain itself.

The focus of our Government has gone terrible astray. Instead of working for the people, the people are now working to pay for a bureaucracy which we simply cannot afford, and which is not complying with its responsibilities. Indeed, the budget for 2006 has not even been delivered to Parliament yet!

Instead of dedicating so much time and effort searching for ways to extract more and more money from the Aruban community, our Government must make a concerted effort to fix what is broken. By bleeding our private sector dry, we are actually doing damage to our productive sector while making our problems worse.

Our roads are in terrible shape, our children are not getting the education they deserve, crime is on the increase, the services provided by the Government are not up to standard, yet the Government seems solely focused on finding new ways to squeeze ever more money from the Aruban community to maintain an increasingly expensive system of nepotism that is eroding the very foundation of our nation.

The latest published report from the Central Bank shows that our island’s financial situation is deteriorating at an accelerating rate in spite of record tax receipts. By lacking financial discipline our country is being weakened in several ways:

-           Our economy is already starting to feel the negative consequences of the terrible    financial situation. Once the goose that lays the golden eggs is killed, there will          be nowhere else to turn.

-           Our privileged position within the Dutch Kingdom is in danger. If we wish to        maintain our Status Aparte we need to demonstrate that we deserve it. So far we           have certainly not done that. If it gets to the point where we need to be bailed out,        we will certainly lose some of our autonomy. By driving ourselves to (over?) the             edge of bankruptcy we are absolutely not strengthening our position

-           The foundations upon which a successful society are based, such as a fair and just             legal system, good education for all, a strong work ethic, fairness in applying    rules and laws, mutual respect, etc. are all being eroded. The practice of filling the        government with people based on their loyalty to politicians instead of their             capabilities has done enormous harm to all facets of our society, and will continue             to do so for many years.

The ATIA again calls on those politicians elected to manage this country to do so in a responsible manner and for the benefit of all who call this country home. It is of crucial importance that we start to turn away from that looming iceberg straight ahead. This is the year that our government needs to demonstrate courage, wisdom, and (most importantly) love for our island by taking the steps that must be taken.

These steps will be painful, but they are necessary. By ignoring this reality we are only making a bad situation worse.

As always, ATIA stands ready to assist in any way as long as it is in the best interest of the Aruban Community as a whole. But, as has been said before, the ATIA can not in good conscience cooperate with any measure which asks our community to increase its contribution to a public sector which is not functioning.

ATIA

ATIA is Aruba’s largest NGO with over 200 members which employ more than 13,000 Arubans. As such we strive to achieve a better socio-economic climate for all segments of our population.

To learn more about ATIA or to become a member visit www.atiaruba.org.