WILLEMSTAD – The government of Curaçao has strongly rejected accusations made by the Finance Minister of Sint Maarten, Marinka Gumbs, regarding an alleged breach of prior agreements by Curaçao’s Minister of Finance, Charles Cooper.
The dispute centers on the nomination of the chair of the supervisory board of the Central Bank of Curaçao and Sint Maarten (CBCS), an issue that has been a source of tension between the two countries for several years.
In a statement released by the cabinet of Prime Minister Gilmar Pisas, the Curaçao government said the accusations made in the Parliament of Sint Maarten are incorrect and risk creating a misleading public perception of the situation.
Long-running dispute
The disagreement relates to the appointment of the chairperson of the CBCS supervisory board. According to Curaçao, the matter has long been complicated by structural issues in the governance framework established after the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles in October 2010.
The Curaçao government emphasized that Sint Maarten holds roughly 20 percent of the economic interest in the joint central bank, while Curaçao represents about 80 percent. Under those circumstances, Curaçao considers it unacceptable for Sint Maarten to hold the chairmanship while also appointing half of the supervisory board members.
Officials in Willemstad argue that the current arrangement has repeatedly led to political deadlock between the two countries when appointing members of the board. In several cases since 2010, the lack of agreement between the governments resulted in appointments being made by the president of the Joint Court of Justice rather than by the governments themselves.
Meeting of stakeholders
The issue resurfaced following a meeting of CBCS stakeholders held on February 26 in Curaçao. According to the Curaçao government, the statement issued in Willemstad aims to clarify the facts after comments made in Sint Maarten suggested that Curaçao had failed to honor earlier agreements.
The government also pointed to an attempt last year by Minister Gumbs to nominate a candidate from Sint Maarten as chair of the supervisory board. The candidate selected by the government of Sint Maarten did not meet the legal requirements for appointment under the statutes governing the central bank, according to Curaçao.
Under the bank’s statutes, candidates for the supervisory board must first be recommended by the board itself before the finance ministers of both countries can take a decision.
So far, neither the government of Sint Maarten nor Prime Minister Luc Mercelina has publicly responded to the statement issued by the Curaçao government.