WILLEMSTAD - The Ministry of Health, Environment, and Nature (GMN) has announced that the subsidy for the Animal Protection organization has been temporarily put on hold. The reason cited by the ministry is that the Animal Protection organization is facing difficulties in providing the necessary financial accountability. This news follows the disagreement between the two parties regarding the subsidy for the year 2024.
During an emergency press conference on February 15, the Animal Protection Foundation (SDB) expressed concerns about an alleged reduction in their subsidy, claiming that it would lead to financial problems and hinder their operations.
However, GMN has contradicted these claims by emphasizing that there has been no reduction; in fact, there has been an increase in the subsidy. Nevertheless, the disbursement of the subsidy is on hold until the Animal Protection organization meets the required financial reporting obligations.
The ministry's statement further explains that SDB received a subsidy of about 63,000 Antillean guilders in 2023, and an increased amount of 82,100 guilders for 2024 was approved by the Parliament of Curaçao.
This represents an increase of over thirty percent compared to the previous year. Despite this commitment, GMN emphasizes the need for SDB to provide the proper documentation to account for the funds used before further subsidies are released.
In response, the Animal Protection organization regrets the ministry's allegations that financial accountability is not in order and points to unclear communication from the government regarding the subsidy. According to the board, new requirements for financial accountability are continually being imposed, and different documents must be submitted each time.