WILLEMSTAD - The government of Curaçao receives 30 million guilders from the Netherlands. According to Prime Minister Eugene Rhuggenaath, this has been agreed with the Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations Raymond Knops during his recent visit to the island.

This is the first tranche of a loan within the framework of the growth agreement and a total amount of 180 million.

With this, Curaçao must be pulled out of the economic crisis by means of the growth agreement drawn up with the help of the Netherlands.

This is somewhat at odds with what Knops said at a press conference last week, namely that the implementation of the Growth Accord is "not going fast enough" and that so far little use has been made of promised Dutch "knowledge, expertise and skills".

The Growth Strategy is about restructuring of financial policy and government, economic growth and social development.

In the financial field, several steps have already been taken to increase revenues. Regarding the functioning of the government apparatus, work is being carried out on digitization and optimization of payroll administration. The staff that would like to retire earlier have also received an offer. Preparations have also been made for the launch of a Government Academy where civil servants can receive additional training. Regarding the economic sector, attention is paid to the further development of the port and the city center. People are also being prepared for a job in the tourism industry. Finally, the first Social Agenda projects will start in 2020 in order to strengthen social structures and provide assistance to families.