WILLEMSTAD - In early July, the Country of Curaçao, partly thanks to previous tranches from the Netherlands, still had 170.3 million guilders in liquidity. But if there is no further financial emergency support, this will soon run out.

First, it will reach 103.2 million at the end of July. In the months that follow, Curaçao is heading for a negative liquidity position, according to the forecast of the Ministry of Finance. At the end of August, the score was only 27.3 million, a month later the government is in the red with -51.3 million.

This is because the expected revenues - and especially tax revenues - are lagging far behind and not nearly enough to cover all expenses. While monthly government spending tends to fluctuate around 152 million, revenues currently do not exceed 76 million (August) and 110 million (December). Thus, the liquidity forecast. This brings the balance of the Curaçao government for July to -67.2 million guilders, followed by -75.9 million in August and again -78.7 million in September.

Curaçao has so far received two liquidity support from the Netherlands. According to the overview of finances, at the last month change, 116 million was left. The "own" liquidity position was 54.3 million; together that is 170.3 million.

Without further emergency aid - which the Dutch Rutte government has attached to a large number of far-reaching conditions, including political agreement with the "Consensus Kingdom Act Caribbean Reform Entity", which is contested by Curaçao, Aruba and Sint Maarten - the picture will soon become a lot more negative.

In that case, so without the third tranche of the Netherlands, there will be less than zero in public funds after September, and that will rise to -387 million at the end of December. In the event of a cash deficit, the government is indebted to the Central Bank CBCS and local commercial banks (insofar as this is temporarily permitted) and in the long run no expenditure can be made.

Such as paying civil servants' salaries; pension contributions to APC pension fund; contributions premiums AOV and BVZ to Social Insurance Bank SVB; but also payments to creditors (private suppliers), subsidies, welfare workers; as well as repayments and interest on loans; and - not to forget - expenditure under the Covid-19 Emergency Fund.

According to the forecast, the difference between total (tax) receipts and all planned expenditure during the second half of 2020 will amount to more than 555 million guilders. So a shortage. Includes repayment in October of a 2010 bond of 100 million and 24.7 million in interest on bond loans.