WILLEMSTAD - The four-country consultation held in Sint Maarten at the end of last week has been simply translated in Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten into the following four words: 'COHO is off the table'.
The Caribbean governments were very happy that the Netherlands no longer wanted to impose this controversial Kingdom law for the establishment of a kind of new supervisory body or the so-called COHO (Caribbean Organ for Reform and Development).
“The autonomy of our country is being respected again,” said Aruban Prime Minister Evelyn Wever-Croes. “An emotional moment”, says colleague Gilmar Pisas from Curaçao. Together with Silveria Jacobs of Sint Maarten, the three prime ministers talk about 'an important result' and 'there is more equality in the Kingdom again'.
No major changes
However, if you look deeper into the outcome of these four-country consultations, you will not see major changes. The agreements on the reforms already laid down in the Country Packages will continue as usual. This means that a number of pain points, such as the 60 million guilders cut in the Aruban healthcare sector, have not yet been resolved.
“We will continue to negotiate on that. The pressure from the Netherlands is less, but not yet gone,” says the Aruban prime minister. In 2020, she compared the demands made by the Netherlands in exchange for corona support, 'with a gun to our heads'.
Better relations in the Kingdom
Nevertheless, the outcome of the four-country consultations on Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten has been received with enthusiasm by both the population and most politicians - including the opposition.
Curaçao cabinet members and supporters of the coalition parties MFK and PNP praise the tenacity of Pisas who entered the 2021 elections to get COHO off the table. Pisas emphasizes that PNP leader and deputy prime minister Ruthmilda Larmonie-Cecilia also played an important role in the negotiations.
Supporters of Prime Minister Jacobs (National Alliance) on Sint Maarten congratulate her on the result achieved. Leader of the United People's Party UP Rolando Brison speaks of 'a step in the right direction for better relations between the Netherlands and the Caribbean areas in the Kingdom'.
He said it was "too great a risk" that COHO could sideline the Caribbean parliaments and become nothing more than a "rubber stamp".
Not everyone happy
But not everyone is in a party mood. The Aruban opposition party Accion 21 has always been in favor of COHO's introduction. The moment that AVP (opposition) and MEP (government party) celebrate something together like now, says Accion leader Miguel Mansur, is the 'moment that the population should fear'.
The parties mentioned are each other's biggest opponents, so celebrating something together hardly ever happens. “I am afraid that the reforms that are sorely needed for Aruba, especially those that are controversial, will no longer take place. Because COHO was the guarantee.” And the Aruban population will have to pay the price again, concludes Mansur.
Repay corona millions
The countries expect to sign the final agreement with the new agreements in March. Negotiations with the Netherlands on the corona loans will start next month. These must be repaid by the Caribbean countries on October 10. However, they hope for a postponement and or some form of remission.