WILLEMSTAD – Marshe Rondó in Punda is operating normally again Monday after the public market opened late Saturday morning because Fundashon Marshe had not been able to pay its employees on the usual salary date.
Fundashon Marshe confirmed Sunday that the delayed opening was directly related to the payment of staff salaries. Employees are normally paid on the 24th of each month, but the foundation said this month’s payment was delayed.
The financial issue affected the opening of the market on Saturday, September 26. Once the director of Fundashon Marshe opened the building, vendors were able to set up their stalls and continue selling their products. According to the foundation, its staff also continued cleaning and maintaining the market during the remainder of the day.
Fundashon Marshe said it has addressed the financial issue with the parties involved and expects all employees to receive their salaries this week. It did not disclose the amount involved or explain in detail why sufficient funds were not available to make payroll on the normal date.
The incident is notable because Marshe Rondó only reopened in August following an extensive renovation and what Fundashon Marshe described as an 18-month financial and organizational recovery process.
When interim director Remy Ricardo took over in January 2025, the organization was operating without permanent management or a supervisory board. The foundation subsequently worked to reconstruct its financial administration, complete outstanding annual accounts, settle personnel matters and digitalize its administration.
That recovery was complicated by a fire in April 2025 that destroyed part of the financial administration. Despite the setback, Fundashon Marshe later reported that its financial statements for 2022 through 2025 had been completed and approved and that outstanding personnel matters had been addressed.
However, financial pressure has not disappeared entirely. When Marshe Rondó reopened last month, Fundashon Marshe acknowledged that financial constraints in 2026 had forced it to postpone planned projects at several other market locations.
Fundashon Marshe manages several public markets and cultural marketplaces in Willemstad under an agreement with the Ministry of Economic Development. These include Marshe Rondó, Plasa Bieu, Plasa di Arte and market locations in Otrobanda and Punda.
Saturday’s salary-related disruption therefore raises new questions about the foundation’s current liquidity position, particularly so soon after it presented the reopening of Marshe Rondó as the culmination of its organizational and financial recovery.
Fundashon Marshe has not indicated that the problem will affect market operations going forward. It apologized for the concern and inconvenience caused to vendors and visitors and said Marshe Rondó would reopen at its regular time Monday, September 28.
The foundation thanked vendors and the public for their patience and said it looks forward to welcoming them back to the market.