WILLEMSTAD – PAR Member of Parliament Shaheen Elhage is demanding detailed information from Minister of Social Development, Labor and Welfare Charetti America-Francisca about the financial consequences of the government's proposed increase in social assistance payments and whether sufficient funding is available to sustain the measure.
In a letter dated September 23, Elhage submitted a series of parliamentary questions following advice issued by the Social Economic Council (SER) on proposed amendments to the Social Assistance Act and increases in benefit amounts. The questions were submitted through Parliament President Fergino Brownbill under Article 96 of Parliament's Rules of Procedure.
Elhage said the central issue is no longer simply whether social assistance will be increased, but whether the increase will actually contribute to income security and the structural reduction of poverty, how much it will cost and what measurable results the government expects to achieve.
The PAR parliamentarian is asking the minister to provide Parliament with the complete SER advice, including all attachments, and specify which recommendations the government accepts in full, which it accepts partially and which it rejects. He also wants the government to explain every instance in which it intends to deviate from the SER's recommendations.
Elhage further wants to know what concrete changes have been made to the proposed legislation as a result of the SER advice and when Parliament can expect to receive the final bill.
A significant part of his questions focuses on the actual amount that recipients will receive.
The MP is asking for the current and proposed benefit amounts for every category of eligible recipient, both in absolute figures and percentage increases. He also wants the government to compare the proposed amounts with Curaçao's most recent poverty line and the income considered necessary to maintain a dignified standard of living.
If the new benefit amounts remain below the poverty line, Elhage wants to know what additional measures the government intends to introduce and what timetable it has established to structurally close that gap.
He is also seeking clarity on when the new amounts would officially take effect and when recipients would actually begin receiving the higher payments.
The financial implications are another major concern.
Elhage wants the government to disclose how much the increase will cost annually, how many people are expected to benefit and whether sufficient funds have been included in the budget.
He is requesting that the minister provide Parliament with the underlying financial calculations and relevant sections of the budget, including an assessment of what would happen to government expenditures if the number of people entitled to social assistance increases.
Before Parliament continues considering the proposed amendment, Elhage wants lawmakers to receive the SER advice, final legislative texts, financial calculations, implementation information, new benefit amounts and the timetable for introducing the changes.
He is also asking America-Francisca to commit to reporting to Parliament within one year after the amended law takes effect on the actual impact of the changes.
According to Elhage, increasing social assistance is an important step, but a higher payment does not automatically mean Curaçao has achieved structural income security.
He said parliamentary oversight must therefore extend beyond the size of the increase and examine who benefits, when the changes take effect, how much they cost, how they are financed and whether they produce measurable improvements in people's lives.