WILLEMSTAD – The Curaçao Parliament wants the government to provide the approved annual financial statements of 2Bays for recent years, including the corresponding reports from the company's external auditor, as scrutiny of the company and its management intensifies.
The demand is part of a motion overwhelmingly supported by Parliament in connection with the future of 2Bays and Curaçao's former refinery and industrial areas.
Under the motion, the government must make available to Parliament the approved annual accounts of 2Bays for the most recent years, together with the relevant external auditor's information. The request forms part of a broader effort to obtain greater insight into the company's performance and its ability to execute the government's strategic objectives.
The request is significant because 2Bays is expected to play a central role in the redevelopment of strategically important industrial assets on Curaçao.
Parliament notes that the company's responsibilities extend beyond simply managing the former refinery properties. Its strategic mandate includes facilitating industrial development, promoting the energy transition and circular economy, attracting economic activity and developing a more sustainable industrial value chain with lower carbon emissions.
The motion also refers to ambitions to create the conditions necessary to reactivate industrial activities associated with Curaçao's refinery within a modern framework.
However, MPs have expressed concern about the speed at which different projects and strategic objectives are being realized.
Those concerns were also evident during recent parliamentary discussions about RdK and 2Bays. MPs questioned the government and company representatives about the future of refinery operations, Bullenbaai, potential investors, the long-discussed asphalt project and the financial resources available to maintain operations and employment.
The motion makes clear that Parliament does not want the government to limit itself to monitoring developments. It wants an independent assessment of the company's management, leadership, capacity and results.
Based on that assessment, the government is being asked to develop a new strategic plan for 2Bays. If the evaluation concludes that the present leadership is unable to realize the projects and objectives established by the government, the motion calls on the government to use the instruments available to it as majority shareholder and take whatever measures are necessary.
This potentially opens the door to changes within the company's leadership if an independent evaluation concludes that its current management lacks the capacity to deliver the government's objectives.
The motion stresses that Curaçao cannot afford unnecessary delays in projects considered important for employment, investment and the country's future energy position.
According to the voting record included with the motion, it received support from 19 MPs, with only one member voting against. The document records the motion as adopted by majority vote.
The strong parliamentary support puts additional pressure on the government to provide greater financial transparency about 2Bays while also assessing whether the company, in its current form and under its current leadership, is capable of delivering the industrial redevelopment envisioned for Curaçao.