WILLEMSTAD – The proposed appointment of a new member to the Supervisory and Advisory Board of the National Lottery (Landsloterij) cannot proceed at this time, according to the Foundation for the Oversight and Regulation of Government Entities (SBTNO).
The advisory body has raised serious objections, arguing that the current profile descriptions for members of the board do not comply with Curaçao’s corporate governance requirements.
The candidate had been nominated to serve as the board’s business economics expert. However, SBTNO concluded that the existing profile descriptions, adopted in April 2023, are not sufficiently detailed, particularly regarding educational qualifications and professional experience. As a result, the organization says it is unable to properly assess whether the candidate meets the formal requirements for the position.
SBTNO has advised Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Sithree van Heydoorn to first establish revised profile descriptions before proceeding with any appointments. According to the advisory body, the new profiles must be aligned with the model profiles, the Corporate Governance Code and the National Ordinance on Corporate Governance.
Under the current structure, the Landsloterij Supervisory and Advisory Board is expected to include experts in finance, law, business economics and anti-money laundering, as well as a specialist in gambling addiction. In addition, a separate profile must be developed for the chairperson of the board.
SBTNO also expressed concerns regarding the presence of ex officio members on supervisory boards. The organization noted that appointing civil servants or individuals with similar ties to government could undermine the perception of independent oversight and create the appearance of a conflict of interest.
Although SBTNO indicated that the proposed candidate appears to meet most of the requirements contained in the model profile for a business economics expert, it emphasized that an appointment cannot legally move forward until the profile descriptions have been revised and formally adopted.
Once the new profiles are in place, the candidate will have to be resubmitted for assessment before a final decision on the appointment can be made.