WILLEMSTAD – MFK parliamentarian David Seferina is calling on the Curaçao government to consider financial relief for households following sharp increases in water, electricity and fuel prices, with particular attention to low-income families, pensioners and other financially vulnerable residents.
In a letter to the Curaçao Parliament dated September 30, Seferina warns that families already struggling to cover their monthly expenses could face severe additional pressure when several essential costs rise at the same time.
The MP is asking whether the government is prepared to introduce measures such as temporary reductions in taxes or other charges, direct compensation or targeted assistance for households most affected by the increases.
Seferina specifically asks what the government intends to do to protect low-income households, pensioners and others in financially vulnerable circumstances.
The questions also focus on the broader inflationary consequences of the sharp increase in diesel prices.
Because diesel is widely used in transportation and distribution, Seferina warns that a substantial price increase could make it more expensive to transport goods around the island. Those higher costs could subsequently be passed on to consumers through higher prices for food, products and services.
He wants the government to explain what it intends to do to prevent the latest fuel increase from creating an even heavier burden for the population.
The parliamentarian is also asking whether authorities examined the cumulative effect of the increases before allowing them to take effect. Rather than looking at gasoline, diesel, water and electricity separately, he wants the government to consider what happens when households have to absorb all of the increases at once.
Seferina’s final question addresses Curaçao’s longer-term vulnerability to fluctuations in energy and fuel prices.
He wants the Pisas administration to explain what plans it has to reduce the island’s exposure to such price increases and what residents can realistically expect from the government in the coming period to make basic living expenses more manageable.
The questions add to the growing political debate over Curaçao’s cost of living and the extent to which the government should intervene when international energy developments translate into substantially higher household expenses.