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PHILIPSBURG--Government has been granted, in principle, until January 31, 2015, to establish the 2015 budget. This is an additional six weeks past the legal deadline of December 15. Should the new deadline not be met, the Committee for Financial Supervision CFT will revert to procedures in the Kingdom Law on Temporary Financial Supervision for Curaçao and St. Maarten.
CFT Chairman Age Bakker said at a press conference at CFT's office Friday it had been agreed that government would formally request a postponement until January 31, and CFT would honour this request, which would enable the incoming government to present an amended budget in accordance with the CFT advice.
The extension of the deadline should give the incoming Marcel Gumbs Cabinet "time to come up with amendments" to the budget to bring it in line with the norms of the Kingdom law.
Government presented the draft 2015 budget for advice in October. In its advice, the CFT recommended lowering the budgeted revenues of NAf. 445 million to the level of some NAf. 426 million to reflect the level of revenues actually realised during the last few years.
Government informed CFT that the 2015 budget, including the necessary adjustments, would not be ready before the legal deadline of December 15. This led to the idea of a deadline extension.
Bakker said government would have to do "a lot of hocus pocus" to make the December 15 deadline for the presentation of the budget. With the extension in mind, he stressed the importance of preserving a timely presentation of the budgets, a goal that has seen considerable improvement this year.
The 2014 budget appears to be heading for a deficit due to shortfalls in government's revenues. Tipping the scale are "overruns" of government personnel expenditures, Bakker said.
Government will seek to collect dividends from its companies to cover the perceived deficit. Bakker said CFT would have to be presented with "substantiation" of collectability of the funds by government or the shortfall would have to be covered in the 2015 budget.
CFT is concerned about government's "lack of progress" in solving the existing payment arrears with the Social and Health Insurance Fund SZV and General Pension Fund APS. "This situation cannot be allowed to continue," Bakker said. CFT has advised the incoming Cabinet "to solve this problem with the greatest urgency."
