Central Govt presents first
balanced budget in decades
WILLEMSTAD--Finance Minister Ersilia “Zus” de Lannooy presented the 2008 draft budget showing a small surplus to President of Parliament Rignaal “Jean” Francisca on Tuesday. It was the first time in decades that the Central Government had presented a balanced budget.
Realising a balanced budget was mainly possible because the Netherlands will pay a considerable amount of the interest cost next year: 146.9 of the 171.8 million guilders.
De Lannooy said she was proud of the budget presented. It showed a primary surplus of almost 25 million guilders. However, this does not include payment of interest. The overall balance for 2008 is zero, because, as already stated, the Netherlands will take care of the payment of interest as agreed in the August 28 transition accord and November 2, 2006, final statement.
In a press briefing on Tuesday, the Minister stated that in fact there was an overall surplus of 14. 8 million on the budget, but that this amount had been reserved. “Since the late 1960s and beginning ’70s, the Netherlands Antilles never had a balanced budget, I have been informed,” De Lannooy said.
Government presented a balanced budget on paper in 2000, but this was not realistic, she said, because financial obligations to the Social Insurance Bank SVB had not been budgeted.
In the multi-annual budget 2008-2011, the primary balance has budgeted 25 million while the global balance is zero. The interest cost of the Central Government will decrease in the coming years to 157.3 million in 2009, 151.3 in 2010 and 133.9 in 2011. Of these amounts, the Netherlands will pay a total of 132.5 million, 126.5 and 109 million in the respective years.
The budget shows an increase in government revenues as well. Customs revenue increased by 10 per cent. The container scanner proved very profitable. It produced enough money in four months to pay for its purchase.
In St. Maarten, the sales tax produced in the first six months of this year almost the total amount collected in 2006.
Prime Minister Emily de Jongh-Elhage told The Daily Herald in an invited comment that the 2008 budget was very positive and would comply with the criteria the Dutch government had set for starting the debt relief.
The Dutch want all the islands and the Central Government to present balanced budgets as a condition for paying off a large portion of the accumulated debts.
