A press release informed us that after 6 years as a an outspoken, active, member of our financial supervisory board, CAft, Hellen van de Wal, a lawyer, children’s rights activist, co-founder of Telefon pa Huventud, and a member of the Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance, will be replaced by Marion Agunbero, a retired banker, a bank supervisory board members and currently member of Aruba’s Advisory Board.
Van der Wal saw Aruba through the pandemic, the big loans, scary debts, and the quick economic recovery. She is now handing the show over to a former insurance man, Mario Agunbero. While her background includes early journalism, life-long writing and a formal law degree, he is a major risk specialist, having managed a local, sizeable pension fund, for a number of years.
Van der Wal’s gifts were useful in the past years, she mastered the island’s challenges, she wrote eloquently about them, and people could easily understand her writing. In the years to come it is all about risk. As Aruba’s semi-governmental companies face the future, Serlimar, WEB, ELMAR, the upcoming new AWSS, Aruba Wastewater Sustainable Solutions, ARUBUS, Post-Aruba, RDA, all these state-owned companies, are no sure thing, they represent risks, and threats to our economy, which must be managed well and mitigated.
As Agunbero walks on stage, the island’s economic outlook is good, but the risks must be evaluated, the potential negative effects determined. For the semi-governmental companies and the island to survive and thrive, informed actions must be taken, in various fields including healthcare, finance, business, and transport, just to name a few. All options must be explored.
One of the ways to mitigate risks, is to improve the way things run, common sense would tell you that. Run your country more efficiently, and you win!
In walks Hellen van der Wal, entrusted with a new job. She is the chair of the implementation committee in charge of introducing a framework of Good Governance here, this will be ushered in as a Good Governance law, effective January 1st, 2025.
No more management by the seat of our pants, Hellen has written rules and regulations designed to make the country more resilient, because it will be run by the book. She is creating a website with all the information, civil codes, templates, all with teeth, sanctions against those who do not conform.
Van Der Wal reports that a survey in Curacao reveals that its semi-governmental companies have vacancies, about 30% of senior board and members of management have not been hired. A similar survey reveals that there are no vacancies in Aruba. All government jobs are fully staffed.
Why the disparity?
Curacao already runs under the supervision of an independent entity in charge of Good Governance, and it controls appointments, making sure they adhere to code, and standards.
In Aruba, codes haven’t been introduced yet.
Effective January 1st, hopefully, the framework for good governance will go live, and much of the interim hires go away, in the name of integrity.
This will make the IMF and the Rating Agencies happy, it will signal that our public sector is reforming.
