WILLEMSTAD--Curaçao's Minister of Finance George Jamaloodin (MFK) criticised the Central Bank of Curaçao and St. Maarten (CBCS) for announcing a pending 250-million-dollar bond issue to improve the island's infrastructure without government having known anything about it, but bank president Emsley Tromp simply referred him to earlier statements from his colleague Minister of Spatial Development Charles Cooper (MAN).

CBCS in announcing the bond issue for the harbour of St. Maarten last week had also mentioned there would soon be one for the Road Fund of Curaçao. According to Jamaloodin "neither Curaçao's Government, nor one of the individual ministers or the Road Fund as an entity have taken any formal decision on a bond loan for this purpose. CBCS has also not been officially approached for such and there have been only exploratory conversations at the technical level."

The minister said the release might lead to "misunderstandings and undermining of the confidence of institutional investors such as commercial banks and insurance companies. Government greatly regrets that the Central Bank publicly announced this without any consultation, formal decision or completion of the necessary procedures."

While talks with institutional investors on a loan for the Road Fund to be repaid from the Road Tax revenues had gone well, added Jamaloodin, "that does not mean this will lead to a bond loan for such an amount at once. The Central Bank president was premature and jumped the gun."

The Central Bank in a statement released Wednesday said it had taken note of government's complaint and in reaction referred to the interview of Cooper in the Extra newspaper on January 26, which had mentioned several discussions with CBCS on the subject.