CAft: “Utilize recovery for the benefit of a resilient economy”

The recovery of the Aruban economy endures. In 2022 the economy grew by 12 percent, according to the latest insights of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). A growth of 5 percent is expected for 2023. Partly due to this strong economic recovery and the announced tax measures, a budget surplus of 1 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is expected in 2023. Considering the impact of the corona crisis in recent years, this is a positive turnaround. It is important that Aruba seizes this momentum to bring the public debt of AWG 5.7 billion back to a sustainable level. To this effect in addition to increasing its income and incidental coverage, Aruba needs to realize savings as well. In this regard structural reforms in health care and social security provide more resilience. During its visit to Aruba on February 9th and 10th , 2023, the Board of financial supervision (CAft) drew attention to this matter.