Curaçao Politics
Key Facts
·Who. Prime Minister Gilmar Pisas’s government scrapped extra pay for ministers and members of parliament (MPs).
·Why. The governor, the King’s representative, was reported to refuse to sign; the opposition faction MAN-PIN, a Curaçao party alliance, objected.
·Cost. About XCG 427,000 gross, meaning before tax (about US$239,000), in extra pay for ministers and MPs, per Pisas; the Caribbean guilder (XCG) is pegged at 1.79 per US$.
·Open. Pisas says the civil servants’ bonus still needs a legal basis and a budget amendment.
·As of 14 November 2026, 18:30 GMT
Curaçao’s government has scrapped an extra payment for its ministers and members of parliament, after the opposition faction MAN-PIN, a Curaçao party alliance, said the law does not allow it and the governor was reported to refuse to sign. Prime Minister Gilmar Pisas announced the decision this week, as reported on Thursday 12 November 2026, and put the cost at about XCG (Caribbean guilder) 427,000 gross (about US$239,000) in extra pay.
Curaçao is a self-governing island country in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Its currency, the Caribbean guilder (XCG), is pegged at 1.79 XCG per US$ by the Central Bank of Curaçao and Sint Maarten.
What the Government Decided
Pisas said this week, as reported on 12 November, that the government dropped the extra payment for ministers and for members of the Staten, Curaçao’s 21-seat parliament, after consulting the governor. His party, MFK (Movementu Futuro Kòrsou), won an outright majority of 13 of the 21 Staten seats at the March 2025 election.
Pisas put the cost for the seven ministers at about XCG 145,000 gross, meaning before tax (about US$81,000), and for the 21 members of parliament (MPs) at about XCG 282,000 gross (about US$158,000). The conversions use the peg of 1.79 XCG per US$ set by the Central Bank of Curaçao and Sint Maarten.
The payment traces back to Wednesday 7 October 2026, when the government announced an 8% year-end bonus for civil servants and other groups. According to MAN, the plan also covered extra payments for ministers and MPs.
Why MAN and the Governor Objected
MAN said in a statement this week that the law on political pay does not allow the payment. We found no report of a court ruling or prosecutor action.
Governor Mauritsz de Kort, the King’s representative on the island, told the Council of Ministers, the cabinet, as reported on Thursday 5 November 2026, that he would not sign a decree for the payment. A decree, a formal government order, takes effect only when the governor signs, and the other route, a change of law, needs approval from the Staten.
MAN praised its MPs Giselle Mc William and Suzy Camelia-Römer for challenging the plan, and called on the cabinet to take responsibility and act with integrity. Its statement says the party supports the civil servants’ payment and does not object to the government keeping its promises to unions.
The Government’s Side
Pisas said the governor did not refuse to sign but asked for the whole bonus scheme to be reassessed, according to his remarks reported on 12 November. The governor also said a budget amendment meeting the accounting rules would be needed to pay the amounts, according to Pisas.
Pisas also accused two MAN MPs of turning civil servants against the government, according to his remarks reported on 12 November. MAN says the government’s reversal puts the civil servants’ payment at risk.
What Happens to the Civil Servants’ Bonus
The bonus for civil servants, pensioners and similar groups is now uncertain, Pisas said this week, because the government is still looking for a legal basis. Pisas said the governor pointed out that a budget amendment would be needed.
No deadline has been given for a decision. Public employees who expected the bonus therefore have no confirmed payment date.
What Is Not Known
No decision date has been set for the civil servants’ bonus, as of Pisas’s remarks reported on 12 November 2026. We found no report of a court ruling on whether the law allows the payment, or of prosecutor action.
The statements give group totals only, not per-person amounts. No deadline is given for finding the legal basis the government says it is still seeking.
What It Means for You
Why it matters: a dispute over about XCG 427,000 (about US$239,000), by Pisas’s figures reported on 12 November, now clouds a payment to public employees and pensioners, which needs a legal basis and a budget amendment. The government has given no deadline for a decision.
Two checkpoints matter: a decision date for the civil servants’ bonus, which is not confirmed, and any budget amendment, for which no date has been given. For related coverage, see our report on a Curaçao lawmaker pressing a probe of an alleged pyramid scheme and our Latin America news page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did Curaçao scrap the bonus for ministers and MPs?
The government dropped it, Pisas said this week, after consulting the governor, who was reported to have told ministers he would not sign the decree. The opposition party MAN says the law does not allow it.
How much was the bonus worth?
Prime Minister Gilmar Pisas put it at about XCG 427,000 gross in total (about US$239,000), covering seven ministers and 21 MPs. No per-person amounts were given.
Will civil servants still get their year-end bonus?
It is uncertain. The government says it is still looking for a legal basis, and a budget amendment is needed.
Did anyone break the law?
We found no report of a court or prosecutor saying so. MAN says the law does not allow the payment, and the government has dropped it.
Sources
Remarks by Prime Minister Gilmar Pisas, 11 to 12 November 2026; statement by the opposition party MAN, November 2026. Photo: Profar, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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