SER takes closer look at proposed Sports Fund for Curaçao

CURACAO (WILLEMSTAD) - The Social and Economic Council (SER) of Curaçao has issued an advisory opinion today to the Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport (OWCS), Sithree ‘Cey’ van Heydoorn, on a draft national decree to establish the Curaçao Sports Fund.

The decree would spell out how public money for sports is raised, distributed and accounted for. The fund is meant to support sports — from neighborhood fields to elite competition — and to reinforce government policy in areas such as public health, social cohesion and talent development.

The proposal defines the fund’s objectives, the conditions for applications and the procedures for assessing and reporting on projects.

In its opinion, the SER reviews the plan on three fronts: legal, financial and socioeconomic. Legally, the council looks at whether the rules fit within the Sports Fund Ordinance (P.B. 2021, no. 120) and Curaçao’s wider regulatory framework. Financially, it examines where the money comes from — including gaming revenues and existing sports budgets — and how stable those resources are, while flagging risks like the build-up of unspent balances and double financing. Socioeconomically, it considers how a sports fund could contribute to health, participation and productivity in an aging society with rising health-care costs.

The SER does not say whether the Sports Fund should be adopted in its current form. Instead, it formulates key questions about legality, medium-term fiscal sustainability and demonstrated public value that the government will have to answer as it decides how to proceed.