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a32 local
Saturday 4 april 2020
COVID-19: The Creative Industry’s Worst Nightmare Come True

Continued from Page 31 shopping could be done on the is- mies, leaving us with 5 underde- bum debuts, but simply postponing
land too. veloped or in some cases even them. This crisis does offer Aruba a
However, this fiscal relief only non-existent economies to fall on. chance to hit the reset button. To
counts for “casino’s, transport and The real reason why we need to di- What has been really eye-opening truly make a roadmap for develop-
tour operators, security compa- versify is the fact that food security is one ing new economies for the coun-
nies, café’s, bar and restaurants, Aruba has been proposing eco- of the most important factors for try. We cannot keep fighting fires
landscaping, spa’s, car rentals, nomic diversification for a long enduring any type of crisis. Aruba as they sneak up on us, but rather
traveling agencies, watersport time. Report after report, confer- imports much of its livelihood and we should use this as an oppor-
companies, carwash, laundry, cos- ence after conference, govern- is not self-sustainable. According tunity to learn a valuable lesson:
metic stores, jewelry stores, retail ment after government, it has re- to the Food and Agriculture Orga- creativity together with innovation
stores, souvenir shops, ground han- mained difficult to develop new nization (FAO) in the Food Security leads towards sustainability.
dlers, employment agencies, and economies and see this through. and Nutrition in Small Island Devel-
construction companies”. It is still The detrimental high dependency oping States Report; “small coun- Moving Forward
not clear of these fiscal relief rem- on tourism together with the Co- tries of the Caribbean have seen Aruba is known for being resilient,
edies could count for SMEs in the rona crisis has left Aruba as pos- their exports decline and their food but this will be our biggest trial. No
Aruban Creative Industry, since the sibly one of the most vulnerable and agricultural imports increase challenge comes easy, but the
majority of them depend on the countries according to a recent during periods of growth in recent lesson is always greater than the
Aruban Tourism Industry. Tackling Standard & Poor’s report. As years” (p.5). downfall. Aruba has proven to
this new drama saga called Coro- a country, we have nothing else to overcome many obstacles over
navirus has forced Aruban Small rely on but the income we receive The challenges of the develop- the years and without doubt we
and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), from tourism. Without this income, ment of the agriculture industry is will survive once this storm passes.
especially the F&B industry to it will be difficult to stay afloat and summarized by the lack of compet- Let’s hit the reset button and truly
switch up to online shopping and meet all demands. The previously itiveness, ageing agricultural popu- make sure we don’t fall in this trap
delivery services just to make sure mentioned loss projections will be lation, inadequate investment by again. The Creative Islander would
that the loss of customers does difficult to swallow, especially since both the public and private sec- like to remind everyone to prac-
not drastically increase. Crisis has we here headed for a budget sur- tors, non-innovative entrepreneur- tice social (physical) distancing,
forced the Aruban economy to plus this year. In the Economic Re- ship and increased scarcity of nat- leave the house only if needed,
realize the importance of innova- port 2019- 2021, the Minister estab- ural resources worsened by natural and to wash their hands frequently
tion, technological upgrade, and lished the 6 promising economies disasters and climate change. For throughout the day. Stay healthy
e-commerce. More than this, it has for the island, which include: tour- the creative industry, even though and stay safe Aruba. In the words
proven that Aruba can innovate, ism, agriculture industry, circular this crisis is experienced as blow, of our Prime Minister, Evelyn Wever-
and should not wait till a crisis hits economy, knowledge economy, the focus should not be on can- Croes: “the world changed one
to do this. The innovative initiatives logistics, and the creative indus- celations but of postponing de- day to another, without a warn-
of local companies have been so tries. velopment. Not canceling shows, ing. I know that it is difficult, but I
limited. It seemed to be quite dif- concerts, festivals, movie premiers, am making you a promise: we will
ficult to convince business owners The Corona crisis completely book launches, dance recitals, art overcome this crisis and we will rise
that simple services such as online wiped out one of the six econo- galleries, tv productions, music al- as a stronger Aruba”.q

Opinion

Covid crisis Aruba:

TIME FOR ACTION

By Bert Kamsteeg and our elderly at home can look from their patios again and walk
ORANJESTAD — What do Governments do in moments of a heavy cri- safely to their neighbors without falling over debris. After this effort of
sis to assure that their economy does not collapse, or to re-start their course through propaganda and incentives we have to keep it clean
economy? We can learn something from history, the same counts for at all times. After we are done with the barios we can continue deeper
the lessons learned with Development Aid, just like Aruba received into the cunucu to save our nature. ‘Nos ta un pueblo trahador’, our
from Holland for years. leaders like to say, this is the way to show it off, to become the cleanest
Construction has always acted as an engine; very easy to roll-out (of island in the Caribbean.
course only when putting aside the bureaucratic hurdles), see for ex- 2) Many requests for building permits are stuck in the bureaucrat-
ample US President Hoover with his gigantic infrastructure program in ic government process. Name a Master-Architect for the country of
the 1930’s. And very important, don’t give people money without a Aruba, as normal in many countries. This will stimulate design and con-
counter service; you don’t give a hungry person fish, but a fishing rod, struction. With ease, he can issue 20-30 permits per day, including the
to be self-sustainable. You don’t lay-off workers and give them money, permit to start using the plots of land for which those citizens already
you give their employers subsidy to keep them working. This method have a long lease option or are owner/leaseholder.
always has given the best results. 3) The country of Aruba, has promised in writing over a thousand
What we can do today in Aruba, to usefully fill the working day of the small plots of lease land for building their own house. However most
enormous amount of workers from the tourist and related industry (with have not been formally processed yet. Here the same, forget about
as counter service subsidy to their employers): all the normal procedures, and issue immediately permissions to start
1) Our island is everywhere very dirty and looks shabby, and espe- building. Couple if needed these plots to the standard building plans
cially when you leave the beaten touristic routes. Let’s get these work- that DOW has permit ready. The notarial process can follow in the
ers to clean up/ tidy up/ do small repairs; starting in their own ‘bario’, coming months. Do this as well by appointing a Long Lease Master.
involve the neighborhood inhabitants and make tons of propaganda, Each small house gives immediate work to 4-5 persons (this creates
organize a competition to create neighborhood identity. Per street/ responsible social distancing). Furthermore the supply chains can keep
block you only need a handful of people (social distancing) to do this, their workers.
do the gardens/ yards around the houses as well. In 2-3 months of time
our island will be spick and span, shine in its natural beauty like the Aru- Count for your selves how much direct employment can be created
ban carnival, the plants will get a new luster after the dust has been almost overnight. I’m sure many of you have good ideas as well. Share
taken from their leaves, our children don’t play in the mess anymore them with this newspaper. q