Aruba Tourism Authority officially premiered the short film ‘Mi Rason’ last week. The movie, with a dedicated original soundtrack, was designed to celebrated Aruba’s culture and identity. Rodrick “Rocco” Franken and Freddy Rasta performed the title song.

The premier in the presence of dignitaries took place at Gasparito Aruban Estate.

The film has a didactic message putting local customs, norms, and values on display.

The story revolves around childhood memories of Rocco, called Ricky in the film, a carefree kid, with loving grandparents, growing up playing in the mondi, no phones, no tablets, no gaming, no TV.

Rocco’s adorable, and talented son plays young Ricky. The charming grandparents are Rocco’s mother and stepfather.

The film depicts a perfect childhood, where the island boy is taught to respect elders, to return home on time, to apologize when late, to sit down for dinner with the elders, clean his plate, take a good bath!

These were norms of yesteryears. Today’s childhoods look and feel a bit different. But then… for fun, young Ricky suggests driving around, something that many still do on the island, spending quality time together…driving around in the car – a practice from before gasoline got expensive, and traffic congested.

Ricky idyllic life takes him to church, grandpa teaches him how to play dominos, they go to the beach, Ricky splashes in the waves, he enjoys music education and plays the piano. While mom works at a restaurant, her precious son is cared for by the grandparents.

The film also depicts Ricky as he grows up into the singer and the influencer we know today. He was lucky to have such a supportive, protected childhood and he would like us all to help protect the paradise that raised him, realizing that life is culture, culture is life.

As I said, today’s childhoods look and feel a bit different. I do not have to tell you.

ATA and generous sponsors decided to rub our noses into the way it was and urge us to protect it before it is lost.

The film was shot be Ken Wolff, so it is lyrical and in good taste.

I liked it. It made me nostalgic.

Big Question: What will generation YZ say?? Do they care about local customs, norms, and values?

The film also features brief dialogues with historians and local authors who share their stories and values ​​they carry to this day.

The production was guided by Derchlien Dijkhoff, Senior Product Specialist of A.T.A. Main actor is Rodrick “Rocco” Franken with his son, Zevi Franken, with contributors Gregory Richardson, Rosabelle Illis, Desiree Correa, and Lurena Schwengle.

ATA says that the main purpose of Mi Rason, My Reason, is to strengthen national pride and to inspire the community to reflect on what motivates us to care for and value our island. The film and song are a tribute to Aruba, celebrating our past and hoping for our future. A.T.A. chose to premiere Mi Rason precisely during the period of celebration of 40 years of Status Aparte and 50 years of National Anthem and Flag, which are two important milestones.

According to Ronella Croes: “My Reason is a tribute; a warm embrace of our past, a reflection of who we are today, and a compass that guides the future we are building.”

The film wants to urge the community to reconnect with its roots and invites everyone to find out what is their own reason to love, protect and value our island.

Mi Rason is available to watch on TeleAruba every Wednesday and Friday during the month of March, at 7pm. In addition, the movie and song are available on channel YouTube official of Aruba Tourism Authority.

We have been talking about the housing shortage. Locals cannot afford housing, let alone find a place to pitch their tent.

One of my friends told be the sad story of ABLE Realty Aruba, which came up with a reasonable plan for homes, by the name of Jewel Residence,

This is what he said:

I am asking for your help in getting the news out in the hope of reaching more owners. I am one of those affected and I am organizing with others to move forward collectively

Jewel Residence is a project that was announced in 2020, consisting of 19 lots, in Seroe Blanco.

The concept of the project is based on selling the lots and constructing, as a “turn-key” home together with Able Realty. However, it took five years before the first homes could begin construction. Able Realty, acts as the main contractor led by Anthony Lejuez complemented by his father Tony Lejuez, responsible for the sale of the lots.

Due to extensive delays, many of those who bought a lot in the project feel misled and poorly informed, and some even decided to sell their lots because of the lack of communication and clear progress by Able Realty.

Now, after waiting five years for construction to begin, there are still significant delays in the execution and completion of the various construction phases. This has forced many buyers to request extensions on their bank grace periods, resulting in added interest payments and increased financial pressure.

There are homes that, according to contract, should have been completed within a specified timeframe, yet in reality, little to NO visible progress has been made. There are also property owners who have fully paid for their construction phases but work repeatedly stops due to lack of materials or absence of workers.

This situation has caused severe financial hardship for the buyers. Furthermore, according to several property owners, the directors of Able Realty are not fulfilling their obligations and, in some cases, have threatened that owners that they should not continue waiting if they choose to seek legal aid or consult an attorney.

Some families are already paying both a mortgage and rent at the same time, which is an enormous financial burden. According to their accounts, they regularly call and attempt to communicate with Able Realty, but receive no concrete solutions, Instead, they are met with intimidating treatment, and see no meaningful action toward completing the homes. This situation is breaking many families both emotionally and financially, forcing them to cope with a burden that is becoming increasingly unsustainable.

Additionally, due to the astronomical price of land in Aruba, many families cannot afford to end their current contracts and start over. Land has become practically unaffordable, placing buyers in a highly vulnerable position. According to their testimonies, Able Realty is using this situation to threaten and intimidate clients, knowing that many of them have no realistic alternative.

We are currently seeking more landowners within the project to come together so that we can unite and pursue our rights collectively. Nobody knows what Able is doing with the money.

In my case, I paid Awg 72.000 at the start of December for phase two of my construction. It’s still a long way from being done. Same with countless others. Able Realty is not providing answers, deflecting questions, and making excuses about shortage of materials. In fact, construction workers are not being paid and thus they are not showing up to work.

It has been very stressful. Will banks grant added grace periods? When the extensions expire, with mortgage and rent payments, families won’t have food on the table. We have been waiting since 2020.

FYI: At first glance, Able Realty, active since 1988, looked reliable since it has been involved in a number of seemingly successful projects. Able Realty presents itself as a family-owned real estate firm, buying, selling, and marketing properties and also developing residential projects.

The Minister of Tourism distributed a USB stick to a few entities last week, which contained his Draft Tourism Policy, for review.

His plan is to arrange one-on-one meetings for feedback and then hold a joint dialogue afterwards.

One of my readers forwarded the document to me.

In one word: Disappointing.

It does not address any of the concerns expressed by the community.

The document starts promisingly stating that for years GOA believed that Aruba’s success story was simple: more tourists, more prosperity. But in recent years, at least since 2018, reality tells a more complicated story, and with the draft of Aruba at a Tourism Crossroads, From Volume to Value, From Growth to Capability, Policy White Paper 2026 – 2031, GOA is responding with what they call a policy shift.

The document states that between 2019 and 2024, visitor arrivals grew by 27 percent, which is impressive on the surface, but when you take inflation into consideration, real tourism receipts grew by only 13 percent. In other words, the island welcomed far more people while earning proportionally less from each of them. The system was expanding, but not deepening.

That gap — arrivals growing at more than twice the pace of real income — is what Aruba’s new Draft Tourism Policy (2026–2031) is attempting to close with something they call the Proportional Rule, which says that for every 1 percent increase in visitor arrivals, real tourism receipts must grow by at least 2 percent.

Instead of counting butts in beds, Aruba will measure value – income per visitor, productivity per worker, spending per cruise passenger.

It means that airlines, hotel developers, and cruise operators will need to demonstrate that their growth plans deepen Aruba’s economic returns, not just its foot traffic.

The document recognizes that for many tourism-dependent islands growth outpaces a community’s capacity to absorb it, while it erodes the very things that made the destination worth visiting, such as congestion, housing unaffordability, overstretched infrastructure, stressed coral reefs — these are not just inconveniences. They are signals of a system under strain.

So far so good, we agree.

But the fixes suggested in the document are pitiful. WHY BOTHER?

Nothing about our burning issues – check list of burning issues at the end of blog,

INSTEAD: The minister suggests a monthly Marine Rest Day, beginning in 2028 that will give Aruba’s reefs and coastal waters structured recovery time — recognizing that healthy ecosystems are not a luxury, they are the foundation of the island’s appeal. GOOD LUCK with that.

AND…. Cruise passengers will have to spend more, an average of $150 a day by 2031. They now spend a measly $130.

AND… At least 25 percent of cruise calls will be redirected to San Nicolas, easing congestion in Oranjestad, and broadening economic benefits across the island.

That is it. Nada mas. That is all folks.

Obviously, I completely agree that Aruba desperately needs to adjust who we are attracting to the island, and we must focus on tourists who will spend more. The fact that cruise ship passengers spend an average of $130 per day to me is an obvious reason to CUT the number of cruise ships coming here by at least half. The fact that they are hoping to raise that average spend to only $150 is sad. Actually, a sad missed opportunity.

Cruise ship passengers must spend considerably higher amounts than that, to start offsetting the wear and tear cause by their visit. Considering how much cruise passengers spend on UTV tours, proves that an enormous number, the other half, spends almost zero while they are here.

GOA must be honest about the limits of scale and enforce discipline before we have a full-blown crisis. Growth does not mean arrivals, growth means getting more money and exploiting the island less.

List of burning issues:

Detailed Beach Policy – including permits and beach rules.

Strengthening Regulatory Framework — GOA promised to establish an entity responsible for issuing permits especially for alternative accommodations, to ensure tax compliance and more.

Market Restrictions for Substantial Growth — halt construction of new projects, hotels, condominiums, and apartment complexes.

Addressing Security & Social Challenges — Resolve excessive youth loitering in hotel areas,

Minimizing Noise Disturbances for Hotels –Setting limits to night life operators, honking party busses and backfiring caravans of motorcycles.

Solutions for Taxi Shortages.

Sustainability and Environmental Strategies — including AWSS Initiative compliance, and UTV Exit Strategy Implementation:

Road maintenance,

Alternative beach locations for cruise ship passenger.

Labor shortage.

We would like to hear suggestions in the Aruba at a Tourism Crossroads, From Volume to Value, From Growth to Capability, Policy White Paper 2026 – 2031.

Rising Shipping Costs Could Drive Up Food Prices – not just food prices.

A recent notice from shipping company King Ocean Services, announced substantial increases in bunker surcharges on cargo shipments between United States ports and the Caribbean beginning April 12, 2026.

That means that food will get more expensive!

A few days ago, a well meaning media colleague sent me a link to a news item from September 2025, touting the establishment of an investment fund to drive growth and development under the name Invest in Aruba, she thought we were saving 60 million under HOFA, Dutch financial supervision, and maybe it was reasonable to think that investment in coming.

I circulated the Invest in Aruba materials among friends who are better equipped to deal with such complex topics, and received two responses, one short and entertaining, the other lengthy and well thought out.

The short and entertaining one: It’s a dream. Mike Eman should have been the Prime Minister of Dubai or an oil producing rich country. There are no checks and balances here so millions can be pissed away.

The lengthy and well thought out, by a another reader.

In September 2025, the Government of Aruba announced plans to establish an Investment Fund, a financial mechanism intended to support strategic development projects that strengthen the island’s long-term economic resilience.

 According to the official announcement, the fund is a priority in the Government Program 2025–2028, and starting in 2026, the government plans to allocate AWG 50 million a year through the national budget to finance strategic development projects.

The proposed fund, expected to begin in 2026, would allocate approximately 50 million Aruban florins per year to finance projects such as urban revitalization in Oranjestad and San Nicolas, neighborhood development, education and social housing, energy transition initiatives, senior care facilities, and the redevelopment of the refinery site. The intention is clear: accelerate investments that improve infrastructure, support communities, and help diversify Aruba’s economy.

The government presents the fund as a tool to support sustainable growth, strengthen the investment climate, and give private-sector and international investors greater confidence.

Investment funds are complex instruments, and their success depends on the rules, transparency, and oversight that govern them. When well designed, they can become powerful tools for national development. When poorly designed, they can easily become little more than public spending vehicles with weak oversight.

A national investment fund is, in essence, a pool of public money set aside for long-term development projects. Even when financed through annual public allocations, such a fund is intended to support multi-year priorities. These projects often take years to prepare, execute, and complete, making them difficult to fund properly through the annual budget cycle.

For Aruba, the timing of this proposal is not accidental. The island’s economy has grown strongly in recent years, largely driven by tourism. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Aruba’s real GDP grew approximately 8.9 percent in 2023 and 7.6 percent in 2024, reflecting the strong recovery of the tourism sector after the pandemic. The proposal also comes at a time when Aruba’s public finances have improved significantly, with recent fiscal surpluses and a declining debt ratio creating more room for long-term policy planning. However, the IMF also notes that economic growth is expected to moderate as tourism capacity stabilizes and the economy approaches its structural limits. Several pressures are already visible, including strain on infrastructure, labor shortages, and rising housing costs.

That is why diversification matters. Aruba has benefited enormously from tourism, but relying too heavily on one dominant sector creates vulnerability. External shocks such as global recessions, pandemics, or geopolitical disruptions can quickly affect national income, employment, and public finances. Strategic investment can help Aruba strengthen other parts of the economy and build a more resilient future.

Aruba is not starting from zero. The island has already worked with special-purpose public funds before, and those earlier experiences matter. One example was the Fondo Desaroyo Aruba (FDA), which financed multi-year development projects under the Aruba-Netherlands cooperation framework. Aruba has also used government-run earmarked budget funds for specific public purposes, such as infrastructure and tourism-related spending. These earlier experiences show that the real issue is not whether a fund sounds useful on paper, but whether it is legally protected, transparently managed, professionally supervised, and kept faithful to its original purpose over time. Aruba’s own history suggests that once those safeguards weaken, funds can lose clarity, continuity, and public trust.

It is also important to distinguish between the two fund models Aruba already knows. The FDA was closer to a separately structured development fund with an independent foundation-style governance model, rather than an ordinary ministry budget line. By contrast, Aruba’s other earmarked funds were government-run budget funds operating inside the public budget system and therefore more directly tied to annual political and budget decisions. Based on how the current proposal is described, namely that the government plans to allocate AWG 50 million per year through the national budget, this new National Investment Fund appears to be much closer to the government-run budget fund model than to the more independent FDA model. That distinction is crucial because a government-run fund can be useful only if the legal framework, oversight, reporting, and protection against political redirection are exceptionally strong.

Equally important is continuity. A fund that depends on the goodwill of each successive government is not a fund but simply a budget line. For the National Investment Fund to deliver on its promise, the annual AWG 50 million allocation must be legally mandated rather than left to political discretion. Governments change, and priorities shift. Without a binding legal obligation to fund it consistently year after year, the entire framework is only as strong as the next election cycle. Any legislation establishing this fund must therefore include a clear and enforceable funding commitment that no future government can quietly abandon. At the same time, the legislation should include a clearly defined hardship provision that allows for a temporary reduction or suspension of the annual contribution during periods of genuine fiscal crisis, provided that such a decision requires a formal parliamentary vote, a public explanation, and a binding commitment to resume full funding once conditions improve. This ensures the legal obligation remains intact while giving the government a structured, transparent way to respond to exceptional circumstances without simply walking away from the fund.

That risk becomes even more important if the fund is structured primarily as a government-run budget vehicle.               In that case, the fund can become more vulnerable to political patronage, favoritism, the direction of contracts or financing toward connected individuals or groups, and the gradual diversion of resources from their original purposes. In a small society like Aruba, where political, business, and personal networks often overlap, that is not a minor concern. It is precisely why the legal framework must include strict eligibility rules, independent decision-making, conflict-of-interest protections, procurement transparency, and clear limits on how the money may be used.

Other island economies offer useful lessons. Because small islands often depend heavily on a narrow economic base, well-managed investment or trust funds can provide stability, support long-term planning, and reduce vulnerability to outside shocks.

A few examples illustrate the point.

Timor-Leste, an island nation in Southeast Asia located north of Australia, created its Petroleum Fund in 2005 to manage oil and gas revenues for long-term national development. The fund operates under internationally recognized transparency standards, invests for the future, and publishes detailed annual reports on its investments.

In the Caribbean, Trinidad and Tobago’s Heritage and Stabilization Fund is one of the most relevant examples. Established in 2007, the fund was designed to manage excess revenues generated from oil and natural gas production. The fund helps stabilize government finances when energy prices fall and preserves national wealth for future generations. The fund publishes detailed reports and operates under clear governance rules, helping maintain transparency and public trust.

These examples demonstrate that national investment funds can be powerful tools for economic stability and development when they operate under strong governance frameworks.

But successful examples tell only half the story. There are failures as well, and they are just as important. One of the clearest warnings comes from Nauru, a small island nation in the Pacific Ocean. During the 1970s and 1980s, the Nauru Phosphate Royalties Trust accumulated enormous wealth from phosphate mining, but poor investment decisions, weak transparency, and mismanagement eventually drained the fund. Once the phosphate resources were exhausted, the country was left in serious financial difficulty. The lesson is clear: the success of an investment fund depends less on the amount of capital it starts with and more on the strength of its governance and oversight.

That concern is especially relevant in a small-island economy like Aruba’s, where political, business, and social networks are often closely interconnected. In that environment, institutional safeguards are not optional. They are essential to ensure that project selection, contracting, and funding decisions are made based on objective national priorities rather than on relationships or influence.

International best practices generally recommend several safeguards:

These safeguards help ensure that investment decisions remain focused on national development priorities rather than short-term political interests.

If Aruba gets the structure right, the proposed National Investment Fund could become an important tool for addressing the island’s needs. It could help modernize infrastructure, improve housing availability, strengthen energy resilience, and support new sectors of the economy. It could also reinforce Aruba’s evolving high-value, low-impact tourism strategy by helping the island pursue stronger economic returns while reducing pressure on land, infrastructure, and the environment.

The real issue is not whether Aruba should create an investment fund. Many countries and island economies have already done so. The real issue is whether Aruba will build a framework strong enough to make the fund credible, effective, and accountable. If transparency, professional management, independent oversight, and clear legal rules are built in from the start, the fund could become a serious catalyst for Aruba’s long-term development.