KRALENDIJK – While Bonaire regularly struggles with backlogs, inadequate services and major investment challenges, a vast amount of public money is simultaneously sitting unused. The earmarked reserves of the Public Entity Bonaire have grown to 85 million dollars. In addition, 20 million dollars in special grants had still not been spent by the time their funding periods expired.
This is according to the new half-year report from the Board of Financial Supervision Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba (Cft BES), which was sent to the House of Representatives on Friday. The Cft points primarily to a structural lack of implementation capacity.
The earmarked reserve consists of funds that the Island Council has already designated for specific purposes. Up to and including the 2024 annual accounts, that reserve had grown to 85 million dollars. According to the Cft, this growth is partly the result of plans that are not executed, or not executed on time. The supervisory body therefore advises Bonaire to critically assess what the money is still reserved for and to reprioritise where necessary.
Funds from the Netherlands also left unspent
The problem is not limited to Bonaire’s own reserved funds. According to the Cft, 20 million dollars in special grants had also gone unspent when the funding periods of those cash flows expired. These are funds made available by the Netherlands for specific projects or policy areas.
The fourth implementation report for 2025 also revealed that an estimated only 61 percent of planned activities had actually been carried out. The Cft now considers insufficient implementation capacity to be a structural theme in the financial supervision of Bonaire.
According to the supervisory body, the issue is not solely a shortage of staff. Stable governance, clear decision-making and the setting of clear priorities are also considered by the Board to be essential for plans to actually be implemented.
Cautious improvement in 2026
The Cft does note signs that the situation is improving this year. In the first quarter of 2026, 30 percent of the budget had been realised on the revenue side and 26 percent on the expenditure side. This is clearly better than in the same period last year.
The Cft does caution that these percentages also include commitments that have been entered into. Money that has been administratively recorded does not necessarily mean it has actually been spent.
The quality of financial reporting also improved in the second quarter. The Cft says it is working together with the new executive council and the strengthened Finance directorate to assess how this progress can be sustained. Areas where further improvement remains necessary include the accountability of special grants and financial management.
