WILLEMSTAD – Opposition party PAR is drawing attention to the situation of the Sentro Bario Otrobanda (SBO) in a motion. The party wants the government to reach an agreement with the social housing foundation Fundashon Kas Popular (FKP) for rent forgiveness, allowing the community center to remain in its current location.

The motion argues that the community center has had several discussions with FKP. According to PAR, SBO does not engage in profit-making activities, making it unable to afford rent.

SBO owes FKP 23 years of overdue rent. In 1992, SBO and FKP entered into an agreement to lease the property. SBO is supposed to pay FKP 2,800 guilders in rent per month. However, SBO has never paid the rent and did not include the agreement in its records.

In February 2023, FKP sent SBO a demand for overdue rent amounting to 770,000 guilders. As SBO did not pay the claim, FKP took SBO to court to terminate the lease, instruct SBO to vacate the premises within six months, and pay the overdue rent. The court determined that FKP can only collect rent for the last 5 years, reducing the debt by more than 600,000 guilders. However, SBO must still cover FKP’s legal costs.

If evicted, SBO would not be able to continue its activities. Therefore, the non-profit organization appealed to the government to take the situation seriously and work towards a solution. According to the organization, the community center in Otrobanda is the only one that has to pay rent, while the other community centers on the island are located in government buildings.

The PAR motion has reportedly not been adopted yet.

Bron: Curacao Chronicle