emsley tromp : opening of the 2011 cfatf assessment welcome remarks by dr emsley tromp, president of the central bank of curacao and sint maarten, on the occasion of the 2011 cfatf assessment, willemstad, 22 august 2011. * * * good morning. i would like to welcome you to the central bank and at the same time express my appreciation for the commitment of cfatf over the past years to help its members combat and deter money laundering and terrorist financing. as a member of the cfatf and the fatf, we applaud the efforts of the cfatf to continuously perform evaluation of its member jurisdictions. these evaluations serve as an excellent tool for the member jurisdictions to receive an independent opinion on their aml & cft regime and take the necessary actions to further strengthen their aml & cft regime. the central bank has played an important role in the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing in our jurisdiction. since public confidence in the supervised institutions and the financial system can be easily undermined by adverse publicity as a result of the misuse of institutions by criminals for money laundering and terrorist financing purposes, as a regulatory authority, we are constantly vigilant in deterring criminals from misusing the supervised institutions for money laundering and terrorist financing purposes. the central bank has been instrumental in the drafting of several legislations governing aml and cft, including the national ordinances on the reporting of unusual transactions and national ordinance on identification when rendering services. these legislations were enacted in 1996 and lastly amended in 2009. the central bank has also issued sector - specific provisions and guidelines in the area of aml and cft for the various sectors under its supervision. these guidelines date back to 1991 and were lastly amended this year. the sector - specific provisions and guidelines have significantly increased the awareness of good compliance under the supervised institutions. as a result hereof, we have noticed that the industry is increasingly devoting more resources to combating money laundering and terrorist financing and that the compliance function has taken an even more prominent place in the supervised institutions. furthermore, the compliance programs of the supervised institutions are regularly being subjected to our review during our on - site examinations at the institutions. the aml and cft deficiencies identified during our on - site examinations are communicated to the supervised institutions and the institutions are in that respect requested to take corrective measures in a timely manner. the bank has also been instrumental in the drafting of the list of indicators that must

, it also can translate into higher productivity. in this context, the government, being an important employer, can lead by example and provide the possibility of more flexible working to the civil servants. flexible working allows female employees to better balance their work and family life. especially in the case of single mothers, flexible working can be decisive in whether to work or not. ladies and gentlemen, as i mentioned earlier, the decision of whether or not to participate in the labor market depends to a great extent on its opportunity costs. individuals balance the income from work against other sources of income or any costs involved. in this regard, the system of taxation might act as a disincentive to work. as in most countries, the second earners in married couples are taxed more heavily than single individuals, discouraging their participation. this is especially the case in the middle income groups. hence, the government should consider reforming the tax system so that it becomes more attractive for the second earner to join the labor force. for many women, the decision to participate in the labor force also depends on the availability and affordability of childcare facilities and public transportation. for example, in the tourism industry, where working hours are irregular, these two factors play an important role. in curacao, childcare is still relatively expensive and in most cases not available in the evening hours. public transportation is also a challenge for those travelling in the evening hours or from one side of the island to the other. both the government and the employers can take actions in these areas. for example, employers could provide childcare facilities to their employees, either for free or at reduced costs. the government could also stimulate employer support of childcare through tax incentives. as for public transportation, several hotels on the island provide transportation to their employees. however, i believe that government as the provider of public goods should be responsible for providing public transportation that is safe and accessible at all times. therefore, a reform of our current public transportation system also is crucial to increasing women ’ s participation in the labor force. bis central bankers ’ speeches ladies and gentlemen, with over 200 employees, the central bank of curacao and sint maarten is an important employer on the island. i can proudly say that our female staff is highly educated, reliable, and very committed to their work. for that reason, more than 50 percent of our staff is female and, over time, its share has been increasing. also, many women are