Bloem calls backlash to his CBCS nomination “political,” cites past Ministerial precedent

GREAT BAY--Attorney Jairo Bloem, nominated by the Government of St. Maarten for Chairperson of the Supervisory Board of the Central Bank of Curaçao and St. Maarten, said the uproar surrounding his candidacy is politically driven. The Council of Ministers has approved the advice for his conditional nomination, formal appointment still requires the joint process between Curaçao and St. Maarten.

Speaking on the Breakfast Lounge with Lady Grace, Bloem characterized the pushback as a political ploy by the opposition in Parliament. He further asserted that former Finance Minister and now MP Ardwell Irion had previously “indicated in writing” that he would identify his own candidate for the chairmanship rather than rely solely on a Supervisory Board recommendation. "So he not only bypassed, he said he would look for his own candidate," Bloem said. Bloem presented this as precedent for ministerial discretion at the nomination stage.

𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬, 𝐀𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞 𝟐𝟓, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭

Bloem outlined the three step process as he understands it: the Supervisory Board recommends, the Finance Ministers nominate, and the countries jointly appoint by national decree. He argued the recommendation is not binding, pointing to what he says were letters in 2011 from both Finance Ministers stating they would seek a chair candidate themselves. He also referenced the August 23, 2021 decision of the Joint Court of Justice urging the Ministers to proceed to a joint nomination, which he interprets as room for ministerial action beyond a single recommended name.

Bloem said that since taking office, the current Minister of Finance, Marinka Gumbs, twice wrote the Supervisory Board, in December 2024 and January 2025, requesting updated recommendations. He stated that no formal recommendation was submitted, while several board members continue to sit on temporary appointments and some have exceeded the maximum eight year tenure if measured cumulatively. He added that it has been St. Maarten’s turn to designate the chair since 2021 and that prolonged vacancy undermines governance.

For clarity, Bloem argued that several Supervisory Board members remain in place on temporary Court of Appeals appointments because no formal recommendations have been advanced to complete their definitive appointments. In his view, the Board’s failure to submit recommendations creates a situation where members can effectively stay on indefinitely, either by inaction or by proposing candidates who are unlikely to be appointed. "You create a situation that you can sit there for perpetuity," he said. He added that this risks turning temporary seats into near permanent ones, even though the charter limits total tenure to a maximum of eight years.

“From we know for a fact that during the the the National Alliance/UP Government, no one was nominated and no one was appointed. Then you had the Marcelina one cabinet that became demissionaire very fast. Logically, a demissionaire government cannot pick up a subject that it did not handle itself before. Then we get the Mercelina II government when the Honorable Minister Marinka Gumbs picked it up. It is not that it did not happen in a month or week two. It did not happen in four years and a month," Bloem said.

Contradictory however, in a written statement, the CBCS Supervisory Board said it did not get the opportunity to discuss nominations, that persons were selected for the chair position without the Board’s input, and that the Minister of Finance has no formal mandate to select a chair candidate in the absence of a Supervisory Board recommendation supported by the required majority. The Board also urged the formal appointment of vetted board members who passed screening earlier this year, saying these appointments are needed to ensure effective functioning. The Board’s position directly contests the interpretation advanced by the Minister and by Bloem regarding the scope of ministerial discretion at the nomination stage.

The legal and procedural core of the dispute centers on Article 25 of the CBCS Charter. Several MPs and critics argue the Ministers can only proceed to a joint nomination following a Supervisory Board recommendation supported by five sixths, while the Government of Sint Maarten has framed its step as a conditional nomination pending screening and joint decree, and Bloem argues past practice shows ministers can act if recommendations are not forthcoming. During recent Question Hour, the Minister of Finance also confirmed that no appointment has been made and that any appointment requires the joint decree and a clean screening.

𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭

Bloem said he did not actively pursue the role. According to his account, the Minister of Finance approached him in January to gauge his willingness, he told her he would consider, and after follow up “one to two months ago” he agreed to be put forward. Bloem served on the CBCS Supervisory Board from 2011 to 2014, including a period as interim chair when Curaçao’s designated chair was absent. He described the board work as intensive, consensus driven, and largely a matter of service rather than prestige or compensation, noting that during his earlier tenure he worked “two to three hours a day” and that payment did not correspond with the effort required.

Asked about potential conflicts, Bloem acknowledged that in 2016 and 2017 he represented clients in two cases involving the Central Bank. He said those cases ended in 2018 and were unrelated to his prior tenure. He stressed that attorneys are bound by a code of conduct, that he had written to the Council of Ministers committing to abstain from any matter posing a conflict, and that other lawyers have served on the board while following the same recusal rules. “I do not believe that handling two cases years after leaving the board constitutes a conflict,” he said, adding that abstention and non participation would apply if a matter touched a client or former client.

With competing interpretations now public, further written clarifications and formal steps by the parties involved are expected. Bloem said that if confirmed he will abide by conflict rules and focus on board cohesion, if not, he respects that decision, noting, “It is not about me, it is about the institution.”

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