Anaesthetized, by the current spirit of lawlessness
Most of us are numb to all accidents, break-ins, and vandalism, as dished every morning in great flowery detail by the island’s media.
Coremento zigzag, chauffeur burachi, dogcatcher, ranca borchi, perde control, auto na werki, detencion masal, fiesta illegal, cap cu machete, it all sounds like fun in creole Papiamento, especially one quote from this morning, pasa un anochi den sangura drumi den cel, and by creole Papiamento I mean the casual, street-version, the more-than-slightly subversive style of crime reporting here.
I think it is the lightness of heart, the chispa, the juiciness of Papiamento, the air of tongue and cheek, that totally numbs us to whatever is happening, we are left unfeeling by the lack of a formal description of the infraction/violation, it all sounds like a game of cops and robbers to us.
Late last week we were informed that ‘Polis a topa cu droga, arma y 30 ilegal scondi den ex-Different Bar na Palm Beach.’ Thirty undocumented individuals from Columbia and Venezuela were living in an abandoned Chine restaurant compound!!!! Drugs??? Arms??? On Palm Beach!!!
And no one raised an eyebrow.
It was just a news item among many others.
(Thirteen out of fifteen news items described beatings, break-ins, violence and general unacceptable illegal behavior, that morning.)
The undocumented party was apparently arrested, and brought to the GNC compound where five of them took the ceiling apart and dismantled the roof, running to freedom across the airport runway, where the tower noticed suspicious activity, and reported it to the authorities, at which point ALL resources from ALL districts were mobilized for a two-hour search, two fugitives found, three still at large.
It was just one news item among many others. No one raised an eye brow.
Just like education, and social care, law enforcement in underfunded and understaffed, and undertrained and over its head!
The GNC facility at the back of the airport — Trudy Hassel domain, made headlines in recent months, as detainees have more than once voiced protests over inadequate services, peppered by human rights violations, cramped spaces, and disrespectful handling.
(The Daily Herald just reported that there is a majority support in The Hague, to take over the St Maarten jail for a five-year period, good for them, it will radically improve the situation there. Can we also ask them to take over the subpar GNC facility?)
As I peruse the menu of accidents again, this morning, I know there is something wrong with the phenomenon of drinking at bars and beaches and just driving away.
What happened to the Police weekend traffic-control activity? Where is the breathalyzer? Years ago there were no supplies. Then there were supplies, but they needed training, then it seemed the law was not in order, to facilitate testing. And then nobody talked about it anymore. And nothing happened.
I already gave you the list last week, of our totally ignored laws, which are in need of serious enforcement: Dog Laws, Litter Laws, Child Seat Laws, Tax Laws, Tinted Window Laws, RHD Car laws, Green Areas Protection laws, Birdlife Protection Laws, Talking-On-Cell-Phones-While-Driving Laws, Driving Under Influence Laws, Child Protection Laws, and a million other issues we avoid managing.
Why is the MinJust protecting spear fishermen who are violating laws and international treaties? Defending tinted glass car windows which are clearly a safety hazard and right hand drives?
The pandemic brought out the best and the worst in people, and the current spirit of lawlessness is the worst!
GOA burnt through 600M in the past four months, and we have yet to see ONE structural change to benefit the bottom line.
During that time, GOA’s expenses remained the same.
It continues to hire.
Unions are still whining, still struggling to reduce AZV costs, still dillydallying with the reduction of executive salaries in state-owned companies, dragging heels, taking forever.
But now the Dutch announced a deadline, Sept 1st.
And we are opening our borders to tourism from the USA, without any information concerning public health issues related to our emergency preparedness. But that’s another column, it would have been nice to wait until September, but we’re broke, so, Inshallahu, god willing, it will all work out. Aruba has always been lucky that way.
During a GOA press conference Monday morning MinPres announced she received a 218-page document from the Netherlands late last week, with 18 conditions for continued financial aid to the island.
Before I tell you how she reacted, I will tell you what Jim Hepple said, he must be the only person on Aruba to regularly read the Central Bank Reports. Then he sends us *CliffsNotes. Thank you.
He said: “Government of Aruba sees its income fall by 67% in May. The Government of Aruba’s total income fell by 133 million florins (by 67%) in May of 2020. This was primarily due to a 57% drop in income tax (down by 52 million florins), and a 97% drop in non-tax revenues (down by 42 million florins) when compared with May 2019. Non-tax revenues are primarily dividends paid to the Government.”
“Through the first five months of 2020 the Government’s total income has fallen by 28.2%, that is by 168 million florins, from 597 million florins in 2019 to 428 million florins this year.”
“The Government’s total annual income in 2019 was 1,402,400,000 florins. If the trend continues through the balance of the year, the Government could see a decline of between 300 – 400 million florins in total income.”
So now you have the picture, the background, if your income had fallen 67%, and some insanely generous benefactor offered to help you, would you say anything else but THANK YOU! I hope I can repay the favor one day?
The Dutch must have studied the Bible, and they probably envisioned a scene similar to the one in Exodus 24:3 “When Moses came – down mount Sinai – and told the people all the words and ordinances of the LORD, they all responded with one voice: “All the words that the LORD has spoken, we will do.”
But not in arrogant Aruba.
Here the Department of Legislation and Legal Affairs together with the Department of Finance got to read the words and ordinances first. And the MinPres said she was waiting for their CliffsNotes.
Her reaction was mild, no shin kicking, see Rocco Tjong, no insults, see MinFec, she understands the dire situation.
While she couldn’t give much detail, she did say the document covered CHANGES in education, finances and justice, besides supervision.
We’re talking about the THIRD cash injection of 204M that would get the government over the hump in July, August and September. Including GOA salaries, and expenses, AOV, AWW, APFA pensions and AZV, FASE payments, salary subsidies. Our financial supervisors will discontinue the support beyond September, because then we should be able to stand on our feet!
The MinFec’s press release airing her views was hard to read, taking ZERO responsibility, ZERO accountability for being part of the system that led this country to ruin, with ZERO respect for the country that feels obliged to save us.
MinFec wrote she feels humiliated, colonised, as if she cannot govern, and that the Netherlands wears a punishing face, out to benefit from Aruba’s situation. She likened the conditions imposed on Aruba to those imposed on Germany at the end of WWI. It was hard to read her propaganda.
GOA humiliated itself, and bankrupt this country, and the Dutch are bailing us out, all you should say is thank you and cut your expenses, once and for all.
The Dutch are expecting a do or die, by Friday!
*CliffsNotes are a shortcut, summary, all high school students that are too lazy to read the actual books, read the summaries, CliffsNotes
Mark, zo kunnen we toch niet ademen
I had a tourista riba mi isla day yesterday, it was pure magic, we have a wonderful thing going here!
Then at O’Neil’s Caribbean Kitchen in San Nicolas, I saw long-time union leader Anselmo Pontilius having lunch with economist Ben Marapin and I longed to become a fly in their curry, I know what they were talking about, they were discussing flexible labor laws, and Anselmo, the sly fox, picked the right brains to pick.
If we had more flexible labor laws, employers would be encouraged to hire and create more opportunities for part-timers, and full timers, liberated from fear of getting stuck with a surplus of people, in the off-season, for example.
It’s great that they are talking, because among 18 conditions of the famous kingdom document sent to the MinPres, is one regarding the layoff of 1,500 GOA employees.
The 200plus page confidential document outlined 18 conditions, for continued financial aid to the island. In her response letter the MinPres protested the confidential nature of the document, she wanted to disclose its damning content to all stakeholders, unions, parliamentarians, etc., and share the fatal burden of decision with them.
Her second point of discussion was the urgency: It took the island 34 years to dig itself into a gargantuan economic hole, and the kingdom wanted an answer, a yes, in just four days. No por.
In her last paragraph she evoked a famous line:” Mark, zo kunnen we toch niet ademen.” Mark – Rutte, the Dutch Prime Minister – we cannot breathe this way, quoting American George Floyd and Aruban Mitch Henriquez, who met a similar fate in the Netherlands. The MinPres was asking for more time.
I found the comment smart, because we all understand exactly what she is saying regarding the pressure applied, but some of my friends found it uncool, especially when followed by ‘kind regards’ at the end of her two-page solicitation.
About letting 1,500 GOA employees go:
We had a good laugh last evening when we envisioned some of the laid off Casino Inspectors, for example, relieved of their passive, laid-back government jobs, filling in an application for work at the Bucuti and Tara Beach Resort, and stating during their interview with owner Ewald Biemans that they are accustomed to reading their Diario, and smoking two cigarettes with their coffee, first thing in the morning, just to get going.
That useless department, with all due respect, if dissolved, has totally unskilled workers, hired for reasons of nepotism and political favoritism, and their transition into the private sector will be difficult.
So how do you innovate, transform and face the future with vision and creativity surrounded by 1,500 low-skilled and entitled individuals which must be motivated, spruced up and re-educated. That’s a huge job by itself.
The second piece of secretive info leaked is a 12.5% tax to replace BBO and/or invoerrechten. There are two ways of collecting it, like a BBO, at the point of sale, and then you ELIMINATE import duties, tariffs. Or as Import Duties, at the port of entry and eliminate BBO etc. I see a lot of moaning going on, online, but GOA cannot keep all taxes, it will have to eliminate a few if it raises the rate to 12.5%.
I think the BBO route is safe. The infrastructure is in place; we all know how to do it. The invoerrechten route is murky, because then Customs becomes super important and they have to stay awake and check all invoices, verify amounts and veracity, and that’s a bit over their heads. Customs in Aruba isn’t exactly known for its diligence and productivity and we will be leaving too much up to them. I vote for BBO.
Third condition revealed raised the age of retirement to 67 which alleviate a bit of the pressure on the pension fund.
More will be revealed today!!
Bankrupt
Did you watch the Summit yesterday? It was an interesting show, and thank you for organizing and televising it, we saw union leaders who have received their salaries talk about respect, because they do not feel the burn, while the representatives of AHATA, ATSA, and the Aruba Food & Beverage Association put the real issue on the table because they all feel the heat, on the verge of bankruptcy.
The Aruba Hotel & Tourism Association politely reminded GOA that the crisis started LONG before the Covid19 outbreak.
(National debt increases:
Gabinete Henny Eman I = Awg 617.000.000
Gabinete Nelson Oduber 1 & 2 = Awg 552.000.000
Gabinete Henny Eman 2 & 3 = Awg 336.000.000
Gabinete Nelson Oduber 3 & 4 = Awg 725.000.000
Gabinete Mike Eman 1& 2 = Awg 1,929.000.000
Gabinete Wever Croes 1 = Awg 127.000.000
Proyectonan PPP di Gabinete Mike Eman = Awg 1,443.000.000
National Debt Awg 5,729.000.000
Total AVP Awg 4,325.000.000 = 75% / MEP Awg 1,404.000.000 = 25%)
And according to the department of finance we need another 500M this year, that is Awg 5.000.000 florin, which increases the total debt beyond Awg 5,000.000.000, that’s 5 billion.
And that GOA promised to fix things, tax reform, labor reform, cut overhead but did not move on any of the issues, and while GOA seems to acknowledge that supervision will be required and that we do not have options other than seeking assistance from the Netherlands, is it frozen, stuck, slow to react and unchanging. (that’s my interpretation of what AHATA said)
AHATA in the morning and then RAIZ in the afternoon declared that without seeing the official document, specific feedback cannot be given, and they hoped we do get the opportunity to review it.
But in the meantime, politicians must listen to the public in general instead of only to their entourage of paid yes men/women cousins, nephews and fanatical following. It is time to make practical decisions and not instigate and divide the community with statements based on emotion and pride or partial information.
It’s time to think of the wellbeing of the country rather than the next election. We need to be responsible and not emotional. Supervision will be unavoidable and necessary.
Doctor: You know you show signs of severe Diabetes, your blood pressure is high, your circulation poor, it’s time you cut sugar out of your diet, exercise more, and basically change your lifestyle if you wanna live, your body shows many signs of distress and your overweight prevents you from breathing.
Patient: You mean give up Coca Cola? And coffee full house, and bolo di manteca and two pastechi for breakfast. I cannot, really, it isn’t fair to ask me to sacrifice everything I love. A man has the right to enjoy life a little bit.
So basically that has been the scenario for many years, the experts told us to go on a diet, and we refused, and consumed and consumed, until our legs fell off. Ooops. Not our fault.
The only cure for diabetes, what totally reverses it, is fasting. Less consumption. Tighten the belt, go on a diet, don’t take any medicine, just zip it, stay away from food, reduce everything, from personnel to expenses. Say welcome to austerity!
The economy will take a long time to recover and we will need the financial assistance in the meantime. Along with that assistance there will be conditions and the need for supervision, but we can help ourselves by accepting our own responsibility for the disaster.
Reality Check
REALITY CHECK, according to AHATA, recovery will take time.
The Aruba Hotel & Tourism Association (AHATA), accumulates the occupancy, and pricing figures of all hotels, monthly, and shares them with membership, media and GOA. This is what the figures look like, following three full months without tourists, concluding the first six months of 2020:
Occupancy: It dropped 50.6% in comparison to the same period of time in 2019, reaching an average of 35.3% occupancy per month, for the past 6 months. We had three rich months, and three lean ones, and the average reflects it.
AHATA also reported that the Average Daily Rate Per Occupied Room and the Revenue Per Occupied Room, mirror three months of zero income.
With the island officially open for business, projected occupancy for July is 9%, however, the hotels report they are receiving cancellations continuously. Expectations for December? A gradual increase in hotel room occupancy to 40% at the end of the year.
Recovery will take time, AHATA states, and while expenses remain high, the level of companies’ revenue dependent on tourism, will stay low.
It is important to realize that the economic crisis is still ahead of us, creating the need for Kingdom financial support, which will keep as many companies alive, and maintain employment in our community.
Without kingdom salary subsidies in the coming months, many businesses will go bankrupt resulting in massive unemployment.
AHATA’s message was timely and appropriate, and was published on the eve of the MinPres’ most important meeting in the Netherlands – meeting of the Kingdom Council of Ministers on Friday July 10th, together with Prime Ministers of Curacao and St. Maarten – talking to officials about the conditions attached to a 204M florin loan, covering GOA expenses in the next 3 months.
AHATA urged the MinPres to accept stricter financial supervision, though it confirmed that without seeing the official document, specific feedback cannot be given, and AHATA hoped to get the opportunity to review it, in its entirety. GOA is not opposed to financial supervision, however does not accept the imposition of the supervision under Kingdom law (RFT). In favors maintaining the supervision under Aruban law.
Some elements of the 18 conditions in the Netherlands document:
The new supervisory entity would be for a 7-year period and managed by 3 Dutch experts yet to be appointed.
Pension age to be increased to 67
BTW tax of 12.5% (AHATA note: replacing BBO).
Additional conditions for the education, health and judicial systems
The new supervisory entity will be in charge of investment loans for the island to invest in developing the economy.
GOA met with stakeholders yesterday:
Stakeholders expressed need to see the complete document (which is currently classified as secret). Reforms in various areas have been requested by stakeholders for a long time prior to COVID.
Results from the political summit: All political party leaders agreed to not accept the conditions imposed by The Netherlands and rejected how it was handled.
From a recent Press Conference
The Minister of Health and Tourism announced that the border opens to U.S. on July 10th, and Aruba has taken the necessary steps to mitigate the situation based on WHO and its Dutch contemporary, RIVM, recommendations.
GOA is satisfied with the process at the airport from past days.
The Department of Public Health task force will continue to enforce protocols at businesses.
The hospital has been cleared of asbestos. By Sunday it will be back to normal and at full capacity (ICU capacity of 33 beds).
There is no local transmission at moment; Just 4 active cases were imported.
Borders with Bonaire and Curacao will remain open. Both islands or evaluating Aruba’s situation as Aruba opens to USA.
USA opening will be gradual; the following passengers are expected to arrive this weekend (adhering to entry requirement protocols):
Friday: 700 visitors from the USA
Saturday: 1,400 visitors (USA & Europe, 200 passengers)
Sunday: 700 visitors from the USA
Total 2,800 visitors will arrive this weekend
The cultural event of the year, Atardi premier, at Teatro Principal, San Nicolas
We journeyed to San Nicolas last evening, had a spot of dinner at Kultura café, chased it by an excellent cappuccino, then crossed the street to meet Ineke Lampe at the theater.
We collected our tickets and filed into the auditorium, observing social distancing. I noticed a few members of parliament, members of the opposition in the audience, keeping the MinFec company at friendly distance.
We travelled through two hours of interviews, music, more music, archival clips, old fashioned commercials, and brilliant Papiamento narration with English subtitles — thank you for that, my guests said it was helpful.
The movie, by film-maker Selwyn de Wind, who has been working on it for five years, is stitched together from bits and pieces featuring Curacao musicians, family members, old TV footage, all starring Rudy Plaate, also loved ones and friends talking about his legacy.
Rudy was a musical giant who enjoyed a stellar career on the islands in the 70s, recording many albums, as many as 400 songs, helping pave his way to an iconic status. Selwyn sought Aruba’s Michael Lampe out for sound-design of his documentary.
Atardi, named after Rudy’s perhaps most famous song, recorded in 1973, in worthy of watching, but it is very long. Selwyn was in love with the materials and couldn’t bring himself to use scissors.
Other than that it is fascinating to see Curacao in the old days, the people, the clothes, the homes and gardens, the intricate family relationships.
The talented Rudy was an ‘outside child’ of an affluent merchant/entrepreneur father with a penchant for fancy cars. He lost a beloved brother at an early age. He was adored by his sisters, worshipped by his wife, his teenage sweetheart. As a popular entertainer, he was chased by women of all ages, and often succumbed to their charms. He played tennis, he gardened and farmed, he ran a green grocery, nurtured the Perlitas, a choir of young girls, recorded tons of singles and LPs, and sometime mid-life suffered from a health crisis which led to a mental breakdown, at the height of which he shot himself in the groin.
Think about it. He shot himself at the source of his pain. Accident, or death-wish, I am still pondering the question.
The movie has many tender moments, we follow the confident, almost cocky, gorgeous Caribbean music sensation, a radiant, singer/composer, bursting with creative energy, through many stages of his career from the peak of his fame and charisma, to the Atardi of his life, which tambe tin tristesa, the twighlight, his frame diminished by demensia, his eyes emptying of vitality, or’e dia ta jega su fin, ta manera un parti di nos ta bajendo y jamás nos lo bolbe mire.
What a sweetheart of a musician he was/is, a native of Curacao, now 83, recently widowed, having lost his adorable wife. That was a very touching part of the movie. Her funeral, especially the impossible moment in which Rudy helps close her coffin shut. Pure heartbreak.
The new ATARDI recorded by Michael Lampe and a few other gifted friends is finally played at the end of the movie with the rolling credits. At this point I really wanted to get up, and stretch, having stayed in my seat for so long, so the production deserves perhaps a more prominent time slot, but then again, don’t take my word for it, I never made a movie.