The following is a summary of an Armand Hessels press-release that published today in the local media. It is an interesting piece since Armand, a retired teacher, took it upon himself to be the island’s watchdog of Good Governance, or the lack thereof, for the past 31 years, since Status Aparte.
What he is saying today is the following:
During the first week of April the local court decided to vacate eight kiosks in the Welcome Plaza next to the Oranjestad port because the permits for these businesses were handed out arbitrarily, by the outgoing MinInfra, during the last AVP government days in 2017, as farewell gifts to supporters, with total disregard to due process.
Another surprise was the DTI facility, where all of us must go to obtain a Certificate of Roadworthiness for our cars. Just a month ago, the current MinInfra informed the public that his predecessor, on election day, September 22nd, signed an agreement with a new location in Barcadera, paying Awg 67,000 a month for rent, for a smaller space, which is Awg 20,000 more expensive than the previous in Savaneta, in violation of every rule in the book. There was no public tender for the construction project, the budget was not approved. That piece of business was handed for mysterious reasons, as a gift to a local company.
Hessels continues to quote three different reports in favor of curbing this island’s hotel room proliferation yet states that at the beginning of 2018 it became clear that the former MinInfra authorized the construction of 7,000 additional new ones.
He says, it already became clear in the year 2000 that hotel room expansion has negative effects on the country, namely it stretches our carrying capacity and puts pressure on the infrastructure. During the ‘National Conference on Tourism in Aruba’, many local stakeholders opined that the sustainable long-term goal is a more balanced economic climate that would maintain the island’s culture. And with the choice between a high-rise luxury hotel and a small boutique hotel, the second will serve the community better, because large international chains demand tax holidays – just a form of subsidy thanking a global brand — while our economy is left to shoulder the cost of minimum wage imported employees.
The report ‘How far, and how fast? Population, culture and carrying capacity in Aruba,’ from 2009, written by Sam Cole and Victoria Razak of the University of Buffalo confirmed those findings and seriously warned against expansion threatening the island’s carrying capacity and the Aruban identity. In fact, that report wanted to stall development until 2045.
Also, former AVP director Arjen Alberts indicated in his analysis “Immigration-dependent extensive growth in small island tourism economies: The cases of Aruba and Sint Maarten,” that we have reached the limit of growth in the tourist industry.
And that is why in 2010 the AVP government declared a moratorium on hotel rooms, and the former MinPres announced that the Ritz Carlton would be the last hotel built.
Why then Hessels questions, contrary to economic advice and the will of the island’s residents, why did up to 7,000 new hotel room receive counterproductive permits?
Hessel concludes that in a government that exploits its job for profit, this was a golden irresistible opportunity with commissions earned on land, construction, workers’ permits and the hotel personnel that must be imported on a grand scale.
According to Hessel, at the end of 2017, a report published by General Controlership (CC) reviewed most of the infrastructure projects of the AVP government and reached the conclusion that while 1 billion was spent — most of the projects have been carried out by the MinInfra — despite the enormous sums spent there were many faults, mostly a lack of integral infrastructure planning that made it difficult to predict financial consequences. The information shared was deficient, which complicated the task of control, and the sustainability of projects came under fire due to lack of transparency.
These inappropriate and / or ineffective financial practices, put the country at big risk, Hessel concludes. And when confronted in Parliament about negative consequences of his leadership the MinInfra declared he did not give a damn, about the concerns of his fellow members of Parliament.
One the former MinInfra’ s most notorious sins was how he dispensed parcels of land without due process or regard to the rule of law. Hessels entered a number of complaints against the former MinInfra, specifically against his practice of selling land to middle people who turned around to sell the terrain for commercial exploitation. Unfortunately, much of the investigation into this matter turned impossible because documents were destroyed, which is by itself punishable by law. While Hessels wanted to investigate further and follow the money trail, he found it was frustrating.
At the end of the fairly long article Hessels suggests to follow the example of Sint Maarten that imported 50 investigator Policeman from the Netherlands to research the activities of the government, and the country. He feels it would be the right thing to do to rapidly investigate wrongdoings and to serve in a preventive function to deter the sitting government from further unlawful activities. Hessels feels the expense will be peanuts in comparison to the cost overrun of malicious practices.
www.deugdelijkbestuuraruba.org
www.harmoniAruba.org
Turibana 22, Noord, ARUBA
