Shorts

ROP = SDP

I have the flu of the century so thinking is hard. But I have a few short thoughts:

I printed the ROP plan called SDP in English, Spatial Development Plan, the special policy of Aruba regarding development, adopted by national decree. It is a fat spiral bound report.

I agreed with every word. It establishes things like: Salt Spray Park, Arashi up to and including Baby Beach and Rodgers beach, and part of the reef islands south of Aruba, stating that the policy will allow extensive recreational share use, on designated paths, providing this does not affect the values and quantities of the areas.

How can you not agree??  

A document like that must be read and internalized by every developer, architect, and contractor. But will they take the time to do it? Or will Aruba Birdlife Conservation continue to have to drag them to court?

Aruba Blacklisted?!

A story circulated furiously yesterday that Aruba is back on the OECD black list for non-compliance with tax infrastructure. It was in the Amigoe di Aruba and other local papers. This is not a big story. Cool it. Due to bureaucracy, perhaps not having enough multi-taskers at legislation, and not enough focused individuals in Parliament, things take longer here, duh, some pieces of legislation are about to pass to fix that loop hole and make us lily-white.

IBIS laid to rest

I read a number of post-mortems and concluded that the island has lost its appetite for investigations. As you know IBIS was a joint effort between the local Landsrecherche and the Dutch. The local KPA got a lot of help from RST the special police task force, the detective cooperation teams. It cost a lot of money, it took a lot of time, and exhausted resources, so that in the present political landscape, I am told, there is little chance for IBIS 2.

I know a lot of us have been hoping the Netherlands will be asked to assist in further investigations, sending some anti-corruption teams to Aruba to go after a certain former minister notorious for his land deals, but with an all-time low spirit of collaboration, and with the former MinJust on the opposition benches, it ain’t happening.

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March 13, 2019
Rona Coster