Because of a strange concept called work I missed some of the TeleNovela in parliament yesterday, then watched in the afternoon, got despondent, and had to rush to the beach to wash all that bad juju off.
But I am here this morning, happy to report on the most watched television event of the season, the extraordinary parliamentary meeting attempting the kick Minister Marisol Lopez Tromp out of government, and remove her Desaroyo Teritorial, Infrastructura y Medio Ambiente portfolio, or rather re-possess it.
The meeting opened 30 minutes late.
Parliamentarians have 20 minutes to so-called ask questions, in reality they just use the time to waste our time. They go on forever, loving the sound of their voices, with some exceptions.
Parliamentarian Daphne Cesareo-Lejuez, spoke first, and raised the bar high. She was well-prepared, and managed to ask what’s the fuss in technical, educated terms. She wanted to gain clarity about the legal basis for the ‘coalition crisis.’
Parliamentarian Maduro and Howell rhapsodized from the pulpit, going on and on about party values and principles, nothing specific just the usual hogwash. Howell escalated the tone of discussion when he uttered a menace at the end of his litany, GOA will fall if she doesn’t go!
Then we enjoyed a few bathroom breaks. #prostate. They must all have weak bladders.
I thought parliamentarian Mike De Meza was funny in his Criollo style, asking what’s the problem, what’s the rush, why did we have to come back from vacation, what was so detrimental to the state of Aruba affairs, that the minister had to fly back from the Netherlands. I chuckled. He ridiculed POR’s poor arguments.
Parliamentarian Arthur Dowers drizzled legalese, he plodded on and on, then a few others pontificated, Ricardo Croes jumped up and down, hollering self-righteously – he is right, everyone else is wrong, speaking about himself in the third person.
Then the Lady in Red took to the stage. I missed it, but I was there at 2:45 when the session resumed. As expected she gave a formidable performance, she is a fluent speaker, and she was fueled by pure outrage. She had documents to back up all her claims and she railroaded, pulverized, and destroyed all accusations and allegations.
But what she said was tragic.
There is systemic deep-rooted dysfunction EVERYWHERE, total lack of procedural process in every document, contract and/or agreement. All bills inflated and overpriced.
While she added zero people to her department and made sure expenses are cut, she found ghosts on the payroll, people she never saw, and doesn’t know, collecting fat salaries and nowhere to be seen.
We have big problems, she reiterated, that have been investigated many times in the past but left untreated and kept festering: FCCA, Interbank, the homes in the colony.
Here she got pissed: How is it possible that elitist few have access to prime locations at Seroe Colorado, and ordinary people don’t. She was shaming her audience.
Every paper she found, she reported, required an investigation.
And what did she get for her diligence?
Marisol is not a team-player. She is a traitor. She doesn’t play by the rules. She doesn’t understand how we operate here. She doesn’t cooperate.
And consequently an extraordinary meeting is called to kick her out of government, and remove her Desaroyo Teritorial, Infrastructura y Medio Ambiente portfolio, or rather re-possess it.
AND, she told the MinPres. The MinPres, absent this week recuperating from a small medical procedure was informed of all the bodies, found in closets at Serlimar and DIP.
And the former minister who so-called retired from politics, who was the subject of a legal home-invasion on Dia di San Juan, the heart of the Flamingo case, was brought back into the fold, as the committee chair for building permits, installed by the MinJust.
The Lady in Red forged on, scandal after scandal. The heart of the economy, she said, plagued with internal issues, they can let her go, but the problem will remain!
POR greatly underestimated the Lady in Red. It was a mistake to try to bring her down, because her slash and burn response earned her the respect of her people.
She emerged stronger.
Our house is in dire need of housekeeping. She was crucified for using her broom for a cleanup. The MinPres knew, but in the name of the coalition, kept her peace. L
It was fun to see parliamentarian Howell jump when his family’s fat contract was mention, incriminating himself as the beneficiary of substantial amounts.
What’s now? Will MinJust resign? He lost the battle and the war. Our Minister in Washington, could become his replacement? POR as a party was gravely injured by the Telenovela.
Does the PG watch TV?
