Two days before Christmas, we were told that two suspects who previously worked for the Public Health Department, DVG, have been fired, when irregularities were discovered in two areas, missing cash paid by visitors at the airport for PCR tests, and suspicions that vaccination certificates, with QR codes, were falsified, or rather, awarded against cash.
Should we be surprised? No. Because vaccination certificates have been traded in many countries and any anti-vaxxer working for Romar Trading for example, or Bucuti & Tara Beach Resort would have happily paid cash in order to obtain a papelito that would allow him to keep his job, in compliance with company policy.
Also KLM requires a vaccination certificate, and one cannot travel to Europe without it.
Hence, a black market, fulfilling the need.
The news item was swallowed up in the holiday slush, as the number of Omicron cases sky rocketed. MinTVG denied the two suspects were related or affiliated to him, and VacunaGate was about to sink into oblivion, until Marisol Lopez Tromp, the leader of MAS, picked up the glove.
In a registered, formal inquiry to parliament, one which MinTVG MUST answer in writing, she asked all kinds of interesting questions regarding the delicious scandal.
She wanted to know who is in charge of the Aruba Health App, who runs it, who maintains it, who is responsible for the security of the information, and the integrity of reports.
In principle, it should be DVG, but in reality, the ministers often farm out Apps to tech savvy cronies operating as independent contractors.
Example: in 2018 the Ministry of Infrastructure launched a great App, Infraaruba.com where we could report environmental issues, from littering to dumping, and the cutting of trees. I loved the App. It gave me the illusion of access, and I was sure someone in the office of Infrastructure is listening. LOL
The App, it turns out, was run by JM, today, a resident of the KIA correctional institute, and when his GOA contract expired, he pulled the plug on the App, just like he pulled the plug on MANY other websites and social media outlets, when their legitimate owners decided, they needed no further assistance from his company and could run things from then on, on their own.
It happened to me, on an early version of a magazine Facebook page, so I understand where parliamentarian MLT is coming from.
Is the Aruba Health App operated by DVG or by a private contractor, who can pull a plug at whim – MLT wants to know if GOA is entrusting the confidential information to a third party?
Why is she concerned? Because a breech has international implications. Our data must be secure, in order to be trustworthy.
MLT also probes a hearsay, that these two fired falsifiers, reportedly IT people at the Cocolishi complex — one or two of them campaign runners MinTVG — were given a recommendation letter when let go, which allowed one of them, or both, to secure new employment at the airport.
At this point I also want to know, did the two clowns have access to the actual system, or did they just use desktop publishing to produce official looking papelitos.
And what did the MinTVG do, having discovered the falsifications? And what day was it exactly??
MinTVG’s infantile response to this registered, formal inquiry to parliament, was priceless. He furiously lashed back on social media — before you point a finger at me, look in the mirror, he fumed, befitting a temper tantrum of a five-year-old.
Having released a bit of steam, I am looking forward to a well-written, thought-out, mature and measured response, and the promise that our data is protected, and no one can possible criminally monetize our well-managed Aruba Health App system.
