We get less

On June 24t, Dutch Premier Rutte, made it known that Aruba has accepted unconditionally to cut health care cost to the tune of 5M.

A month, or a year, that is the question. Depending on how you read it. The Dutch read a month. So, do the math, 60M a year.

Why 5M?

What qualified data is this substantial number based on?

And why just Aruba and not the other BES islands.

These are all unanswered questions.

Unanswered till this day.

What we know is the following, on June 24th, MinTVS went back to his office and told his paper-pushers to sharpen their pencils, and come up with a savings plan within 2 weeks, chop-chop.

Under immense pressure in just 14 days, his minions came up with a unvetted strategy, on something that in their minds was already decided upon, a fait accompli.

When they handed in their proposal, they assumed MinTVS will show the document around. Ask for input?!

He did not.

It might cost him votes, so as a politician he kept the document to himself.

As our representative, he should have said NO WAY JOSE, when the Dutch proposed the idea, why would you cut in healthcare, or education, it doesn’t make sense, but he didn’t stand up to defend us, Aruba needed money, the second loan, and the bezuinigingsplan, the austerity plan, his minions composed became a reality.

Independent parliamentarian Daphne Lejuez has been asking to look at the bezuinigingsplan since June, and to no avail.

MinTVS did not share, he rolled out a few harsh measures at his own pace but never allowed the plan to be reviewed by parliament in its totality. Seven months into the discussion, under pressure from Aruba’s troubled healthcare sector, he is willing NOW to look at the issue from a national platform point of view with healthcare worker participation.

He is now saying he would take input, but isn’t this doing things backwards? First you commit unconditionally, then you try to enforce measures, then hammered by criticism for excluding the healthcare sector from any decisions, you give in, in favor of a dialogue.

It’s too late, honey.

The island’s AZV clients get less care, less medications, less preventive treatment, incidental cuts replaced structural changes, secrecy replaced transparency, single party rule replaced group effort.

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January 30, 2021
Rona Coster