The Proud and Respectful People’s Party (PPA) organized a highly successful informative meeting aimed at local merchants, where the main topic was a profound analysis of HOFA. The afternoon/evening event saw a tremendous turnout of members from the commercial sector, as well as the presence of the faction leader of the People’s Electoral Movement (MEP), who shared key information on the matter.
Eduard Pieters, Member of Parliament and faction leader of PPA, expressed that he was very happy and satisfied with the results of the activity, qualifying the meeting as “hats off” (outstanding) because the main objective was achieved structurally.
“The main goal of this evening was to provide information to our merchants and members of the commercial sector. We achieved a fairly full room, where those present could get valuable information from the perspective of the MEP faction and from ourselves as the PPA faction,” Pieters explained.
A profound, critical, and participatory dialogue According to the Member of Parliament, the meeting was not limited to a unilateral presentation, but instead opened up space for a very dynamic exchange of ideas. The merchants present asked questions with great depth and a critical sense. This gave the political leaders the opportunity to answer each of these questions properly.
Pieters underlined that the value of this evening was not just to inform, but also to listen. They managed to gather a lot of information regarding anxieties, concerns, and especially very important suggestions from the merchants themselves.
“All of this feedback gives us more tools and better information so that tomorrow, when we have to make a decision in Parliament, we can make it properly and well-informed,” the PPA leader emphasized.
Awaiting the debate in Parliament The Member of Parliament clarified that the session that evening was strictly informative in nature and did not give way to a political debate yet. He explained that the presentations of the factions were based on what is stated in the law and on the reports of the Advisory Council (Raad van Advies) and the State Council (Raad van State), with the goal of giving the public—and in this case, the merchants—truthful information that removes political bias from these matters.
Likewise, Pieters indicated that they are waiting for meetings to be called in the Parliament of Aruba so they can conduct the formal debate structurally.
To conclude, the PPA faction showed their pride in this step and extended a special word of thanks to Mr. José Fernández Perla, who served as the moderator for the evening. Pieters praised his work, qualifying his management as “sublime” and of “tremendous professionalism” in guiding the evening structurally well.
In the same manner, he thanked the MEP faction leader for accepting the invitation to provide information from their side, focusing also on the general overview of the topic, including aspects of the Law Enforcement Council (Raad van de Rechtshandhaving) and CAft (Board of Financial Supervision).
“It was a successful evening. Thank you very much to the community, thank you very much to all the merchants who were present to share their advice, suggestions, and concerns with us,” Pieters concluded.
