As the 2025-2026 parliamentary year comes to a close, MEP Fraction Member and Chair of the Committee on Finance, Governmental Organization, Culture, and Sports (CFOCS), drs. Shailiny Tromp-Lee, expressed her deep disappointment with how parliamentary oversight and the work of the committee she leads were severely hindered this year.
According to Tromp-Lee, the summary of parliamentary work from the past year is not merely a statistical document, but a troubling reflection of the functioning of our constitutional system. Although the Finance Committee (CFOCS) she chairs was the most active and organized 15 meetings, Tromp-Lee indicated that much more could have been accomplished, but her work repeatedly hit a wall of disinterest and lack of cooperation from government ministers.
Ministers Ignore the House of the People
“It is unacceptable to see ministers choosing not to appear when called by a committee, or using excuses that departments cannot attend because they are ‘too busy’ to give an account to Parliament,” Tromp-Lee stated. “We cannot accept that Parliament meetings are treated as if they are not a priority. This lack of respect toward Parliament by these ministers must stop.”
Adding to this, official Parliament figures for this parliamentary year reveal a pattern of silence and boycott against the opposition’s right to exercise oversight:
Public Meetings Shelved: Of the 29 public meetings formally requested to debate crucial topics for the country, only 11 were called. More than half of the requests were left in a drawer.
Question Hours Rejected: Of the 8 Question Hours requested to demand accountability from ministers, only 2 were granted.
Written Questions Ignored: Of the more than 4,500 questions sent by Parliament to the Government, ministers chose to ignore over 2,600 of them (more than 56%). Only after a reminder letter from the President of Parliament did some ministers rush to send answers they had held since last year.
An Appeal for Radical Change
Tromp-Lee emphasized that this attitude weakens the legitimacy of the House of the People. “Democracy is not simply the fact that 12 votes are more than 9. Democracy means having debate, being transparent, and respecting the rights of the people through their representatives. A Parliament that does not debate crucial topics, such as HOFA and the unanimous motion on energy and oil development that the Government simply ignores, is a Parliament losing its primary function.”
In closing, the MEP Member of Parliament made an urgent appeal for the upcoming parliamentary year:
Requests and the role of opposition fractions must begin to be respected.
Ministers must respect our Constitution (Staatsregeling), answer questions in a timely manner, and strictly adhere to the code of conduct and integrity laws.
Value must be given to the work of committees, rewarding democratic debate instead of paralyzing it.
“Aruba deserves a vibrant, transparent, and fair democracy. As the MEP fraction, we will not remain silent, and we will continue to speak up and demand the change this country deserves,” Tromp-Lee concluded.