Member of Parliament Shailiny Tromp-Lee has expressed serious concern about the way the process surrounding the proposed Rijkswet HOFA has been handled. According to the parliamentarian, both the government of Aruba and the government of the Netherlands have bypassed constitutional rules and legal procedures that should be followed in a matter of such importance.
Tromp-Lee stated that up to now the Government of Aruba has not officially informed the Parliament of Aruba about the developments and the content of the proposed law. According to her, the process has moved forward “behind the back of the people of Aruba and behind the back of Parliament,” without open debate or formal approval.
The parliamentarian also criticized the role of the Netherlands in the matter. According to Tromp-Lee, the Netherlands frequently intervenes when there are concerns about the management of public finances in Aruba, including through instruments such as a Koninklijk Besluit (Royal Decree). However, in this particular case, the Netherlands has not intervened despite concerns about the process surrounding the law.
“The Netherlands normally acts when there is suspicion of irregularities in public finances. But in the case of the Rijkswet HOFA, where the process itself raises questions about legality and transparency, we see that the Netherlands has not stopped the development,” Tromp-Lee said.
According to the parliamentarian, the fact that the document has already been presented to the Rijksministerraad without approval from the Parliament of Aruba raises serious doubts about how the process has been conducted. She questioned whether there might be a double standard in the way the Netherlands evaluates political and financial situations in Aruba.
Tromp-Lee also raised questions about whether the proposed law could have implications for Aruba’s autonomy within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. All legal and constitutional processes must be respected, especially when legislation may have a significant impact on the institutional relationship between the countries within the Kingdom.
In addition, the parliamentarian pointed out that the Government of Aruba has not informed Parliament about negotiation points that were still pending. Parliament had previously given the government a clear mandate to negotiate certain aspects of the proposal, but according to Tromp-Lee there is no public information about what happened to those points during the negotiations.
“Parliament and the people of Aruba have the right to know how this process unfolded and what the government’s real position is regarding the points we instructed them to negotiate,” Tromp-Lee concluded.
The discussion about the Rijkswet HOFA focuses on the possible financial and institutional impact for Aruba, including the proposed interest-rate reduction and the conditions that could accompany the law within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Parliament is seeking more clarity and transparency before taking any final decision regarding the proposal.
The question now being raised is whether a decision taken by the Government of Aruba and the Rijksministerraad without the awareness or approval of the Parliament of Aruba means that the people of Aruba have been betrayed by the governing coalition of Arubaanse Volkspartij (AVP) and Futuro together with the Dutch Kingdom government?.