Two months have passed and the Vice Prime Minister of Aruba, Gerlien Croes, has still not provided clarity regarding her trip on a private airplane which she used to travel to Curaçao for a work-related visit. Parliament, as well as the community, continues to receive no answers on this matter.
MEP (Movimiento Electoral di Pueblo) Member of Parliament Dangui Oduber stated that when a government speaks about honesty, transparency, and progress for all, there is no reason to run away from or hide information. According to Oduber, the MEP faction is not making accusations, but is fulfilling its responsibility as a representative of the people: demanding information so that the truth can come to light and to ensure that all government actions are carried out according to the law.
According to Oduber, the National Ordinance on Open Government (LOB) is a law that obliges the government to share official information with citizens. This law gives the public the right to request and receive clarity regarding government decisions and expenditures. In this case, the LOB was used to obtain information about the Vice Prime Minister’s private trip to Curaçao.
Despite the minister describing the matter as “simple,” two months later there is still no official response. According to Oduber, for the first time in Aruba’s history, a minister is demonstrating a level of lack of transparency that is concerning.
MEP is asking three fundamental questions that the public is waiting to have answered:
- Who paid for the private flight?
- On what date was the private flight paid?
- How much was paid for the private flight?
Oduber declared that the MEP faction is not seeking speculation, but evidence. If the minister paid for the trip out of her own pocket, as was previously stated, then according to Oduber the receipts should be available and could be presented without delay.
MEP reaffirmed that it stands for transparency, for informing the people of Aruba, and for guaranteeing that matters are handled correctly and in accordance with the law. According to Oduber, a minister holds a public office and is obliged to account to Parliament and to the people of Aruba, who pay her salary and who granted her their vote of confidence.
MEP considers the silence, the attitude, and the lack of respect toward Parliament and the community unacceptable, and emphasizes that transparency is not optional but a fundamental obligation in a democracy and that the minister must comply with it. Ignoring this obligation and adopting a careless posture of doing whatever one wants speaks volumes about the arrogance, bad temper, and conduct of Minister Gerlien Croes, who is deemed unfit to represent or receive the trust of the people of Aruba under any circumstances.