Minister Geoffrey Wever calls for a public tender regarding the portfolio of Minister René Herde, the minister in charge of infrastructure under whom all commercial projects fall. However, Minister Geoffrey Wever wants to shine with someone else’s pen and portfolio. Could this be the reason behind the malicious plan not to pass the LIM law in parliament as it should be, allowing the leader to push forward and bulldoze through with the approval of Minister Herde and/or the Council of Ministers? Are these perhaps the reasons why the LIM law is not truly passed in Aruba? Minister Geoffrey Wever continues to trample upon the largest party in the AVP coalition, and what is sadder is that this is permitted out of fear of bringing down the government. Why is AVP really afraid of the government falling when it is a larger party than FUTURO? Minister Geoffrey Wever focuses solely on making his own interests shine, even if he has to overshadow others. Plans that were initially not the vision of the AVP party—were these plans changed against its will?
While cosmetic projects are launched, Aruba is living a sad reality: our youth in critical situations, government departments that are not reinforced, lacking materials, staff, and working equipment. High cost of living, elimination of the gasoline subsidy, a governmental apparatus operating on minimal staff—and the list goes on regarding the product Aruba and its management. Yet, it can be clearly seen that Minister Geoffrey Wever focuses exclusively on construction projects that do not even fall under his portfolios, forgetting that if the human being living in Aruba is not well, no matter how many tourists arrive, no company will survive. Companies depend on the people of Aruba and the tourists who visit, but the tourist will only visit once if the Aruban community is unstable and cannot offer the best service either.
Unfortunately, many children are part of gangs that cause violence and shootings in Aruba
The situation of juvenile delinquency is very worrying. It has come to light that children are dropping out of school and becoming part of gangs in Aruba. It has been understood that many children stop going to school to join gangs in order to feel a sense of status and respect. Has the government invested in this social area, or has it taken funds away from it? Today there is a public tender for a nice project, but juvenile delinquency in Aruba is growing. If the tourist takes note of this, will they visit Aruba?
Many of the gangs are dedicated to drug matters, assault, and shootings. Recently Aruba was shaken by two cases of the murder of young people one after another. The Public Prosecutor’s Office shows in its report its great concern regarding juvenile delinquency. But what has really been done about this? Has money been invested in our youth?
While Minister Geoffrey Wever remains focused on stone and cement projects, crime is concentrated in 8 neighborhoods. By order of the Attorney General, Mr. Flanegin of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, crime expert Dr. Henk Ferwerda from Bureau Beke conducted an in-depth investigation in Aruba and prepared a report on youth crime. Have the Government of Aruba and the Parliament of Aruba taken note of this?
The report shows that crime in Aruba is concentrated in different neighborhoods, namely: Pos Chiquito, Sabana Basora, Cayennastraat, Village, De Vuyst, Madiki, Dakota, and Sero Patrishi. More than half of the cases are related to assault, threats, and public violence. What is concerning is that the possession of firearms continues to grow; weapons come from Venezuela and Colombia. However, today the border with Venezuela is being opened at a time when that country is in its most critical state due to the earthquake that struck Venezuela and Colombia, and a VISA requirement for entering Aruba has still not been implemented, despite the irregularities taking place lately, such as arrests involving large quantities of drugs.
Additionally, women are much more involved in criminal cases. The report shows that the amount of women involved in crime increased to 25% in 2024. At the same time, it is noted that many women fall victim to abuse.
There are 15 to 16 active gangs in the neighborhoods. The research shows that the economic situation in Aruba depends on tourism. High living costs for a normal life and low market income mean that many families consist only of the mother, who works multiple jobs to support the family. This results in a lack of sufficient supervision over the children, with the consequence that children drop out of school and join gangs to seek identity, respect, and unity outside of school and family. However, neither the Government of Aruba nor the Parliament of Aruba seeks a way for Aruba to benefit from the revenues earned by the hotel sector and sent abroad, without Aruba actually receiving the tourism money in its treasury to help its people. It is true that many tourists come to Aruba, but Aruba and the citizens living in Aruba do not benefit from Aruba’s tourism. Who actually benefits from the gross tourism money brought into Aruba?
There are 15 to 16 gangs in the neighborhoods of Aruba, and children feel powerful and status-driven by being part of gangs. The gangs are involved in drugs, threats, assault, and the use of firearms. Could this affect tourism?
This is an extremely concerning development, and the Attorney General of the Public Prosecutor’s Office has informed the Minister of Justice of the situation and the problems faced in properly addressing this serious issue.
This is practically the cosmetic model in Aruba, where they prefer to announce a project of stone and cement instead of investing in the people of Aruba so that tomorrow there will be a strong foundation of stone and cement for Aruba’s future.