Kingdom Council gives Curaçao chance to review damaging report .

October 06, 2011 9:50 AM

THE HAGUE--The Kingdom Council of Ministers decided in an extraordinary session on Tuesday to give the Government and Parliament of Curaçao a chance to first express themselves on the Rosenmöller report.

Initially Dutch Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations Piet Hein Donner wanted a letter sent to Willemstad urging the adoption of the recommendations for a further integrity inquiry into members of the Schotte-cabinet.

Curaçao's plenipotentiary Minister Sheldry Osepa objected, because having the Kingdom Council take a position from now would not be in keeping with the spirit of the report titled "Do It Yourself." He added that his government had sent the report on to the legislature immediately and there would be a debate on it soon, making the letter proposed by Donner premature.

After a discussion of an hour and 15 minutes the council chaired by Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte decided not to send the letter at this time, but it will discuss the matter again in its regular meeting on Friday.

Especially the report's suggestion that Prime Minister Gerrit Schotte, Finance Minister George "Jorge" Jamaloodin and Economic Development Minister Nasser El Hakim (all MFK) probably could never have been appointed had they been properly screened is a big concern for the Kingdom Government.

The report by Paul Rosenmöller and Cees Maas also pointed out that several ministers have a considerable number of reports at the Reporting Centre for Unusual Transactions MOT, as well as backlogs in tax and social premium payments. When it came to the latter the report states, "It's important to determine whether payment arrangements have been made and if they are being complied with."

The report cites an exchange of letters on the screening process between Schotte, as the incoming coalition leader, and Governor Frits Goedgedrag from December 9 and 15. The governor had come to the provisional judgement that three candidate ministers could not be appointed based on information collected by the Curaçao Intelligence Agency VDC (formerly VNA of the Netherlands Antilles).

The matter also was discussed during a visit by Schotte to the Netherlands on December 16. After that Donner asked the governor for further explanation and suggested sending the screening result pertaining to Schotte to the Attorney General.

When asked on December 29, the latter stated that based on the information available up to then, there was no basis for a criminal investigation into the prime minister. The governor informed Donner on January 12 that, taking into account circumstances that have become known meanwhile, there are insufficient grounds to conclude that the persons involved could not become ministers.

"This conclusion is partly based on the fact that it involves serving cabinet members and far-reaching decisions can only be justified if there is no doubt that they are not apt to be ministers," wrote Goedgedrag. His role is now being criticised by PVV Second Chamber member Eric Lucassen, who wants the governor to be replaced because he did not take adequate action on the screening issue.

The report also mentioned the inappropriate nomination of St. Maarten casino executive Baetsen, who later withdrew his candidacy, as joint chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Central Bank. It "created the impression" that there were other motives involved and the faction leaders of the Curaçao coalition parties had asked the prime minister not to let the appointment go through.

Also at issue are the consistent attempts denied by judges to suspend the VDC head, which harms the image of and confidence in the intelligence agency also among sister agencies in countries with which Curaçao cooperates. "In a constitutional state it is crucial that the intelligence agency can do its work without political influence," the report states.

The "Bientu" investigation where the prosecution in Willemstad requested US authorities to freeze US $50 million of suspect lottery boss Robbie dos Santos in American banks raises questions concerning his relations with governing party MFK. He is a known campaign contributor and the half-brother of Jamaloodin.

Finally, Rosenmöller and Maas pointed to increasing concern among local social organisations over the cabinet's hiring policy and the strengthening of its grip on the government-owned companies, "as a result of which generally accepted checks and balances are reduced or threaten to disappear."

5 October 2011