Controversy about appointment Governor Boekhoudt continues
ORANJESTAD – In a letter to Prime Minister Mark Rutte as the chairman of the Kingdom Council of Ministers, Aruba’s Prime Minister Mike Eman demands that the appointment of Alfonso Boekhoudt as the island’s next governor be voided. According to the Aruban Council of Ministers, the appointment is unlawful, Sharina Henriquez reports on Caribisch Netwerk.
The letter was sent last week Wednesday, October 12, five days after Boekhoudt’s appointment. “That appointment flagrantly violates the rules established by the Kingdom Council of Ministers,” Eman wrote.
The letter shows that the Aruban Council of Ministers has made clear from the beginning that it has recommended Angel Bermudez as its candidate for the post. Bermudez is the current minister of finance in Aruba. “Mr. Bermudez has also been invited for an interview with the minister of home affairs and kingdom relations.”
The letter contains an attachment with the rules for the appointment of the governor. Those rules show that “only the Council of Ministers of Aruba is authorized to select one or more candidates for the governor’s post, Eman wrote to Rutte. According to Eman, the minister of home affairs and kingdom relations has no role in this process.
Eman reproaches Minister Plasterk who has nominated Boekhoudt on his own initiative. Eman ends his letter with the demand that the appointment has to be annulled and that he wants to speak with Rutte about the issue on short notice.
Plasterk denies that the Netherlands did not abide by the rules for the appointment of the new governor. His spokesman said that the procedure for the appointment “took place according to the articles in the charter.”
Plasterk does not want to say anything about Eman’s angry letter. He does not want to say whether he is going to annul the appointment either. “The letter still has to be answered,” the spokesman said, adding that he does not know whether there has already been contact with the Aruban government about the situation.
According to Plasterk it is logical that Boekhoudt steps down from his current function as Minister of Plenipotentiary.
According to the Antilliaans Dagblad, the Aruban government has already relieved Boekhoudt of his duties per November 1. Governor Fredis Refunjol and Prime Minister Mike Eman signed the dismissal decree last week. The newspaper writes that the Aruban government feels betrayed because Boekhoudt accepted his appointment without waiting for Eman’s approval.
Photo above caption: PM Mike Eman (left) with Kingdom Relations Minister Ronald Plasterk. Photo Caribisch Netwerk / Sharina Henriquez
