MEP parliamentarian Xiomara Maduro has written to Parliament President Marlon Sneek requesting formal clarity on the scope of the AVP and Futuro motion to investigate possible irregularities in public spending during 2020, Diario reported on October 27.
Maduro considers that an independent investigation could contribute to transparency and good governance. However, she notes that the motion’s official text does not mention her name, while in public statements by parliamentarian Ruthlyn Lindor, Maduro was mentioned as former Minister of Finance.
Four questions
To avoid different interpretations, Maduro asks for clarity on four points: whether the investigation is general or focuses specifically on her responsibility as ex-Finance Minister; whether Lindor’s statements represent her personal position or the official AVP/Futuro position; whether the investigation will include all instances and persons involved in the FASE programme; and whether any conclusion on responsibility will be based on concrete evidence and independent investigation.
System deficiencies versus personal responsibility
Maduro notes that the Algemene Rekenkamer’s observations on FASE are important and deserve serious evaluation, and that a distinction must be made between deficiencies in a system and personal responsibility. “An independent investigation must have a clear mandate, consider all the facts and let the evidence determine the conclusion,” she wrote, as reported.
She asks for the clarifications to be officially recorded in Parliament, in the interest of transparency, impartiality and public trust: “The goal must be clarity and truth. That is in the interest of Parliament, Government and the people of Aruba.”
Maduro’s letter does not oppose the investigation itself — she states that an independent investigation could contribute to transparency and good governance, and that the Algemene Rekenkamer’s observations on the FASE programme deserve serious evaluation. Her request is that the mandate be defined before conclusions are drawn: whether it is a general investigation into 2020 spending or one focused on her own responsibility as former Minister of Finance, whether Lindor’s public statements speak for AVP and Futuro officially, and whether everyone involved in FASE falls within its scope. Recording the answers formally in Parliament, she argues, protects the impartiality of whatever the investigation eventually concludes.
Sources: Diario
