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December 18, 2023 | Oscar van Dam
How could the construction of the CMC hospital in Curacao cost 200 million guilders more? Former MP Melvin Cijntje believes a parliamentary inquiry is unnecessary. He says the judiciary should consider whether politicians should stand trial.
The high costs of the hospital, among other factors, have left CMC deeply in debt. Cijntje says the people of Curacao, the taxpayers, are the losers. “The culprits have long been known.”
In the coming months, the Curaçao Parliament will work with the “Nobo Otrobanda Hospital Interim Committee” to investigate why the construction cost of the hospital was N200 million more than originally planned.
The inquiry committee hopes to find out how the decision-making process of political leaders is carried out. Parliament will study various relevant hearings and documents.
‘Waste of money’
Former People’s Justice Party MP Melvin Mac Sienjie called the entire commission a “waste of money”. He said parliament should have referred a 2017 report to the prosecution service so possible perpetrators could be prosecuted.
The report Cijntje refers to was written by the Belgian organization VK Architects in 2017. According to him, a report was commissioned in 2016 by then-Health Minister Siegfried Victorina, who died in October this year.
“It turned out that the then Prime Ministers Ivar Asjes and Ben Whiteman were politically responsible for the increase in the cost of the program from 400 million to 600 million.” According to him, this happened based on unclear decisions.
Additional floors
Cijntje explains that the original plan to build the hospital on the Aqualectra site near Newport was much simpler. “Then we decided to build the hospital in Otrobanda and added various extra floors.”
“When I was a member of the same political party, Asjes and Whiteman were prime ministers and made bad decisions about hospital construction. But that will not stop me asking the prosecution service to investigate the actions of these two men.”
Cijntje served as a member of the Curaçao Parliament for the Pueblo Soberano party from 2012 to 2017. Cijntje became the leader of the PS faction in Parliament after the assassination of Pueblo Soberano (PS) leader Helmin Wiels on 5 May 2013. Cijntje left the party in 2018 when former Prime Minister Ben Whiteman became party leader.
HNO Provisional Committee
The HNO interim committee is composed of six MPs from six parliamentary factions: Michelangelo Martinez (KEM), Rennox Calmes (Trabou pa Kòrsou), Gwendell Mercelina (PNP), Ana-Maria Pauletta (PAR), Giselle McWilliam (MAN) and the president, Eduard Braam (MFK). A team of experts supports the committee.
Two public meetings have been held (in Barber in the morning and in Montaña Rey in the afternoon of December 2) and a survey has been launched to find out what the population thinks about the work of the HNO interim committee.
Three scientific researchers carefully reviewed the documents and, together with members of the HNO interim committee, identified those who should be questioned.
There is also an Advisory Committee Group responsible for advising the HNO Interim Committee. The Advisory Committee Group consists of Arjan Vliegenthart (Director of Nibud), Professor Marcel Levi (President of NWO), Professor Rogier Lodewijks (Constitutional and Administrative Law) and Professor Eline Altenburg-van den Broek (Health Economist and Epidemiologist).
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