There are rules in government. But in any case the public interest must be taken into account. And it cannot be that the prosperity, incompetence or lack of logic of the official (s) will harm a large group of people and entrepreneurs.
Every medal has two sides and in the case of the Duelo de Generos concert the situation must be viewed.
First of all, Aruba saw few concerts after the pandemic. And this was one of the few big ones scheduled for 2023. An event that the promoters, with a lot of money invested in it, have been promoting for several months, will take place on April 15. The situation is difficult and the finances are not what they used to be.
Unfortunately, although all the permits were available, the promoters failed to raise enough money to pay the government within the set deadline, which was paid two days later. Through much struggle and perseverance, the money was closed and this debt was paid before the agreement could take place. This part was definitely not the promoters’ fault.
Despite the fact that the amount in question has been paid, it seems that officials do not check their emails as the weekend approaches and postpone everything until next week. This is an inefficiency, a bureaucracy that often causes problems for investors. This is why performance management is important to introduce, which creates more efficiency among the government apparatus.
Whatever the situation may be, if the promoters pay in advance for the concert, the officials should be aware that the concert is taking place on the weekend and that they are aware. First, you have to clean up your house, see if the expenses are in. That’s a bad civil servant or a bad department head. Or else, contact the people involved, the tax man, see if everything’s okay. Especially since in this case the money has been paid. This is not the case of a person who has requested permission to come to Aruba on a long-term contract. It’s about a presentation.
The weekend situation arising from the cancellation of a concert could be avoided because, despite being two days late, payment was made, including for the concert, on a normal working day.
In that case, proof of payment is used to obtain the immigration permit. In this department, given the situation that is arising, where there are more than a thousand people who had bought tickets and were waiting for the concert, I had to try to find a solution, instead of just putting them on a flight back to their country. Remember that it is a commercial for Aruba, not the promoter, and that there are also people who have come from Corsica to attend the concert, in addition to the locals who paid the cost (women gave a bathroom) to prepare for the great Duelo de Generos.
The Minister investigated the case and found that the payment had been made and that he had the documents to prove it. But because an official decided not to prosecute what happened on Friday, this situation arose with the cancellation of an international concert. It has hurt a large part of the community and even the government, because they now have to cover the cost of bringing the artists back to Aruba today. The minister gave the order, after reviewing the documents, to let the artists in. But the head of immigration didn’t follow orders. To avoid demand, transport costs for the entire orchestra and the performers must now be covered. The country is now in danger from a head of department who has pushed himself to disobey the orders of his head, in this case the government of Aruba. Meanwhile, the concert, which promises to be a big hit, will take place tonight. And as they say, it’s sold out.