Extremely regrettable, reprehensible and even childish: This was our first thought after reading the press release of Movement 21 (M21) where MP Thielman is attacked – not on his leadership, but personally – and even suggests that he should resign.
In this case it is very important to ask some critical questions. In the first place, he should ask if it is convenient for him to meet personally with Deputy Thielman about the “Hype Event Planner” business that is in his wife’s name. In addition, it is necessary to ask if the business needs a building permit or not. A building permit was requested but this was refused. The rejection is based on a certain interpretation of the law and the rule that a tent cannot stand in one way for more than a period of time. If the indicated period has passed, a permit must be reapplied for. To avoid having to repeatedly renew the permit, a building permit was applied for. However, based on what they have to classify as a tent, the building permit was denied and for good reason. Certainly, the event permit remains valid and covers all activities, which means that there can be no illegality in this whole matter.
Article 41b of the Municipalities Act (Gemeentewet) and article 48 of WolBES establishes that a deputy of a Municipality and a deputy in Bonaire may not perform any secondary function that may prejudice the proper fulfillment of the function of deputy. Article 48 (2) prescribes that a deputy must report his intention to a secondary official in the Insular Council. So far there is no indication that Deputy Thielman has an undesirable secondary functionary. If this is the case then the Island Council has every right to consult with Deputy Thielman about it.
Article 49 of the WolBES however prescribes that a deputy must declare in writing to the representative of the Kingdom, exactly all commercial interests and assets that he and his wife have or administer. According to article 51 of the Constitution, the representative of the Kingdom has the duty to keep everything secret and can only give information or statements to the authorities in charge of criminal investigations. It is not that the above statement is given to the representative of the Kingdom and should be kept secret, as this is purely to protect a deputy against vile and dirty attacks as is the case now.
A deputy is allowed to have a commercial interest and it is normal that the interests are kept at a distance, so that the management of the business or the interest is not in the hands of the deputy. With a commercial interest or a business, comes issues of obtaining permits and obligations to pay taxes etc. It is very childish to blame the deputy in this case for unethical behaviour and for exercising influence.
As the code of conduct prescribes, Deputy Thielman was willing to answer questions in the Insular Council regarding commercial interest, where again it should be emphasized that he is not involved in the daily operation of the business. It has thus duly demonstrated its openness and transparency, which allows the Insular Council to have an optimal view and to judge the deputy’s actions and the reasoning behind it.
The political leader of M21 is in touch. Every day Coffy tells us that our own people should have the opportunity to occupy high positions in our community. During the Bonfire Day celebration she expressed very beautiful words that an environment should be created where different cultures can flourish and respect each other. He probably had the poisonous communiqué already prepared for publication, since all his beautiful words were phrases. According to the dictionary, a person who ends up being something other than what he really is is categorized as a hypocrite.
We can’t expect anything other than a healing flight, which takes the matter out of all proportion. It appears that the deputy acted in a dishonest manner, and all instances where it was verified that the deputy neither took any action nor had any influence in this matter. Unfortunately, the general interest of the people of Bonaire is deeply affected, as potential candidates to become deputies or island council members will think twice before choosing. Seeing a set of political adventurers damaging their names and their families and trying to destabilize the Boneriano community. Very sad.
