At the moment a point of discussion is the consensus law called Rijkswet Aruba Financieel Toezicht which we know as RAft. A draft law that since July 2020 in the midst of the pandemic has generated a lot of anger and discord has been presented at the most critical health and financial moments of the country of Aruba.
The process thus conducted, as in the case of COHO, was condemned and questioned during the IPKO meeting not only by the Parliament of Aruba, but also by the same Dutch Parliamentarians. This was not only recorded in the efsprakenlijst of May 2022 in Sint Maarten, but also in the very report of the Parliament of Aruba issued on 20 May 2022 by the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands which to this day has not been contested. In part 1 of the article I would elaborate on the procedure of a Kingdom consensus law and the RAft law and in the next part I would elaborate on our own report delivered on 20 May 2022 and what changes we would like to see in the benefit of Aruba.
Consensus law of the Kingdom of Raft
In July 2020 the Netherlands presented Aruba with the condition of the Kingdom’s consent law based on article 38 subsection 2 of the Kingdom’s Statute. The use of consent laws is not uncommon and can be both positive and negative and an example is Kustwacht. But a law of consent has its demands to speak of consent. First, there must be agreement about the type of material to be used and about its content. In the case of the RAft it was presented to the Government with the condition that you have to sign or have no money and this is contrary to the spirit of a Kingdom consent law. The second requirement is that the choice should be voluntary and not forced. In this case even the IPKO Platform condemned the way it was handled. Thirdly, there must be oversight in this area and be mindful of the wishes of a partner, as this is trying to temporarily take over a country’s own authority and make it a matter of the kingdom. This raises the bar higher and certainly must be mindful of requirements. In this case Aruba from the beginning and to this day is not held accountable either in the form or in the content of the law of consent of the Kingdom.
So if we pause for a moment in the way that was dealt with by the law of consent, which can be something good for the country, it started on the wrong foot that made the processes that have continued to worsen to this day. There is always oppression and repression, as the famous rent-payoff motion on the negotiating table, but a positive motion we will not find from the Netherlands where they indicate that they really want to help Aruba.
Procedure of a Kingdom law
Articles 15 to 18 of the Kingdom’s Statute describe the procedure for a Rijkswet and a consensus law that there is no separate procedure will have to conduct the same procedure as a Rijkswet. Many people are shouting and certainly the Netherlands is pretending that this process has already started and that it is asking for compromise in order to give Aruba a loan at low interest. This is not the case. This consensus law began its procedure in accordance with the articles already mentioned in our constitution. The law gave the government of the kingdom, which sent the law to the Council of State, and after that handed over the law
together with the council simultaneously to the Tweede Kamer of the Netherlands and the Parliament of Aruba on 11 February 2022.
Under enormous time pressure, the Aruba Parliament had to submit our questions in the form of a report on 13 May 2022. After petitioning in the Netherlands, we received an extra 1 week to submit our report on the concept of the Kingdom law and on 20 May 2022 we in Parliament submitted questions in a report. The only two remaining procedures to complete the cycle for a Kingdom law are the answering of these questions and once this is clear, the Tweede Kamer calls this meeting. The Parliament of Aruba has the right to assign representatives to attend this meeting and to take part in the debate, to submit motions and/or amendments to this law and where in the end the Dutch Parliament votes in favor or against the motions or amendments submitted and votes in favor or against the law. After this round it is presented to the Eerste Kamer for approval or disapproval of the law.
Unfortunately to date we have not received a response to our report which is part of the procedure. I hope that soon the Parliament of Aruba will receive a response to these and that the Government of Aruba will continue to negotiate in the Netherlands for a better agreement that will benefit our country. In the next part of the communiqué I elaborate on certain points in the Kingdom’s consent law that we would like to see changed to the benefit of the country of Aruba.
1 comment
[…] Source link […]