WILLEMSTAD - As it turns out, the Curaçao House in The Hague has had to do without a competent authority for almost 2 months. After the acting director was relieved of his duties without explanation in mid-November on the proposal of Minister Plenipotentiary Carls Manuel, it took until January before the Council of Ministers legalized the situation by artifice and then only on paper. That can be deduced from leaked documents.
On January 7, at the intercession of Prime Minister Gilmar Pisas, the Council of Ministers approved the formal instruction to Manuel to take on the tasks that are due to the director. He has since been authorized to make payments on behalf of the Curaçao House. How and who made payments in the intervening period is unclear. The fact that an authorized minister also performs management duties is a highly unusual combination in the context of segregation of functions to prevent (the appearance of) a conflict of interest.
The long-term failure to fill the vacancy for a director, in combination with the failure to replace other key figures who have left, is one of the reasons for the opposition party PAR to propose that the Court of Audit examine the financial administration of the Curaçao House. “Due to the lack of a director and staff, there is no control. The plenipotentiary minister makes all the decisions himself.
At the beginning of January, the Council of Ministers also gave the green light to open the vacancy for a new director. The search has been going on for half a year. Reportedly, a number of candidates have been actively approached to apply, but no one has accepted the invitation. Applications received did not include candidates who met the job requirements.
The search has therefore been discontinued. According to unofficial reports, the Council of Ministers will decide on September 7 to appoint Xavier Prens as director of the Curaçao House. He is currently Secretary General at the Ministry of Economic Development. From 2013 to 2020, he was minister plenipotentiary in Washington.
According to the same sources, former Member of Parliament and deputy Gimena van Gen of coalition partner PNP will become deputy plenipotentiary minister to support the politically and administratively inexperienced Manuel. She is sector director at the Ministry of Justice.
