WILLEMSTAD - It has been ten months since the residents of Piscaderaweg, Charo, and Royal Palm asked Minister of Traffic, Transportation, and Spatial Planning, Charles Cooper, to answer 10 urgent questions regarding developments in the Zakitó area. To date, none of these questions have been answered. These questions concerned the scope of the project, including the luxury marina, the location and environmental impact, permits such as the nuisance permit and the Reef Management Ordinance, the financing, whether a market analysis has been conducted, and the impact on the community. 

The response? An icy silence. 

As dust, noise, odors, and mosquitoes increase, and concerns about further damage to the ecosystem and the future accessibility of the Koredor grow, Movimentu Save Zakitó launched a petition in April 2024. Nearly 2,000 people signed this petition, which was presented in May to the President of Parliament, Prime Minister Pisas, and the Governor, who forwarded it to the relevant minister. The Representative of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Curaçao, Edson Hato, also received a delegation from Save Zakitó. The residents have now been waiting for four months for a response or an invitation to discuss the matter. 

Requests based on the Freedom of Information Act (LOB) also remain unanswered. This is a serious matter in a democratic state of law. The Curaçao government seems to choose an undemocratic style of governance, where private investors receive all the attention, while the voices of the local population are ignored. 

While the effects of the climate crisis are becoming increasingly tangible and visible, there is still no mandatory Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). It appears that the government is deliberately stalling the EIA legislation to have free rein in granting permits to private investors. The ClimateScanner of the General Court of Audit confirms that the government is only undertaking a few scattered actions. 

'Save Zakitó' urgently calls on the government to prioritize the needs of its own people over foreign private interests and to listen to the residents. Failure to do so will further widen the gap with its citizens and undermine its legitimacy and responsibility. This will become evident in the upcoming elections.