Recently, the Public Prosecutor's Office has consistently pointed out that they lack the capacity to perform their duties properly, which poses a very serious threat to the functioning of our democratic rule of law. This is particularly concerning when it comes to investigations into the integrity of politicians and the governmental apparatus.
Although it is known that the Public Prosecutor's Office has been calling for assistance due to capacity shortages, there has been no response from the Minister of Justice, Shalten Hato, who is responsible for ensuring the proper functioning of the judicial system. It is his duty to guarantee that the Public Prosecutor's Office is provided with sufficient financial and material resources. This is necessary to dispel any doubts that there may be intentional efforts to withhold the resources required by the Public Prosecutor's Office, thereby obstructing investigations, including those involving colleagues from the Ministry of Justice in the Pisas II cabinet.
It should be noted that there is a substantial amount of work being left behind by the current government for the Public Prosecutor's Office to investigate. Cases include:
Exoneration of at least 3 billion florins in taxes (Silvania),
Corrupt acts at Landfill (Silvania),
Contracts awarded to cronies, friends, and political acquaintances at FKP (Cooper),
Jobs for cronies, friends, and acquaintances at DOW (Cooper),
Document forgery in deals between RdK and CPR, questionable deals with Oryx, Global, and PDVSA for personal and friendly favors (Pik and Cooper),
Deals with friendly contractors involving 700 thousand florins for cleaning Isla's land (Pik),
Investigation into the construction of HNO (Schotte and Constancia),
Employment of 30 people in public service outside of legal procedures (Martina),
Assigning social housing projects to friends and cronies (Larmonie-Cecilia).
These are just a few examples.
It is in the public interest and essential for the safeguarding of our democracy that the Minister of Justice ensures the Public Prosecutor's Office has the capacity to conduct all these investigations to restore peace and confidence in the democratic rule of law in Curaçao, as well as in the Public Prosecutor's Office itself.
