WILLEMSTAD – PAR parliamentary leader Quincy Girigorie has accused the ruling MFK party of attempting to make Patrick Newton the scapegoat for Curaçao’s failure to restart its refinery, pointing to MFK’s previous public support for Newton and the refinery reopening process.
Girigorie’s criticism follows an MFK-backed motion in the Curaçao Parliament seeking an investigation into Newton’s role in the unsuccessful efforts to reopen the refinery.
According to PAR, the motion ignores Prime Minister Gilmar Pisas’ own political responsibility for developments surrounding the refinery.
Girigorie recalled that during the election campaign, an MFK delegation accompanied by Pisas visited the refinery’s Post 5 and presented developments there as evidence that the refinery was reopening.
“At that time Mr. Newton was the hero; now they want to kill him,” Girigorie said figuratively in the party’s press release, accusing MFK of dramatically changing its position toward the former refinery executive.
PAR argues that MFK cannot distance itself from Newton’s record after supporting his approach during the preceding years.
Girigorie said this history is the primary reason PAR refused to support the motion. All other factions voted in favor, according to the party.
PAR maintains that if Parliament wants to establish why attempts to reopen the refinery have failed, the investigation should also examine the role played by Pisas and his government.
The opposition party claims the current motion creates a misleading impression that Newton bears sole responsibility for the outcome.
Girigorie said PAR would have supported an investigation had its mandate covered both Newton and Pisas.
The dispute adds another political dimension to Curaçao’s long-running attempts to revive its petroleum sector, which for years provided significant employment and economic activity on the island.
PAR concluded that responsibility for the refinery’s continued closure cannot, in its view, be assigned to Newton alone and that Pisas’ role should be subjected to the same scrutiny.