WILLEMSTAD – PAR Member of Parliament Shaheen Elhage wants Curaçao Parliament to determine whether citizens' letters and petitions are being left unanswered for months and, if problems are identified, introduce structural improvements to the way public correspondence is handled.
The request is part of a September 21 letter to Parliament President Fergino Brownbill following concerns about two letters submitted by citizen Stanley Bodok in late 2024.
Elhage says the issue should not be treated solely as an individual complaint. Instead, he wants Bodok's case used to examine whether Parliament has an adequate system for handling correspondence from all citizens and organizations.
Bodok reportedly sent letters to Parliament on November 11 and December 27, 2024. Both were registered by Parliament, but according to Elhage's letter, Bodok said he never received confirmation of receipt or a substantive response.
Elhage now wants Parliament to determine whether similar cases exist.
Among his questions is whether there are currently letters or petitions that were received more than six months ago and remain unanswered. He also wants figures showing how many pieces of correspondence received during the past six months were acknowledged and answered and how many are still awaiting action.
The parliamentarian is also questioning Parliament's internal controls.
He wants to know who is responsible for ensuring that a registered letter does not simply disappear into the administrative process and whether Parliament uses a registration and deadline-monitoring system to track correspondence until it has been handled.
If the requested information shows that citizens' correspondence is not consistently acknowledged or addressed within a reasonable period, Elhage wants to know what measures Parliament intends to take to structurally improve the process.
According to Elhage, merely registering correspondence is not enough.
“When a citizen and/or organization sends a letter to Parliament, they are addressing the institution that represents them,” the PAR parliamentarian wrote. He argued that there must therefore be assurance that correspondence is actually handled and that the sender receives a response within a reasonable period.
Elhage linked the issue to good governance and public confidence in democratic institutions.
He noted that correspondence sent to Parliament can involve subjects with significant consequences for citizens, including pensions, income security, public health, government policy, financial management and other matters of public interest.
According to Elhage, a clear and transparent process for receiving, registering, tracking, handling and answering correspondence is necessary to maintain trust between Curaçao Parliament and the population.
The letter does not establish how many unanswered petitions currently exist. Elhage is asking Parliament to provide those figures and explain its existing procedures before determining whether structural changes are necessary.