WILLEMSTAD.- What will be done with the outcome of the parliamentary survey on the construction of the New Hospital in Otrobanda (HNO). This is because today we want to have a financial debacle in the construction of the hospital, which former Prime Minister Gerrit Schotte disclosed yesterday before the parliamentary inquiry commission. Schotte was prime minister from October 2010 to August 2012. He explained that when his cabinet sat, what the Professor Bob Pinedo Foundation had for the construction of a hospital on Jan Noorduynweg could not proceed, because no investigation was conducted at that time on how big the hospital should be according to our care and the Taams and Advent clinics would have to be removed, which they did not want to do.
Under Schotte’s cabinet, they chose to go to the Amstel site to build the hospital there. They approached USONA/SONA with the work. Schotte explained that at the time USONA was given the task, he had no further details on the relationship between USONA and Berenschot. They went to sea with USONA because this agency was handling funds coming from the Netherlands to Curacao (European Union funds). That’s why they trusted USONA for the construction of the new hospital.
Remember that when meeting with USONA, Mr. Richnald Doran presented himself and a certain Mr. Luuc from Berenschot.
He believes that if they had built a hospital with 450 beds (from the Professor Bob Pinedo Foundation) today the problem would not be one of 800 million but of 1.3 billion in debt. Additionally, around 150 beds would be empty every day. This was a decisive factor for not continuing with the construction of a large hospital.
Infrastructure Minister Charles Cooper, who was the leader of the MAN party along with VVRP experts, investigated 16 sites as locations for a new hospital. The council of ministers from 2010 to 2012 could never secure the land in Piscadera Grandi that was intended for agricultural purposes and make it habitable. The land is rich in water and must be used for its purpose. The investigation conducted by Cooper indicated that the decision to go to the Amstel site, namely Isla Scada, was solid. It is not a land where water accumulates. It was better than agricultural land and was industrial land.
Changing the hospital’s location gave space for everyone to get more work. Because the government changed the assignment of the Amstel site to Otrobanda. That’s why they charged a lot for the additional work.
At one point, Schotte said: “I want to know what the intention is after this. We’re talking about the past. The hospital was built, two SEHOS monuments were demolished, and all the additional work was paid for. No more people are sleeping in the hospital to generate money to cover their expenses. I don’t understand what happened. Re-examining decisions made in 2024, what solution, what is the government’s solution. In the end, it’s the few people who are working and the work donor who will pay the hospital debt. This part seems unclear to me.”
Later, Mr. Schotte said that during his government’s tenure, it was said that a hospital needed to be built in 2 years. What happened after Schotte’s government, which decided to change the site, is his fault for the financial debacle. They changed location, but they didn’t calculate anything. The construction of the hospital was a mess.
During his term, everything was in place, according to the former leader.
The lesson that can be learned is: “If we realize that not everything is a game there. A new hospital cannot be wanted by everyone. It cannot be wanted in-hospital treatment. I want it in Santa Rosa, I want it in Otrobanda. Years ago we had a hospital in Otrobanda, and we believed that an Otrobanda without a hospital would be fatal. For people to want to work in Otrobanda, we are where we are. Curacao needed a new hospital. The hospital cost because of wanting it, I am in charge and change things. Because I am in charge, I have to change things. When you look for people to attack, there are also limits,” Mr. Schotte concluded.
