WILLEMSTAD.- The process to “screen” the candidate who will become the Minister of Economic Development, Neysa Schoop-Isenia, is not ready yet. Minister Hensley Koeiman, of Social Affairs, Labor and Welfare, explained yesterday that he expects the process to be ready before the weekend. According to Koeiman, Economic Development is a very important portfolio. From the moment that Steven Martina retired as Minister on February 21, Minister Kenneth Gijsbertha assumed as Minister of two portfolios: Finance and Economic Development. Koeiman: “With this, he has two very heavy portfolios, we hope as soon as possible, that the process of “screening” is a thing of the past and we can name the new candidate. Sources informed EXTRA that after a large part of the Schoop-Isenia check-up was ready, different new questions were presented. And this delayed the process a bit more.
On March 12th, Finance Minister Kenneth Gijsbertha told the press that the screening of the candidate to become Minister for the MAN party, Neysa Schoop-Isenia, was not ready for that moment. Gijsbertha explained that day March 12th that there was a process taking place. According to the new Law of 2012, a check-up process must investigate 7 important points in a rigid manner. Among other points, look at health aspects, private accounts, association with established companies, integrity and other aspects.
In the case of Mrs. Schoop-Isenia, her screening could be even stricter, considering the latest developments. The Prime Minister Eugene Rhuggenaath who has the screening under his order, does not want to make similar mistakes with other cases of check-ups and specifically with this one, since according to an investigation of the Public Prosecutor, previously the screening did not go well. This is in reference to the case of Steven Martina, which according to investigators did not separate his interests and placed them at a distance, violating the ethics by participating in deliberations in which there was conflict of interest. Martina rejected the allegations, but withdrew pending the charge of the investigations that are currently taking place.
