ORANJESTAD —The government of Aruba is instructed to introduce by law a ten year moratorium on new hotel, timeshare and condominium buildings. That is the outcome of a long and emotional Parliamentary meeting that was spread over weeks on the policy of commercial land issuing. The catalyst for the Parliamentary session was the last minute grant of the last piece of beach at Palm Beach for the construction of a new hotel, to be operated by Ritz Carlton. The former Minister of Infrastructure, despite her party having lost the elections here in 2009, signed the deed to allow Desarollos Hotelco to get access to the Fisherman’s Huts area. According to the new Government, legal advice indicates Aruba is tied to the deal and cannot retract without paying considerable sum in damages.
In fact, Minister of Tourism Otmar Oduber stated in Parliament, that the Ritz Carlton at the Fisherman’s Huts cannot be stopped because of actions of the previous government. His government has requested legal advice from two different lawyers’ offices, and both said there could be devastating financial consequences for the government, despite the fact the former Minister of Infrastructure granted the land while softening the legal requirements for the developers. Oduber blamed the former Minister, now Member of Parliament directly, and showed how her principal advisor Mito Martis in 2007 suggested a moratorium on new hotel, timeshare and condominium constructions and Mrs. Lopez Tromp signed the document. The Minister agreed with his Parliament members that an investigation on the decision process is warranted, not only to determine what when wrong, but also to make sure it does not happen again.
The Parliament members instructed the current government to adhere to existing reports, such as the National Integrated Strategic Plan ‘Nos Aruba 2025,’ developed with the input of many volunteers, as well as recommendations made by Professor Sam Cole in his report ‘Framework of Sustainable Tourism for Aruba.’
Meanwhile the AVP members presented three motions in the meeting yesterday. The first demanded for Aruba to adhere to the Oslo Agreement on Eco tourism and to introduce within six months, a law on a ten-year moratorium on new hotel, timeshare and condominiums. “No more hotels,” resonated in the hall. The exception could be for the San Nicolas area, but this would have to be in line with the ‘Framework for Sustainable Tourism’ by Professor Cole that suggests ‘boutique hotels.’ The motions also demanded for the government to limit commitments made by its predecessor should these have negative effects for the island.