WILLEMSTAD - According to a press release from the Cabinet of Minister of Finance Javier Silvania during the recent court hearing, Vanessa Gijsbertha was confronted with various untruths, for which she had no acceptable explanation.
Silvania was the defendant in a lawsuit in which Gijsbertha, daughter of former MAN minister Kenneth Gijsbertha and predecessor of Silvania, wanted rectification. The judge ruled in favor of the minister.
Silvania indicates in his press release that Gijsbertha believed she had nothing to do with the Program Board and steering committee that took decisions regarding the automation process. According to Gijsbertha, her contract of assignment was not concluded in an irregular manner and all the rules were followed. The automation process had to do with the tax authorities and the services of the IT office BearingPoint.
Although Gijsbertha had produced a ministerial order at the hearing, signed by the former Minister of Economic Development Steven Martina to deviate from the usual public tender procedure, Gijsbertha's contract for services indeed turned out to be entered into an irregular manner, says Minister Silvania in his press release.
Minister Silvania explained his claim: “This is because (i) the former Minister of Finance (Kenneth Gijsbertha) has renounced the usual public tender procedure without sound substantiation; (ii) the contract for services was concluded a few days before the 2021 elections; (iii) it is unusual not to submit a contract for services of such a financial size, namely a total amount of 852,480 guilders (excluding sales tax) over a period of three years, to the Council of Ministers for decision.
In addition, the press release continues, there was 'initially also a negative advice issued by the Financial Controller' in connection with Vanessa Gijsbertha's contract for services, ‘because the public procurement rules were not observed’.
It was also remarkable that two weeks after the ministerial decision was signed, the former Minister of Economic Development indicated during a political debate that he knew nothing of a contract with Gijsbertha.
From all available information, Minister Silvania could not help but suspect that there was some kind of 'farewell policy' of the former finance minister, who, just before the elections, ‘arranged’ this for his daughter. The fact that Gijsbertha would have the necessary experience is not enough to deviate from the usual public tender procedure, since it cannot be ruled out that others also have the necessary experience at their disposal, says the press release.