WILLEMSTAD — Former deputy Eugene Rhuggenaath has cancelled his membership with the PAR. He precludes that he would join another party for the States elections of January 22nd. The until recently intended successor of Emily de Jongh-Elhage says that his decision is due to the fundamental differences of opinions with the PAR, while he wants to adopt an independent attitude as much as possible towards politics with a view to a new career.
The former deputy refutes that he had lied when he indicated upon his departure that family circumstances was the only reason for his withdrawal from active politics.
On July 30th of this year, Rhuggenaath stated during a hastily organized press conference in the PAR’s party- building that he was resigning as deputy and Island council-member of the yellow party because of reasons in the family sphere. Now, nearly two months later, Rhuggenaath still insists that he had not lied on that Thursday evening. "What I said still stands. I wanted something different and wanted to spend some more time with my family. I am now at home, I have rediscovered my family, and am very happy about that. Therefore, I did not lie. Under personal reasons, I also mean that there were a number of points related to good corporate governance, on which I differed of opinion with the PAR. Perhaps I should have elaborated on that at the time. Fact remains, that I wanted to spend more time with my family."
Rhuggenaath also stated during his ‘farewell press conference’ that his departure from politics would only be temporary. Also now, he does not preclude a return to politics, but does rule out that his name would be included on a candidate list with the upcoming States elections. "I can allege that for 200 percent". It could be possible that I will become active in politics again in the future. It is not by any means necessary to be included on a list. I now want to focus more on my family, while I continue to look for a job. It’s like the Chinese philosopher Confucius once said "in order to straighten out a country, one must first set one’s family in order. By investing time with my family now, I will be able to serve the country better."
Sluis and Braam
Regarding Rhuggenaath’s departure, there were rumors buzzing about at the time on the actual reason for his resignation. The former deputy made this choice at the time, he now says himself, in order not to be in the public eye, as this would not have done the PAR or himself any good. According to Rhuggenaath, there were two conflicts underlying the difference of opinion between the PAR and himself. First, there was the recommendation of the current POST NA-director Franklin Sluis as new director of the Docking Company CDM. Rhuggenaath opposed this nomination as Sluis had been given a (suspended) sentence for falsifying documents in the past. Finally, he had stated he would resign if Sluis were to be nominated anyway. At the beginning of this year, there was the issue that the party had recommended party-member Eduard Braam for a position in the Board of Directors (RvC) of Curaçao Airport Holding (CAH). Rhuggenaath had questioned this recommendation, as Braam did not comply with the conditions of the RvC in order to qualify for the position. "For me, it concerned values of good corporate governance which are not subject to discussion. If others choose otherwise, then you should wonder where your bounds lie. At a certain stage, this got to me personally and I could no longer function. I then decided that it was better to resign."
Besides fundamental differences, there are also other reasons that led to Rhuggenaath’s decision to breaking up with the party. Rhuggenaath has recently established his own company, VisionQuest. With this company, he intends to focus himself as freelancer and on a consultancy basis on rendering advices to companies and other institutes. In this respect, it is better to adopt an independent attitude from politics as much as possible, according to Rhuggenaath.
Regarding Rhuggenaath’s departure, there were rumors buzzing about at the time on the actual reason for his resignation. The former deputy made this choice at the time, he now says himself, in order not to be in the public eye, as this would not have done the PAR or himself any good. According to Rhuggenaath, there were two conflicts underlying the difference of opinion between the PAR and himself. First, there was the recommendation of the current POST NA-director Franklin Sluis as new director of the Docking Company CDM. Rhuggenaath opposed this nomination as Sluis had been given a (suspended) sentence for falsifying documents in the past. Finally, he had stated he would resign if Sluis were to be nominated anyway. At the beginning of this year, there was the issue that the party had recommended party-member Eduard Braam for a position in the Board of Directors (RvC) of Curaçao Airport Holding (CAH). Rhuggenaath had questioned this recommendation, as Braam did not comply with the conditions of the RvC in order to qualify for the position. "For me, it concerned values of good corporate governance which are not subject to discussion. If others choose otherwise, then you should wonder where your bounds lie. At a certain stage, this got to me personally and I could no longer function. I then decided that it was better to resign."Besides fundamental differences, there are also other reasons that led to Rhuggenaath’s decision to breaking up with the party. Rhuggenaath has recently established his own company, VisionQuest. With this company, he intends to focus himself as freelancer and on a consultancy basis on rendering advices to companies and other institutes. In this respect, it is better to adopt an independent attitude from politics as much as possible, according to Rhuggenaath.
PAR
PAR-Chairman Glenn Sulvaran confirms that the yellow party had received a decent resignation letter from Rhuggenaath a while ago. In the letter, the former deputy indicates that he cancelled his membership in order to perform possible future activities in the private sector.
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