INVESTIGATIONS | Part 2 — A government that does not respond

ORANJESTAD – When citizens complain that government is not functioning, the criticism can easily be dismissed as personal frustration. But Aruba now has something it did not have before: an Ombudsman who officially records the types of problems citizens encounter.

And the first figures show a pattern.

During the first quarter of 2026, most complaints submitted to the Ombudsman of Aruba were related precisely to a lack of response and poor communication by government agencies. Of approximately 30 complaints submitted, 14 were taken up for handling, and 12 of those involved agencies that failed to respond, did not communicate properly, or failed to forward information to the appropriate authority.

This is important because it changes the discussion.

It is no longer only citizens on Facebook saying that government does not respond. There is now an independent institution officially documenting the problem.

CENSO: A CONCRETE CASE

The situation at Censo is a clear example of how an administrative bottleneck can ultimately affect far more than just an appointment.

In June 2026, Ombudsman Jurima Bryson described the situation surrounding appointments for registration at Censo as alarming and found a structural imbalance between the level of demand and the available capacity.

According to the Ombudsman, people who are unable to register in the Civil Registry can subsequently encounter problems accessing healthcare, education, employment, social services, banking, insurance and housing. In other words, a delay in one government department can create a chain of problems across several areas of a citizen’s life.

On June 15, the Ombudsman sent a letter of concern to Minister Arthur Dowers, recommending, among other things, an increase in capacity, more appointment availability, a reduction of backlogs and improved public information.

GOVERNMENT AND CENSO DID NOT DENY THERE WAS A PROBLEM

In July, Censo director Sharin Luydens confirmed that demand for registrations, passports, identity cards and other documents had grown faster than the service’s capacity. Government had been informed of the situation at the beginning of 2026 and subsequently authorized the recruitment of additional personnel and other projects aimed at increasing capacity.

Censo also pointed to another part of the problem: around 20% of appointments still result in no-shows, while citizens who arrive with incomplete documentation also contribute to additional delays.

This places responsibility on both sides. Government must provide sufficient capacity and an efficient system, but citizens must also use that system responsibly.

Nevertheless, the central fact remains unchanged: Censo itself has acknowledged that demand has exceeded capacity.

THE PROBLEM IS NOT LIMITED TO CENSO

The Ombudsman’s figures broaden the issue.

The main complaint during the first months of 2026 was not limited to one department, but concerned a pattern that can appear across different agencies: citizens submit requests, hand in documents, ask questions — and then receive no answer. That is an operational problem.

A government can have good policies on paper, but if the agency responsible for implementation does not have enough staff, systems, authority or procedures to process the work, those policies never reach the citizen.

Investiga also found that government is trying to address some of these problems. DIMAS, for example, has made parts of its work and residence permit procedures more flexible following consultations with the business and social sectors. Censo has received approval to increase staffing.

But the investigative question remains: is government correcting individual incidents, or is it fixing the system that produces the problems?

That is exactly where the next part of our investigation will go.

Because government’s own official documents reveal that the need to reorganize the public administration is not a new criticism coming from the opposition or the press.

Government itself has already acknowledged that the system needs to change.