The cabinet is commissioning an investigation into the state of affairs regarding a whistleblower’s report to the Dutch Public Broadcasting (NPO). That is what Minister Dijkgraaf (Education, Culture and Media) writes in a letter to the House of Representatives.
According to BNR Nieuwsradio reported In 2020, the whistleblower will contact Members of Parliament Zohair El-Yassini (VVD) and Harry van der Molen (CDA) with information about circumventing the salary ceiling for presenters at the public broadcaster. The MPs contacted Marjan Hammersma, the most senior official at the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, about this matter.
The whistleblower had a confidential conversation with Hammersma. After the conversation, the whistleblower heard nothing more about the matter, according to BNR.
Privyrelatie
Journalists working for the news channel recently pointed out to the whistleblower that Hammersma had a private relationship with the then NPO board chairman Shula Rijxman at the time of the confidential conversation. Hammersma never made that clear to the whistleblower. “Had I known about the private relationship, I would never have had the conversation,” the whistleblower told the journalists.
Minister Dijkgraaf writes that it will be investigated how the ministry has dealt with the whistleblower’s report, “and how this relates to the government-wide and departmental rules and procedures and codes for such reports”. The Central Government Audit Service (ADR) is conducting the investigation.
Frederieke Leeflang, Rijxman’s successor at the NPO, told BNR last week that Rijxman may conflict has acted in accordance with the code of conduct of the NPO.
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