Unbiased look at the Sint Maarten Elections
PHILIPSBURG:--- The supervisory board of GEBE was presented with three reports on May 13th 2015. The first report dealt with the misuse of GEBE's credit cards that were allotted to the company's Chief Operations Officer (COO) Romelio Maduro and the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Rene Gartner. Based on the contents of the first report which addressed the misuse of the credit cards the COO Romelio Maduro used the company's credit card on an open tab at the cigar lounge and at several brothels on the island.While Gartner used the credit cards to purchase airline tickets, and a satellite for his office. However, a member of the supervisory board told SMN News that the board is now split because Rene Gartner worked by the books yet he was victimized. The board member said that Gartner was supposed to use $30,000.00 to purchase a vehicle and he went around the island shopping for a good car. The board member said Gartner provided the supervisory board with estimates ranging from $35,000.00 to $50,000.00 who approved the purchase of the vehicle but the supervisory board had to send a request to the shareholder representative (Government) for them to approve the increase for the car purchase. The board member further explained that while GEBE supervisory board was waiting on government,but the Minister at that time could not take a decision because they were in a 'caretaker' position since no government were in place until December 2014, while GEBE was still waiting for an answer from government and the company was renting a vehicle for the CFO. The CFO Rene Gartner decided to go ahead and purchase a vehicle that was not the cheapest neither was it the most expensive in order to save the company monies. "Here you have a man who chose to do the right thing because while waiting on government for an answer the company would have had to pay for two cars when they would only get one since they were paying daily rental for the car Gartner was using. Even though the decision taken by CFO was in the best interest of the company the supervisory board who signed off on the purchase decided that they will slaughter the CFO by leaking information to the media on the purchase of the vehicle while they made him pay back the $15,000.00 he spent extra on the car which will eventually be owned by GEBE. The board member who is very peeved at the current situation said that the Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs approved the increase on vehicle purchase earlier this year to $40,000.00 but that it only applies to current purchases and not to Gartner. Another issue raised in the report submitted on May 13th is the satellite dish Gartner has in his office. The board member said the dish is costing GEBE $30.00 monthly and it's in GEBE office and not Gartner's home. This man has an allowance that he is allowed to spend and he does not need to go to the supervisory board on how to use his allowance." As for the airline tickets Gartner purchased in April 2015 it was purchased for two staff members from GEBE human Resources office and the CFO who had intended to attend the FRED program in the Netherlands to recruit young St. Maarteners to return to the island to work. The board member said that the management team discussed this matter in detail when they were approached to attend the FRED program scheduled for June 2015 and they approved the attendance of three persons, but when it reached the supervisory board they rejected the idea and the tickets were cancelled. The board member who spoke to SMN News said that the chairman of the Supervisory board has an axe to grind with Gartner because he cannot do what he wants with GEBE funds and as such he is using Gartner as a scapegoat in the entire saga. SMN News learnt from the board member that the supervisory board will soon take a decision on Rene Gartner's job but details of the decision is not yet known. "It is clear that the members of the Supervisory board wants to bring in their own people to swindle GEBE's monies and the only way to do that is to get rid of the CFO who have worked in various other islands without any problems."Another report that the supervisory board has to study is a relief granted to huge companies on electricity without the supervisory board approval. SMN News understands that the COO took an independent decision and granted certain commercial companies relief on electricity and without the supervisory board and government's approval. SMN News further learnt that the COO also hired a former journalist that worked on the island and that person got a five year contract that will cost GEBE $120,000.00 annually,it is understood that the journalist that was hired by the COO is supposed to write a book on GEBE.
