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Gebe’s Chief Operations Officer Romelio Maduro. Photo Gebe Facebook page

GREAT BAY- Gebe Chief Operations Officer and Chairman of the Managing Board Romelio Maduro will be at the helm of the company until 2017. The Council of Ministers extended his contract on Friday.

The shareholder representative adopted a motion bypassing the supervisory board’s decision to terminate the contract. This newspaper obtained a copy of a letter directed to the Chairman of Gebe’s Supervisory Board René Richardson, in which Vromi-Minister Marcel Gumbs states that “The shareholder representative of Gebe has decided to extend the contract of Mr. Romelio Maduro in his capacity of COO and chairman of the managing board of directors for an additional period of 2 years.” The letter continues “In this regards, you are hereby requested to prepare the draft contract extension agreement and submit same to the shareholder for ratification and or approval.”

During the last months, Gebe has been in the lime light on social media sites citing mismanagement of the board of directors and micro management by the supervisory board. René Richardson declined to comment on the recent rumors at Gebe. In May Richardson confirmed that Maduro’s contract would end on May 31 and that it would not be extended.

The supervisory board was critical of the Maduro’s performance and wanted to go in a different direction. The board did not agree with several decisions he made. The Council of Minister decided last week to extend the contract. No reason was given in the letter to the supervisory board as to why the shareholder representative chose to make the move. In the letter it also states that “Gebe’s articles of incorporation, section 17, state a resolution that may be adopted by the general shareholders meeting may be validly adopted by casting votes in writing without holding a meeting provided that all shareholders have cast their vote.”

Maduro is a Technical University graduated electrical engineer, who worked earlier at the Gebe power production plant at Cay Bay and distribution system from 1994 thru 2003 before taking up a new challenge at the utility company in Curacao. The two-page document was sent to the supervisory board and government expects the supervisory board to adhere to its wishes. Only on rare occasions the share-holder representative interferes with a government owned company. The supervisory board usually handles contracts and appointments to the management of the companies.