Unbiased look at the Sint Maarten Elections
It may not seem that important, but two Supervisory Board members at Curaçao’s ABC Bus Company were ordered to pay back an allowance they had given themselves to take over the daily management (see related article). They had done so after the director suddenly died in January, leaving the government-owned entity without a Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
The duo reasoned that as a result of Corporate Governance it would take quite some time before a successor could be appointed and the work had to continue in the meantime. They were correct, but – as it turns out – their decision to take a monthly allowance of 3,000 guilders for this was not, because that is the prerogative of the shareholder rather than the board, according to the minister in charge.
The case has some relevance for St. Maarten, as also here there is currently an issue with a Government-owned company. Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs recently informed the Supervisory Board of utilities provider GEBE that its request not to extend the director’s contract couldn’t be honoured and it was in fact decided to prolong such for another two years instead, supposedly without having to call an official shareholder’s meeting due to the urgency of the matter.
Apparently it wasn’t necessary to involve the Corporate Governance Council (CGC) either, but one has to wonder whether this body actually is fully functional at this point. After all, then-chairman Louis Duzanson had complained bitterly in the past about a lack of facilities, resources and cooperation from Government.
Curaçao partner of local law firm BZSE Karel Frielink recently gave a speech about state-owned enterprises during the eighth Biennial Conference of the Caribbean Ombudsman Association with as theme “Human Rights, Good Governance and the Ombudsman.†He said that while directors will complain there is too much political influence, politicians argue that they have too little to say over what essentially belongs to the people they represent.
Nevertheless, the attorney maintained that these companies should be run commercially from a business perspective. In his opinion they are thus no longer part of the public sector and must be safeguarded against direct or indirect politically-determined Government influence, with the exception of influence that directly ensues from the business position of Government as shareholder.
The message is clear: There needs to be a structured hands-off approach when it comes to Government and its companies. Anything less simply won’t do.
