SXMElections.com

PHILIPSBURG--Alfred Harley says he and his company SXM Services Provider are being dragged through the mud in connection with the ongoing problems at utilities company GEBE.

Harley is particularly angry about the allegations that have been repeated in media outlets, in Parliament and in court that the company was receiving hefty payments approved by GEBE Chief Operations Officer (COO) and Managing Director Romelio Maduro, against the wishes and to an extent against the knowledge of GEBE's Supervisory Board.

One figure being cited is US $68,000, which seems to be the total amount the company needs to be paid, but has received in full. The allegation, which was repeated in Parliament, is that Maduro wrote a cheque for this amount without approval of the Supervisory Board and, on realising that he could not authorise the payment of such a hefty amount, split the sum between two cheques.

According to Harley, this is the amount owed for various projects carried out by six people and should have been split into three payments, only one of which has been received.

Reports about the payments had been referring to "an ex-journalist" and the company's name was used in court. Harley worked for The Daily Herald five years ago and has also worked for Today newspaper.

He said that now people approach him thinking that he has received exorbitant amounts of money, when in reality he and his company are struggling to be paid. He is now trying to collect the balance owed through a lawyer and had to let his staff go for lack of funds, he said.

He took particular issue with Members of Parliament (MPs) William Marlin and Christophe Emmanuel, who he said had spoken unfairly of the alleged transactions and indicated, as have other media reports, that MP Theo Heyliger was the one who got him the position.

Harley said he had been asked for references during initial discussions with GEBE management and Supervisory Board members about writing a book in commemoration of the company's 55th anniversary. MP Theo Heyliger was one of the four references given and that is where it ended, he said, in contrast to reports of MP Heyliger using his influence inappropriately.

About the high payment, Harley said that his company still needed to receive payment and that money received was not only for him, but also for the five other workers at SXM Services Provider.

Also, the payment was not for one project, as indicated by MP Christophe Emmanuel who called it "a 30-page book," but for multiple projects such as writing and producing a capital investment plan, writing and producing a strategic business plan in collaboration with audit company KPMG, both of which were just over 30 pages, writing a report for the Supervisory Board and writing articles for regional and international magazines and for the local newspapers.

The rate also reflects hourly pay and not taking into consideration that six people were being paid is a possible reason that it would at first glance seem too expensive, he said.

The contract for hourly pay was signed only towards the end of January and Harley said he had to let staff go by late April or early May because of payment issues. When work started to become more extensive than outlined in the initial contract, the hourly rate also was reduced because the work entailed more hours, he said. This was around the end of March.

The work was commissioned by the management team, including Maduro, but articles were approved by the Supervisory Board, he said, and the Supervisory Board was aware of his appointment and gave positive feedback on his work. Some board members were also involved in the initial meetings with KPMG.

Harley said the Supervisory Board had started questioning invoices around the time his company was asked to become involved with GEBE's marketing programme because management reportedly was not happy with it. To start on marketing work, his company wanted another contract and the Supervisory Board reportedly was not happy about the contract or with replacing the existing marketing programme.

At that time, SXM Services Provider also was asked to look into developing projects such as electronic bill payments and an internal communication system.

He said that when the Supervisory Board "finally pressured Maduro into ending the contract" with SXM Services Provider, he had consulted a lawyer and insisted on receiving any outstanding pay for work already done. When asked what the three cheques amounted to, Harley said around $68,000, which is the figure cited by the MPs.

This would have been divided into three cheques, but only one was ever received, Harley said. A lawyer is trying to collect the other two. The three amounts were said not to be equal in value.

Harley said the MPs should question how "one member of the Supervisory Board could receive $10,000 plus a stipend of $3,500 per month, while the whole board and the opposition bench in Parliament is ready to cripple a small local company providing work for local people."

He added that maybe the MPs could request that he be paid and asserted that MP Emmanuel had been calling Maduro for personal favours.

In the meantime, the Supervisory Board has suspended Maduro and taken the issue of his position at the company to court, citing "financial irregularities" as one of its reasons.

An example given in court was the closing of a "US $140,000 deal with company SXM Services Provider for the writing of press releases and the drafting of a technical-investment plan and strategic-business plan, in cooperation with KPMG." The Judge will give his decision July 9.

When asked about this amount, Harley said that as it had been an hourly contract, there had been no signing to any specified amount, as the amount would be determined by hours worked. Payments did not add up anywhere near $140,000, he said, and he is not sure where that figure comes from. However, the initial contract states that the maximum number of billable hours is 140, he said.