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PHILIPSBURG:--- On Wednesday, September 8th, Member of Parliament and leader of the USP (United St. Maarten Party) faction in parliament, MP Claudius Buncamper sent a letter to Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs and the Council of Ministers (COM), regarding the GEBE water management contract and the fuel clause. Because of the urgency in this matter and seeing that the questions posed by MP Buncamper cover various ministries, the MP decided to submit his questions to the Council of Ministers as a collective body. MP Buncamper said in his letter that he posed several questions to the Minister of VROMI during the last budget debate, regarding the water management and the fuel clause, which have to this day not been answered. The serious costs issues plaguing schools, foundations, businesses, citizens, and particularly our seniors' citizens have amplified the need to repeat these questions. The MP noted that the fuel clause has increased by 38% between November 2020 and July 2021, which significantly impacts the country. Seeing that the water management contract does not necessarily entail the setting of pricing for the sales of water or the fuel clause, I have decided to address this matter directly to the Council of Ministers (COM) MP Buncamper stated in his letter and submitted the following questions to the council.
When was the last contract signed and what is the yearly management fee for NV GEBE to manage the contract on behalf of the government? How much water is produced and sold yearly and what is the separate income for commercial and residential consumption? In his letter, the MP also queried the yearly income for government from the sale of water over the past 5 years? Who covers the yearly 25% water loss and the monetary value thereof? How much is the yearly maintenance expense for the management of the water contract? MP Buncamper questioned if the maintenance expenses are reviewed and approved by the government? Or if it is a carte blanche that allows GEBEs management to invest as they see fit? The MP also enquired who approves the yearly capital investment expenses for the water management contract and if the procurements procedures are in line with government regulations? Buncamper went on to question who signed the current water purchase contract and the duration of the contract. He inquired about the quantity of the daily water production and the cost per metric ton. What happens to the excess produced water, if any? Have we offered the French Side to purchase any excess produced water? The MP wants to know if there is a clause in the management contract that states that once the minimum production mark is passed, the water price drops significantly and if we are currently benefitting from that lower price. The MP also enquired about the take or pay clause and what that clause entails. He also questioned who the owners of the water production plant are and their ages.
The MP concluded that government schools, the various subsidized government entities, and foundations are being charged a commercial water rate of Naf 20,36 per metric ton, based on a Naf 8,- per metric ton sales rate and a Naf 12,528866 fuel clause rate per metric ton. This and the already tightened budget of various schools and foundations have caused the MP to submit the following questions to the COM. Who determined that the public schools, government-subsidized entities, and foundations must be charged commercial rates, and based on what criteria? Can government intervene to have the residential rates, or a flat government rate lower than the residential rate, applied to government schools and subsidized entities? MP Buncamper also queried as to how the fuel clause rate is calculated for the water production and what factors influence the fuel clause? Can the cost of the water production be explained seeing that GEBE pays the water producing company Seven Seas an amount of US$ 1,19 per metric ton for the minimum contract amount and an amount of around 30% lower for more water?