SXMElections.com

PHILIPSBURG:--- Prime Minister William Marlin in reaction to a question posed by SMN News regarding his letter to the Corporate Governance Council whom he asked to make their seats available said that he plans to meet with the members of the CGC to trash out their misunderstanding and differences of interpretation of the letter the CGC sent to the Prime Minister and his response to the CGC.
Marlin made clear that St. Maarten is in an election period and some politicians run to the media with everything they hear, he said he is not that type of person and does not even divulge the names of candidates that has to be screened for certain positions until those persons pass the screening.
Marlin said the CEO position at TELEM have been vacant for the past seven years and while he was not the shareholder responsible for the company over the years he cannot say why those that were in office did not make an appointment. The Prime Minister said when he took office he was informed of the need to appoint a CEO at TELEM because the company is going through some changes, one being merging with other companies and they do need someone in place to take critical decisions.
The Prime Minister did not divulge the contents of the letter he received from the CGC regarding the appointment of a CEO for TELEM. However, he did say that when he got the two names of candidates that were selected he sent one of the names to the CGC for an advice and instead of them sending him an advice they asked him for the name and credentials of the other candidate which he willingly submitted. He said he does not know if he misinterpreted what the CGC said to him in their letter and if they also misinterpreted his letter to them. Marlin said because of this he will be meeting with the CGC to further discuss the matter.
He made clear that he has no problems with the members of the council because he met with them several times before, apart from that the Prime Minister said the CGC have not been receiving their subsidies from the government-owned companies, this he said is an ongoing problem ever since the establishment of the CGC. The Prime Minister said he held a meeting with the government-owned companies to trash that matter out but representatives of TELEM did not attend the meeting. He said the CGC even had to ask for an advance in order for them to pay their expenses.
Marlin concluded by saying that after he meets with the members of the CGC he will make a public statement on the matter if necessary.