Unbiased look at the Sint Maarten Elections
PHILIPSBURG--National Alliance (NA) Member of Parliament George Pantophlet wants government to ensure government-owned companies comply with their responsibilities to the shareholders – the people of St. Maarten. To that end he wants a report from government on whether companies are paying their concession fees.
"Looking at the challenging financial times and the balancing of the 2015 Budget it is only prudent that all avenues with regard to securing revenues are exhausted," Pantophlet said in a press statement issued on Monday.
Pantophlet wants an update on what government is doing to collect the concession fees from Princess Juliana International Airport SXM which, to date has not paid any concession fee.
St. Maarten Harbour Group of Companies appears, based on one of the integrity reports not to have paid its concession fee from January 2014 to May 2014 totalling some NAf. 2.17 million, the MP pointed out. Harbour officials indicated that they decided not to pay the concession fee to government to account for funding that was reportedly promised from the Ministry of Economic Affairs for the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association conference hosted by the harbour in October.
Pantophlet wants to know who gave harbour officials the authority to take that step. "If such a promise was made, then where is the documentation to substantiate this?"
Utilities company GEBE "appears to have not paid dividends since 2010" based on a decision made in the general shareholders meeting to distribute profits with the approval of the Managing Board and the Supervisory Board of Directors. "Is government to look into the financials of GEBE based on its audited reports to see whether profits were made and if so why nothing was given to government as yet," Pantophlet said.
St. Maarten Telephone Group of Companies TelEm finds itself in the same category as GEBE, he said.
