Today’s scheduled Parliament debate on utilities provider GEBE (see related story) should be interesting. It regards the continuation of a plenary session requested as “urgent” at the time, a term that hardly applies any more since that was on September 29 of last year.
Nevertheless, there are recent developments that can be asked about, including the recruitment of a new CEO, CFO as well as COO. That’s practically the entire top, raising concern regarding continuity in management.
Caretaker Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs (General Affairs), who will be at this morning’s public meeting also as Member of Parliament (MP) pending the formation of a new government, recently stated that potential candidates had been identified and were being evaluated. It would be good to find out in some detail how these significant changes have been prepared and discussed with relevant current staff.
After all, GEBE is not just government-owned but particularly essential to the country’s tourism economy that provides the livelihood for most of its population. Moreover, the company has a monopoly position.
Hopefully attention will also be paid to sustainable energy options. Despite ongoing consultations on a roadmap involving GridMarket and GEBE’s own strategic plan, the people are yet to see any meaningful tangible results.
Private sector initiatives like placement of solar panels at National Institute for Professional Advancement (NIPA) by fuel distributor Sol – as reported in this edition of the newspaper – are welcome. But St. Maarten, already lagging behind on so-called “green” energy production, needs a comprehensive approach with a prompt, significant and widespread impact.
