BTP Deputy Director Judy Ann Labega-Hoeve in Parliament on Monday.
~ Pays NAf. 4 million in concession fees ~
PHILIPSBURG--Bureau Telecommunications and Post (BTP) St. Maarten needs US $784,000 to meet its commitments from September to December.
BTP Deputy Director Judy Ann Labega-Hoeve gave this information to Members of Parliament (MPs) during a meeting of the Central Committee of Parliament on Monday regarding BTP’s financial status.
Labega-Hoeve said that in September BTP had received instructions to apply the “Jacobs norm” to its financial administration. “We used our budget 2020 and based on that, we will need US $784,000 for us to be able to continue our commitments from September to December. Based on that we made cuts on our personnel expenses and those were also sent through to the minister of finance,” she told MPs.
The Jacobs norm stipulates that the combined salary and benefits of senior officials in the (semi)-public sector may not exceed 130 per cent of the prime minister’s new reduced salary. This includes consultants.
United St. Maarten Party (US Party) MP Claudius “Toontje” Buncamper asked whether BTP has met the requirement of the Jacobs norm and whether BTP is taking cost-saving measures such as the 12-per-cent cuts in salaries and benefits. Buncamper said salaries at BTP are exceptionally high and he queries how it is possible for BTP to require $784,000, when salaries should be going down to enforce the Jacobs norm.
In the meantime, for 2020, BTP paid NAf. 4 million in concession fees. It also made “minor payments” on behalf of government to several entities such as the Caribbean Postal Union for Postal Services St. Maarten (PSS), the 2019 and 2020 membership in the Union of Postal Associations in Geneva. A settlement was also made with government this year to record TelEm’s outstanding balances, once cleared, against the current account of government.
Buncamper asked what BTP’s role is in the ensuring the quality of telecommunication service in the country; whether government had asked BTP for an assessment of the Internet services provided on the island by especially TelEm (if it has ever conducted one) and if BTP cannot provide, to get an independent outside assessment of the services.
He also asked BTP to clarify what it is currently regulating exactly; whether there are any investigations currently ongoing into BTP’s functioning and, if so, what information can be divulged regarding this/these investigation(s).
He enquired whether BTP is successful in collecting subscriber fees from providers (TelEm, United Telecommunications Services (UTS), and any others) and if not, why not; whether subscribers asked for a delay in payment of fees or reduction of fees; whether BTP is up to date with its payments to government and if not, why not; how far BTP is with the completion of the drop down code (.SX) for St. Maarten; whether there are any studies or information as to the economic disadvantages the country is in by not completing the drop down code for the country; whether the moratorium on telecommunications licences is still in affect; whether BTP has done any research or whether it has any proposed plan, which considers having one telecommunications infrastructure that can be shared by the current telecommunications companies and any future additions, what would be the benefit and/or disadvantages of such a system, and whether it has been discussed with the stakeholders.
Buncamper also wanted to know whether BTP had considered offering its services as a utilities regulator to assist GEBE and its end users with a smooth and regulated transition to alternative sources of energy, what is the outstanding balance on the BTP loan and how much BTP purchased its building for. He also asked whether any of the space in the BTP building, since purchased, has been occupied by anyone besides Bureau for Intellectual Property BIP and if not, why not.
“Why is the BTP building empty except for the space occupied by BTP? It seems like irresponsible management of the building which is just sitting there doing nothing while government is paying astronomical rent to third parties to house government offices,” Buncamper noted.
He also asked what the status is with regard to government’s agreement to rent or possibly purchase the space available in the BTP building for its own use, amongst other questions.
Independent MP Christophe Emmanuel posed several questions concerning the status, current and future outlook of BTP. His questions were premised on BTP being one of the government-owned companies for which Parliament has very little information, despite years of complaints and issues raised by the public and other parties, it was stated in a press release issued after the meeting.
Emmanuel asked about a multi-annual plan for BTP that outlines its vision and projected growth and, in the absence of such, how the company plans for future development. While telecommunications regulators usually have sector-specific regulatory functions, he wants BTP to outline clearly to Parliament and the public exactly what its role is.
Furthermore, a market review or a plan will assist in developing a strategy that will provide clear direction on the way forward in the areas of regulation around data, data centres, bandwidth, shortcomings with interference, etc.
“We see and hear the complaints from everyday citizens, as well as the public and private sectors when it comes to the Internet and such. So, the question is: what exactly is BTP regulating and how can this guarantee better service?” Emmanuel said. He added that he would like information about improving the quality of service by the telecom companies to the community and how BTP intends to tackle this.
He also used the opportunity to query whether BTP is operating on an approved budget; whether its 2021 budget has been approved, and if not, why not; and how many telecom concession holders are currently active and up to date with payments to BTP. He also sought information about BTP’s building which currently only houses BTP itself. He asked why the space is not being used to assist in the loan payments for the building.
Emmanuel said there will be many more questions to follow based on the answers he received.
National Alliance (NA) MP Angelique Romou asked what is St. Maarten’s current broadband capacity? How has this impacted quality and reliability of the country’s telecom sector? What is the average household broadband usage on the island? And what is the average business broadband usage?
She enquired what is St Maarten’s frequency allocation within the broadband spectrum; whether BTP has a frequency allocation chart for the island similar to that as the United States Federal Communications Commission frequency allocation chart; whether St. Maarten’s frequency allocation meets the island’s current and long-term needs and with the world moving to 5G, what plans BTP has for scaling St. Maarten’s telecommunications network to meet increased demands for accessing the Internet, online/remote learning, e-commerce, video conferencing, cloud networks, and more smart devices in the home.
She also asked several other questions.
Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication (TEATT) Ludmilla de Weever and BTP executives were present in the meeting on Monday.
