POND ISLAND--“If there is reason to doubt that that particular company was not being run in the interest of the people of St. Maarten, then it needs to be investigated and let the chips fall where they may,” said Finance Minister Michael Ferrier when asked his opinion on the Prosecutor’s Office petition to the court to conduct a civil inquiry into the operation of St. Maarten Harbour Group of Companies.
The prosecutor’s office had announced since last year that it intended to approach to court to get permission for the non-criminal investigation into what it deems as acts of possible mismanagement. This matter was pleaded last week and a decision will soon be rendered by the judge.
Ferrier, speaking in the Council of Ministers Press Briefing on Wednesday, said Government-owned companies are ultimately owned by the taxpayers of St. Maarten. “In my opinion, if there is reason to doubt the companies are being run in according with the way it is supposed to be run, investigations need to be done. Who should do those investigations I will stay out of.”
Any investigation by any entity should only be carried out if there are “solid reasons, not innuendos, not rumours,” said Ferrier. “When a prosecutor or anybody starts an investigation it better be because they have solid information that leads to a possible conclusion that the company is being run wrong.”
He noted that if any investigation is conducted and premise on which it was built is not proven, the investigator must come out publicly and say so, because too often the names and reputation of people in the community are damaged needlessly.
Ferrier further added: “I believe as a people, we St. Maarten, must want things to be done right not because somebody else or some other country or some other partner in the kingdom thinks that we need to take a look at situations. It needs to be done because we want to do it in the right way.”
“Every government-owned company should operate in accordance with good governance and good practices and practices that protect the company and make sure that the company can grow.”
