PHILIPSBURG--Utilities company GEBE has not provided sufficient information to its shareholder (government) regarding the billing of clients since reopening after its March 17 ransomware attack, for the shareholder to give an accurate account on how many persons have actually been billed, Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs told Members of Parliament (MPs) on Friday during the continuation of an urgent public meeting on recent developments impacting the utilities company’s liquidity.
GEBE reopened for physical payments on June 6.
“There is not sufficient information provided to the shareholder for me to be able to give an accurate account as to how many persons were actually billed, how many billed accurately and what is being done to mitigate or bring that up to par,” Jacobs told MPs in responding to questions from United Democrats (UD) MP Sarah Wescot-Williams. “What I can say is that they [GEBE – Ed.] had expected that by the end of September they would have caught up.”
During a presentation GEBE made to the shareholder on August 19, Jacobs said, percentages had been quoted as to how many clients had been billed and another percentage as to how many had been accurately billed.
“A whole breakdown was given as to where they were at the time – August 19 – and the cycle of billing and that by the following week another group [of clients] would have received their bills, etc., and in requesting the further elucidation to be presented here today accurately, this was not given,” Jacobs said.
“I have no corroboration on the information that was submitted on August 19, but a number was thrown out and I heard the numbers thrown out again via the interview yesterday [on Friday on radio] in that some amount like 76% of the population was billed so that means 24% was not.
“This is according to the documents provided in the presentation on August 19 – 76% [billed]. Of that, 86% was accurately billed. I cannot corroborate that. The 14% was being dealt with, in the sense of them getting the updated bills. But I have not received any substantiating documentation to prove such.”
Jacobs explained that she had requested updated information in preparation for Friday’s meeting and even “a proper graphic” to present to MPs, but this had not been received up to the time of making her statement in Parliament.
She explained that this was one of the main reasons that the shareholder found flawed a press statement that GEBE had issued that persons in category A [who have received their correct bills] would be required to pay their entire bill by September 1 or risk being disconnected.
“We found that to be erroneous to put out in the media and that was the cause of much consternation in the public. We requested respectfully, staying in our lane, the company to ensure that proper communication went out so that there would be no confusion,” Jacobs said indicating that of all the persons in the meeting from the Council of Ministers, Supervisory Board of Directors and management, “not one person could say in the room that they had received accurate bills at that time on the 19th of August, so how in heaven’s name then could you proceed in this manner?”
At the start of her delivering the answers to questions posed by MPs, Jacobs said some of the answers were of a confidential nature and discussion would be required as to how to disseminate this information. As the shareholder is reliant on GEBE to supply it with answers, Jacobs said she would make clear whether she is able to corroborate the validity or accuracy of information she received, which she did at various points during her presentation.
