~ 100 per cent to St. Maarten by January 1, 2012 ~
ST. EUSTATIUS--St. Maarten's Minister of Energy Theo Heyliger, Commissioner Chris Johnson of Saba and Commissioner Glen Schmidt of St. Eustatius signed an agreement on division of GEBE's shares on Thursday evening that ultimately will result in St. Maarten owning 100 per cent of the company's shares as of January 1, 2012.
The agreement entitled "Transition Power Plants Saba & Statia Division GEBE Shares" also calls for the new St. Eustatius Electricity Company N.V. and Saba Electricity Company N.V. to be established.
The historic agreement was signed at GEBE's main office building in Statia, located on Korthalsweg.
Heyliger, who has been pushing for this division and transfer for a few years already, said he was elated that it could finally be done and the people of St. Maarten could look forward to some real improvements in their electricity company on creative levels. "The company will be very different," he said. He added that the intention was to leave Saba and Statia in a positive position where they could handle their own affairs.
St. Maarten, with its 92 per cent share in GEBE, will buy out Statia's 4.5 per cent for US $9 million and Saba's 3.1 per cent for $6.2 million, with financing coming from GEBE St. Maarten, which is in a financial position to commit the $15.2 million.
According to the agreement, the division of shares is based on an average of the five different scenarios/proposals presented by PricewaterhouseCoopers. The annual account of the company as of December 31, 2009, will be the basis of the division of the shares and will be verified by a third party.
The agreement also commits GEBE's Shareholding Foundation to establish the new energy companies in Saba and Statia at its expense and to transfer into these new companies the agreed-on liquid and fixed assets. The shares of the new companies will be owned 100 per cent by the governments of Saba and Statia.
As for fixed assets, the agreement stipulates all movable and immovable assets in St. Eustatius and Saba will be transferred to the respective islands free of all cost, debt, lien and/or attachments. Any and all notary and other cost and taxes due in connection with the transfer of these assets will be covered by GEBE Shareholding Foundation.
Parties also agreed to a transition period for the new electricity companies of Saba and Statia with GEBE St Maarten for an initial period of one year. This transition agreement entails:
1) Service level agreements (SLAs) will be worked out for the areas of technical, managerial, and other support needed for the production and distribution of electricity in St. Eustatius and Saba to be finalised before January 1, 2012.
2) The execution of all pending projects and investments budgeted for Saba and St. Eustatius by GEBE for the year 2010. A total amount of $1 million, to be divided between the latter two islands, will be made available for the projects investments.
3) Prior to the transfer date of January 1, 2012, the public entities of Saba and St Eustatius will re-evaluate the operating cost of the branches on the two islands. Parties will not unnecessarily delay or obstruct the transfer of tasks and services.
4) The legal positions of the current GEBE employees in Saba and St. Eustatius will be finalised with that company. Following this, these employees will be transferred to the new companies. The employees will go over to the new companies with the same legal standings, salaries, and other benefits to which they are currently entitled with NVGEBE. Built-up pension rights will be maintained as much as possible and will migrate with employees to their new employer.
5) Parties agree that no major appointments and/or other crucial decisions will be made effective today up until December 31, 2012.
At the end of the transition period parties will enter into a cooperation agreement for an initial period of one year with the purpose of promoting cooperation between the three energy companies, as well as among the managements and staffs of all three companies on all levels and in all areas. This initial period can be extended with the consent between parties.
The meeting on Thursday commenced around 1:00pm and concluded around 6:20pm. Also in attendance were GEBE Shareholding Foundation Chairman Ralph Richardson, Commissioner Bruce Zagers of Saba, Monique Brown, Xavier Blackman, Island Council members Reginald Zaandam, Millicent Lijfrock-Marsden, Franklin Brown, Commissioner Clyde van Putten, GEBE Statia Manager Fred Cuvalay and Ivan Berkel of Statia.
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