~ MOU signed, Holding Foundation to be dissolved ~
PHILIPSBURG--The governments of Saba, St. Eustatius and St. Maarten have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the division of GEBE shares in eighteen months.
St. Maarten's Minister of Energy Affairs Theo Heyliger, Saba's Commissioner of Energy Chris Johnson and Statia's Commissioner of Energy Koos Sneek signed the MOU at the Government Administration Building in Philipsburg on Thursday evening.
With an action plan and with the shares transfer agreement of October 2011 incorporated into this MOU, the three islands now will enter an 18-month transition phase that will culminate in the division of shares and in Saba and Statia establishing their own electricity companies by January 1, 2014.
GEBE St. Maarten will buy out of Saba's 3.1 per cent and Statia's 4.5 per cent shares in GEBE to the tune of approximately US $15.2 million combined, so that St. Maarten becomes the 100 per cent owner of the company.
The Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs has agreed to take up responsibility for affordable and reliable electricity in Saba and Statia after the transitional period ends on January 1, 2014.
The Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs also has also made an interim manager available to assist Saba and Statia in establishing their own electricity companies, to draft business plans and to coordinate the construction of windmills on the islands. It is expected that the construction of these windmills will lower the production cost of electricity, which will have a positive effect on the tariffs.
An agreement also was reached pertaining to the rights and positions of the employees of N.V. GEBE who will be employed by the new electricity companies in Saba and Statia, as well as to capital investments and maintenance on the two islands during the transitional period.
The MOU now will be taken to the Council of Ministers of St. Maarten and the Island Councils of Saba and Statia for ratification. Once the MOU is ratified, GEBE's Shareholding Foundation will be instructed by all three governments, in a joint letter, to transfer the shares it controls back to all three islands.
When this process is complete, the Shareholding Foundation will be dissolved, as it currently serves no other purpose than the holding entity of the shares. A new Supervisory Board of GEBE then will be in control of the shares until they are divided.
This new board will be responsible for guiding the share transfer process and for the establishment of the companies in Saba and Statia, ensuring that these companies are able to operate independently and cost-effectively.
In the meantime, GEBE's operations will continue as is, with the exception of the appointment of new board members, which should happen soon, considering that two of St. Maarten's members on the current board, Joseph Dollison and Gregory Richardson, resigned recently.
St. Maarten's third member, board Chairman Julius Lambert, also has tendered his resignation, but has indicated that he will not leave until the end of his tenure on July 8. How the situation with Lambert will play out over the next few weeks is unclear, but the governments of St. Maarten, Saba and Statia have the right to appoint, suspend or dismiss board members.
The government had requested on March 12 that Shareholding Foundation Chairman Ralph Richardson seek the Supervisory Board's immediate resignation. Lambert indicated in response that he intended to remain for the duration of his contract. Saba and Statia will keep their current representatives on the board: Ivan Berkel representing Statia and Ray Hassell representing Saba.
The Daily Herald also understands that Statia's representative on the Shareholding Foundation Max Pandt also supports the MOU. He had some issues with the initial shares transfer agreement of October 2011.
Statia and Saba also have the support of the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs. An agreement was reached with the Ministry in March, when Commissioners Johnson and Sneek travelled to Holland to discuss the GEBE shares transfer.
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