Minister of VROMI Receives 'Tip-Toed' Advice from Corporate Governance Council
Although reservations remain about the fact that no candidate fulfills the legal, financial and human resource profile or whether there was a selection process, the Corporate Governance Council (CGC) had no "serious objections'' to the six persons proposed to fill the vacant supervisory board of NV GEBE. This was stated in the CGC’s response to the recommendation of the Minister of Public Housing, Environment, Spatial Planning and Infrastructure (VROMI).
The recommended board members are Anastacio Baker, Sabina Jno-Baptiste, Emmanuel Brooks, Dimar Labega, Lela Simmonds and Dave York. It must be mentioned that given the resume of Jno-Baptiste, there's an error in her first name as it's Sabrina.
It is noteworthy that York was the campaign manager of the same Minister of VROMI and Labega ran as the number nine (9) candidate on the National Alliance list in the 2020 Parliamentary elections. Jno-Baptiste is reportedly also the partner of the current Minister of Finance and Simmonds is known to be an associate of his.
In a letter to the CGC, Minister Doran said his motivation to appoint these persons is based on the profiles and procedures of the Article of Incorporation of NV GEBE, according to CGC’s advice dated August 4, 2021. The CGC's letter also said that the Minister of VROMI indicated the urgent need to have the Supervisory Board to its full capacity as quickly as possible.
But, as the CGC says in its letter, “the CGC also needs to determine whether the Minister’s intention to appoint the aforementioned persons was (properly) motivated.”
According to GEBE's Articles of Incorporation, the supervisory board can have members with the following backgrounds: a technical, financial, human resource, legal, and a business / economic / commercial background.
Of the six nominated persons proposed by Minister Doran, none have a legal, financial or human resource background based on their presented resumes. In fact, five (5) possess a background for either the business economic or commercial economic profile. While GEBE’s mission states “we are a customer-oriented company that provides reliable, cost effective, quality electricity, water and waste management services in a safe, environmental-friendly, sustainable and innovative manner” there was also no one with an environmental background recommended.
GEBE is the sole energy provider on the island and, given the company's current circumstances due to the impact of Hurricane Irma and the COVID-19 pandemic, it is critical for the Supervisory Board to provide the leadership to guide the company through this challenging time in its history.
Simmonds, Brooks and Baker are the only candidates with work experience in a corporation as large as GEBE.
Given recent corporate governance issues at the airport and GEBE’s recent public scandal involving former Supervisory Board chairman Bievenido Richardson and the company’s legal advisor Jairo Bloem, “it is imperative that the composition of the Supervisory Board of such a vital company consists of all the necessary expertise to ensure the proper governance thereof,” CGC’s letter stated.
In their conclusion the CGC added, “the CGC also makes use of this opportunity to point out the need to determine more specific and detailed profiles and requirements for the Supervisory Board of Directors of Government owned companies and foundations indicating at least the required educational level and amount of experience in a specific field.” They also added “the CGC further advises the Minister that prior to finalizing the to ensure that there are no conflicts of interest according to Chapter III sub 8 of the Corporate Governance Code as well as confirming that each candidate has a certificate of Good Conduct.”
