The Corporate Governance Struggle of GEBE Three point Five ~Daniel in the Mix- PwC Audits the Auditor~

Sharine Daniel, the possible next chief executive officer (CEO) of NV GEBE, made headlines many times on SMN News. Daniel's name is mentioned over 60 times on the site. One article included is, "EXCLUSIVE: Former SBOD of GEBE conducted internal audit on Head of Internal Audit Department in 2015". The oldest article also dates back to 2015. In that story is a PricewaterhouseCoopers report on an audit of Daniel's selection process and remuneration package. The website also entails several articles detailing complications with Daniel and members of GEBE's Supervisory Board of Directors (SBOD). The headlines include allegations of sexual harassment, leaking company information, her stint at SZV and other labor-related issues. According to SMN, a previous SBOD intended to fire Daniel and dissolve the internal audit department in 2016. Daniel also filed a court case against GEBE for reducing her salary by NAF 2000. SMN reported that Daniel first agreed to the reduction after Romelio Maduro renewed her contract a day after the previous one expired. He was a former member of the Management Board.

The PwC audit report revealed information taken from assessing her employment contract and agreements made between her and GEBE. They also used other information taken from administrative, wage, and employment sources. In their findings, PwC stated Daniel requested a net salary matching her previous job in the USA. The report said, "the normal salary scale for the function Head Internal Audit Department is scale 11. The salary offered in her first contract was a salary in scale 13 and amounted to ANG 13,118 per month." Maduro signed that agreement.

Daniel started her role as Head Internal Audit Department on June 13, 2013, the report stated. It is not a management position but regarded as an essential function in GEBE. After noticing a lower salary after wage tax, Maduro informally approved her written request, of which the renegotiated salary was raised to ANG 15,991. The report stated that the amount "is a salary which belongs to scale 15." The Management Board and SBOD backed her increase by referencing that she should be kept occupied given her position and that she was the best candidate. 

Regarding agreements GEBE made with Daniel, GEBE paid a housing expense for Daniel while she stayed at the Sonesta Great Bay Beach Hotel. In an excerpt of her labor agreement, it states, "NV GEBE may take the following costs for its account if Management deems it necessary:... Rent of (hotel-)/apartment for two (2) months." Daniel stayed at the hotel for 7.5 months. Sonesta was paid $13,241.92 for that period. 

Daniel also received a car allowance for NAF 500. Daniel rented a vehicle from June 16, 2013, to January 31, 2014, although her labor agreement states, "NV GEBE may take the following costs for its account if Management deems it necessary: ……. 4 weeks car rental." As part of their remuneration, all department heads are entitled to a car allowance. However, on February 1, 2014, a car allowance was factored into her salary from that moment. In April 2014, she was granted a company car by a proposal of the SBOD. Daniel also received a representation allowance of NAF 400, which is typically allocated for company managers. Due to the importance of her role and the environment, the decision was made. 

Daniel also received a relocation allowance of NAF 5000, "which was paid out directly to her and has not been included in the payroll," the audit report stated.

The audit report stated, "the current salary of Ms. Daniel as per January 1, 2015 amounts ANG 17,137 gross per month and belongs to scale 15. Scale 15 is the maximum scale within GEBE" A consultancy firm concluded that her position falls under scale 13, dating back to an email Maduro received on January 12, 2015. The report further also stated, "In the payroll of January 2015, a lump sum amount of ANG 8,568.50 gross has been included, which is 50% of her monthly salary. We understood that this amount has  been granted to compensate the fact that she is not entitled to yearly increases."

While there are several additional reports, these were the highlights of Daniel's audit by PwC.