Supervisory Board Failures at GEBE and TELEM Expose Flaws in St. Maarten’s Governance Code

By: SXM Talks

~ Review urges urgent reforms to modernize oversight of Government Owned companies ~

Strong, but Falling Behind

OECD Guidelines

Dutch Corporate Governance Code

South Africa’s King IV Report

GEBE: Governance in Crisis

Integrity Chamber investigation

public dispute

Government as the sole shareholder

RAC/BTP report

TELEM: Leadership Vacuum

the company faced financial challenges

outsourcing customer service operations

competitive pressures

Where Reform Is Needed

1. Adopt a State Ownership Policy to clarify government’s role as shareholder and reduce political interference.
2. Increase Transparency through annual performance scorecards, disclosure of related-party transactions and procurement reports.
3. Mandate Board Evaluations and Succession Planning to avoid leadership gaps.
4. Set Diversity and Independence Targets for supervisory boards.
5. Strengthen Risk and Cybersecurity Oversight, learning from GEBE’s failures.
6. Tighten Auditor Independence Rules, including rotation and limits on non-audit services.
7. Implement Whistleblower Protections to expose misconduct safely.
8. Embed Sustainability Oversight so boards account for environmental and social performance.

Why It Matters

A Regional Benchmark

The Road Ahead