St. Maarten News – Independent MP Maurice Lake has taken note of the situation at utilities company Gebe and stresses that it “needs to get away from the chaos and bring back a sense of tranquility and ease.” Restructuring Gebe’s board and management, and training and development for the employees, are is high priority, he said in a oppress statement.
Gebe’s main problem is that the board needs to put a five to ten-year master plan in place that shows a sense of direction and leadership, Lake stated in a press release. “I don’t understand how a board, that was put there when I was Minister of Vromi and shareholder representative, cannot hold management responsible and accountable for executing the vision and projects for the people of St. Maarten.”
The board doesn’t need to get into the day to day operations of the company, but it has to set conditions and priorities for management to execute, Lake pointed out. “Then there has to be a measuring stick in place to see that management has executed those projects or programs. The board supervises and management executes. There has to be some performance mechanism in place to evaluate management.”
Even though you have a change in Government, the execution of projects and programs should continue, Lake said. “That change should not impact execution and one cannot use the excuse that they are waiting on government for this and that. You have an approved plan, start executing.
Gebe should never have 30 million in carry over projects for every year for the past five years. What type of projects did management execute for the people? Gebe needs to cut back more on waste and start putting checks and balances back into the company. Gebe needs to start investing back into the community and its people by executing projects.”
On Guavaberry Road in St. Peters, you have people carrying buckets of water up to their home in 21st century St. Maarten due to a lack of water pressure, Lake stated. “Why is this happening today? Gebe has had this water tank project for upgrading Guavaberry Hill Road with the land owner’s approval on the budget for the past four years; why didn’t management execute this project? Street lights are also needed along this particular road for safety and security of the residents. I did a walk through this particular area on Sunday with several of the residents.”
Lake furthermore said that Gebe has to start putting its employees first by increasing the budget for training and development. “Gebe should not reserve more on its budget for social activities and events than for training and development for employees. There also needs to be organizational integrity. You can’t have people leaking information. We need checks and balances in place in order to bring back tranquility.”
Lake wants Gebe to purchase land for a branch office in the Saunders/St. Peters and to establish a branch office in Belvedere near the St. Maarten Housing Foundation Offices. “We need to provide better service to the community and to our seniors and not have people standing outside in the hot sun at the main office in Philipsburg to pay their electrical and water bills.”
Lake furthermore wants a substation for the harbor area and electricity, water and sewage lines. “Government needs to issue the necessary permits once these have been requested. Gebe needs to get the Seven Seas Water and Sewage Lines project off the ground, upgrade the water lines project at the A.T. Illidge road and start executing the other investments projects.”
Source: Today SXM Independent MP Maurice Lake: “Restructure Gebe’s board and manag ement”
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