On June 29, 2015 an article was published in the Daily Herald wherein Mr. Alfred Harley is quoted saying:
“ … the MPs should question how “one member of the Supervisory Board could receive $10,000 plus a stipend of $3,500 per month, while the whole board and the opposition bench in Parliament is ready to cripple a small local company providing work for local people.”
The Supervisory Board of Directors of N.V. GEBE wants to publicly state that this (political) statement by Mr. A. Harley is incorrect and a –deliberate- misrepresentation of the facts.
The simple fact of the matter is that the monthly allowance for all Supervisory Board Directors is gross Naf 2750. – and the monthly allowance for the Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Directors is gross Naf 3750.-. These are, since N.V. GEBE is a 100% government owned company, matters of national/public record.
By law and as per the articles of incorporation of N.V. GEBE, the Supervisory Board of Directors of N.V. GEBE is obliged to supervise and advise N.V. GEBE in a complete independent manner. Part of its tasks is ensure that Management abides to the statutory limit of Naf 50,000.- for entering into service level and other contracts on behalf of N.V. GEBE, with third parties.
Fact of the matter is that this statutory condition was violated by Mr. R.A. Maduro, the previous Chief Operating Officer of N.V. GEBE, when entering into a service level agreement on behalf of N.V. GEBE with Sint Maarten Service Provider, the company represented by Mr. Alfred Harley.
Fact of the matter is that the contractual limitation for the maximum monthly billable hours in the illegally contracted service level agreement with Sint Maarten Service Provider, represented by Mr. Alfred Harley, was also severely violated; instead of billing the contractual limit of 140 hours at $ 75.- per hour and thus a maximum amount of $ 10.500. – per month, for “services” rendered, Sint Maarten Service Provider invoiced N.V. GEBE in 4 months on average $ 42.000. – per month, thus in total $ 168.000. –. This is 1680 billable hours more in 4 months, than allowed as per the nota bene illegally contracted service level agreement.
Under the directorship of Mr. R.A. Maduro, N.V. GEBE made payments in excess of $ 168.000. – to Sint Maarten Service Provider in 4 months, every time –almost- immediately when an invoice was received of Sint Maarten Service Provider. The prevailing policies within N.V. GEBE stipulate that incoming invoices are all paid monthly, at the end of each month, thereby also allowing proper processing, scrutiny and control.
Fact of the matter is that the Supervisory Board of Directors of N.V. GEBE was never asked and – also as such – never agreed to any service level agreement between N.V. GEBE and Sint Maarten Service Provider, represented by Mr. Alfred Harley, or otherwise. Certainly not a service level agreement for a total monetary value of approximately $126.000.-, considering the maximum amount of US$ 10.500.- that could be billed every month by Sint Maarten Service Provider to N.V. GEBE for the total 12 month duration of this service level agreement. If the Supervisory Board of Directors of N.V. GEBE had not stepped in, the total damages for N.V. GEBE, at the rate that things were going, could have easily have amounted to approximately $ 500.000.- in the 12 months for which the service level agreement with Sint Maarten Service Provider was illegally contracted.
Fact of the matter is that Sint Maarten Service Provider and Mr. Alfred Harley never gave any reason and account to the Supervisory Board of Directors of N.V. GEBE, pertaining to alleged services rendered to N.V. GEBE, or otherwise.
Fact of the matter is that the Supervisory Board of Directors of N.V. GEBE finds that there is a significant discrepancy between the paid invoices and magnitude of services that Mr. Alfred Harley and Mr. R.A. Maduro maintain that were rendered by Sint Maarten Service Provider to N.V. GEBE. Simply put: N.V. GEBE was severely overbilled by Sint Maarten Service Provider, to say this softly.
The aforementioned discoveries constitute irregularities. The Supervisory Board of Directors of N.V. GEBE is both legally and morally obliged to act decisively to stop and prevent possible reoccurrence thereof.
The argument made by Mr. Alfred Harley that the Supervisory Board of Directors of N.V. GEBE would be trying to “cripple a small local company providing work for local people” is a fallacy and intended to divert the attention from the real issues at hand, which are that:
- internal control (check and balances) procedures within N.V. GEBE to protect against misuse of company funds have been violated;
- exorbitant claims for payment of amounts that exceed even the limit mentioned in an illegally contracted service level agreement, were made by Sint Maarten Service Provider to N.V. GEBE, and directly paid by N.V. GEBE, as per mandates of Mr. R.A. Maduro;
- the amounts invoiced by Sint Maarten Service Provider are severely disproportionate to the services rendered.
The Supervisory Board of Directors of N.V. GEBE will continue to safeguard the best interest of N.V. GEBE and as such also its plus 250 local employees.
