PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten — “The Coalition of Eight that supports the Marlin Cabinet is not responsible for any delay in the purchase of a generator for NV GEBE. This is far from the truth. The former Minister of VROMI received a letter from NV GEBE Supervisory Board of Directors Chairman together with the Management of NV GEBE to approve the urgent purchase of the generator which was booked in 27 October 2015; a new 11.3 MW Electric Power Generator to avoid a power supply crisis on St. Maarten. The request was also to exempt NV GEBE from having to seek competitive bids in the process. The last decision and word is with the previous Shareholder.
“While the former Minister of VROMI as the previous Shareholder of NV GEBE was busy rushing all other projects and giving away part of Kimsha Beach and long lease land to APS, why didn’t he rush this project through to purchase a generator for NV GEBE?
“Knowing the urgency of this project in order to avoid blackouts and load shedding, why wasn’t this one a priority? This issue has nothing to do with the new government supported by the Coalition of Eight delaying the purchasing of a generator. This does not have anything to do with the new Interim Manager of NV GEBE William Brooks and the hard working employees of NV GEBE who work around the clock to fix the situation until NV GEBE gets the approval to order the new generator.
“It is the neglect of the former Gumbs Cabinet for not handling the people’s business that affect their lives daily and that of businesses. The previous government needs to be open, transparent and accept responsibility for neglecting the people’s business instead of passing the buck and misleading the people with incorrect information. The Government with the support of the Coalition of Eight is working around the clock to bring everything back to order. As the school children say, even the Governor sent back advices that were rushed through by for the former Minister of VROMI.
“As a representative of the people, I can assure the people and the business community that this Government will do what is necessary to bring an improvement to the electricity supply to all consumers. For the purchasing of a new Generator, shipping and installation will take approximately nine months or more, so the community must take this into consideration once the Marlin Cabinet has taken a decision to purchase the much needed Generator,” MP Maurice Lake said on Thursday.
