GEBE now fully owned by St Maarten, the start of SEC

The Daily Herald writes that transfer of shares, giving St. Maarten 100 per cent ownership of the utilities company, took place at Sonesta Maho Beach Resort last week Friday. Present for the transfer were Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams, Governor Eugene Holiday, MPs Heyliger and Roy Marlin, former MP from St. Maarten in the Netherlands Antilles constellation Marcel Gumbs, the governors of Saba and Statia, commissioners from Saba and Statia, GEBE’s Supervisory Board members and members of GEBE’s soon-to-be-defunct Shareholding Foundation, among others. Also present were the heads of the new utility companies on Saba and Statia. Fred Couvalier will lead Statia Utility Company STUCO and Dexter Johnson will be at the helm of Saba Electrical Company (SEC).
A six-month grace period of sorts is now in effect, allowing St. Maarten to render any technical service that may be required by Saba and Statia. All operations and employees will be transferred by January 1, 2014.
St Maarten Minister responsible for Energy Affairs Maurice Lake said last week Friday that the official transfer of all of the shares of GEBE to St. Maarten could not have happened without the close collaboration of all stakeholders and, in particular, without the vision of Member of Parliament (MP) Theo Heyliger.  “I would like to congratulate MP Heyliger for his vision with respect to the future of GEBE because, under his watch, the basic agreement that got the ball rolling was signed by the representatives of the three islands – Saba, St. Eustatius and St. Maarten – to move in this direction,” Lake said.
Lake also assured Saba and Statia that GEBE would be ready to assist them and their new electricity companies if so needed. “I would like to assure our brothers and sisters of Saba and St. Eustatius, despite this historic separation into three utility companies, GEBE St. Maarten will always be there to assist wherever possible,” he said. “GEBE St. Maarten will continue to work with the new companies on Saba and Statia with respect to the transition process over the next six months. The relationship as one company for decades cannot be erased with this agreement and this historic moment. This is another phase in the process of being able to meet the challenges of the future, and it is also based on the constitutional realities that took place on 10-10-10.”