�PM summons another meeting�
PHILIPSBURG--Windward Islands Airways International Winair Supervisory Board members did not attend a meeting on Monday morning called by Prime Minister (PM) Sarah Wescot-Williams.
The PM, who is also the Shareholder Representative for Winair, invited the members of the board and Managing Director Edwin Hodge to the meeting to discuss developments at Winair and actions of the board, and to apprise them of the decision taken by the Shareholder concerning their positions at Winair.
The meeting was scheduled to take place at the PM's office at 10:00am, but only Hodge showed up.
Winair Board Chairman Fernando Williams responded in writing to the PM's invitation and informed her, apparently on Monday morning, that the board could not attend due to unforeseen circumstances.
Williams stated in his letter that Hodge, who was then off-island, was expected to return on Sunday evening, leaving little time to prepare for Monday's meeting. However, Hodge, who apparently returned to the island Sunday night, showed up for the meeting.
Williams proposed that the management and Supervisory Board of Winair be given the opportunity to draft a report for the PM and submit it to her by February 1. He also proposed that management and the board meet with the PM one week after the board's report was submitted.
In her reply, Wescot-Williams informed Williams that the board had misinterpreted the purpose of the meeting to which it had been invited. She explained that she had no interest in receiving more reports on the status of Winair, after having received reports from the ad-hoc committee headed by Michael Ferrier, the Government Accountants Bureau SOAB and the Taskforce put together by the then-government of the Netherlands Antilles.
Moreover, the Supervisory Board and management of Winair had already had the opportunity to respond to the SOAB report since December, when it had been presented to them. Additionally, the board had issued its own report to the media.
The meeting, Wescot-Williams said in her letter, was to inform the board of the decision of the shareholder, considering the precarious situation at Winair.
The PM re-invited the board to another meeting, with the same agenda points, on Wednesday, January 26.
SOAB, in its report on Winair of September 3, 2010, had classified the airline's financial position as "alarming" and lacking in cash flow to ensure that its operational activities could be executed at an optimal level.
SOAB said that although Winair had been able to remain operational through, among other things, not paying its creditors, the question was how much longer the situation could be allowed to continue without significant financial support and a comprehensive business plan.
Moreover, the report indicated that management and the Supervisory Board of Winair had not laid out a specific plan of approach to take the airline out of the financially-strapped position in which it finds itself, and management was ultimately responsible for the disappointing results at Winair.
Additionally, the report concluded that Supervisory Board Chairman Fernando William, perhaps due to the absence of a Chief Financial Officer, was too involved in operational matters; in particular, accounting issues.
In some respects, SOAB explained, Williams' involvement goes beyond oversight to actual implementation, which is undesirable in terms of good corporate governance. SOAB stressed that, in his role as Chairman of the Board, William should not be in a position where he oversees actions that he himself has executed.
Christina Aguilera The US embassy cables Work & careers Hacking Financial Services Authority (FSA) Xabi Alonso
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