Clyde: Statia expects its GEBE rep to execute share transfer agreement

~ Will invite Pandt to meeting ~

ST. EUSTATIUS--Commissioner Clyde van Putten on Wednesday said the government of St. Eustatius expects its representative on GEBE's Shareholding Foundation to carry out the wishes of government as they relate to the transfer of GEBE shares agreement that was signed by Saba, Statia and St. Maarten. Statia's representative on the foundation board is Max Pandt.

Van Putten's invited comment came a day after it was revealed that the execution of the agreement had gotten stuck in the Shareholding Board, after Pandt had not been in a meeting to lend Statia's support to the said execution. The Commissioner disclosed that Pandt had written the Executive Council of Statia indicating that he had not been privy to information on the transfer and had not been given instructions by the government of Statia to act.

Stressing that Statia stands behind the agreement signed, Van Putten said government will formally invite Pandt to a meeting to discuss the issue and give the instruction. "Members of the Supervisory Board or the Shareholding Foundation of GEBE can have their personal opinions, and we respect that. Even from a legal point of view, maybe he [Pandt-Ed.] may be seeing things that we as Executive Council might not be seeing and we are open to listen," the Commissioner said.

He continued: "But after that, the authority still lies with the Executive Council in determining what we want and the direction we want to go. Then the obligation for whoever is representing government will be to execute whatever decision on behalf of government."

Van Putten said Pandt could not be held accountable for not executing the agreement, as legally he had not been given the instruction. "However, when the air is clear after the meeting, we would expect him to carry out the wishes of government. We are not going back on the agreement. The agreement is a good starting point, so I don't expect that we will be revisiting it to change anything."

"But there are different ways to reach the room, so to speak. Maybe some of the things Max Pandt feels may not necessarily differ with the agreement as is. There are probably a number of strategies that could be applied in achieving some of the things outlined in the agreement. But we stand behind the agreement," he said.

Source: http://www.thedailyherald.com/islands/1-islands-news/23267-clyde-statia-expects-its-gebe-rep-to-execute-share-transfer-agreement-.html

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