Several Questions on bidding process asked by MPs.
PHILIPSBURG:--- Managing director of the Princess Juliana International Airport broke down while in Parliament on Monday afternoon.
Labega have been going through some severe turmoil and almost held hostage with the development plans of the PJIAE by the shareholder representative. On Monday Regina Labega reported to Parliament to discuss the financials of the government owned company, after making her presentation almost every Member of Parliament praised Labega for the work she did at PJIAE yet some of those same MPs who said she was the one that developed the St. Maarten Tourist Bureau filed a criminal complaint against her were among those that credited her as a St. Maarten professional.
Several Members of Parliament questioned the Airport Director and the bidding process and especially why the building permit for the Fixed Based Operations (FBO) was not granted. One of the questions posed was why Labega chose to conduct the bidding for the expansions by invited bid and not open bidding, in her response she made clear that prior to her taking up the position as director she was on PJIAE board. Labega said she spent over 15 years at PJIAE and each time bidding had to be done it was done by invitation. As for the FBO permit MP Christopher Emmanuel said that he did not want the Managing Director to answer the question as to why the FBO permit was not granted but stated that the prison expansion, APS and VORST land expansion, the SMMC expansion, and the Government Building contracts will be given to LICOMM while the only contract that company did not have was the FBO project at PJIAE.
MP Silvio Matser also asked the Managing Director what type of working relationship she has with the supervisory board because he managed to obtain information where the Prime Minister allegedly sent a letter to the supervsory board ordering them to bring forward their meeting to November 10th 2015 and to remove Labega from her position while she is in court. Labega filed a court case seeking the court to instruct the Prime Minister and Minister of VROMI not to take any type of actions against her until she is given a hearing on the screening process she failed due to the criminal complaint filed against her some five years ago.
Labega did not answer that question because the meeting had to be adjourned for Labega to compose herself since it was at that point she broke down. When the meeting resumed she apologised to the Members of Parliament for becomming emotional and there she explained that she is due to appear in court on Tuesday.
The Members of Parliament on Monday tried to flourish Labega with praises while she is being victimized by the ousted Gumbs cabinet. MP Franklin Meyers went as far as saying that their coalition will be blamed for the victimization but he wanted to let the public know that it is not true. MP Meyers failed to remind Parliament that it was when he was a Minister of TEATT he suspended Labega as Director of the Tourist Bureau and had her removed from her position after she was reinstated when she hired the services of an attorney to contest her suspension in court.
On Monday MP Meyers credited Labega several times and even denied her current victimization is coming from the Council of Ministers he and is party placed in office.
The meeting on Monday had to be adjourned in order for another meeting to take place. Labega will send the other answers she did not answer in writing to Parliament.
