Philipsburg:--- The Management of the Harbor Group of Companies was called to Parliament on Tuesday to give the committee on Economic Affairs an update on how they have been managing the Harbour Group of Companies. While the CEO of the Harbour Group Mark Mingo gave the committee members a perfect picture of the operations he has been heading for the past 11 years, Member of Parliament of the Democratic Party faction Petrus Leroy De Weever pleaded with the Management team not to take his questions personally but he thinks that the people of St. Maarten need to know the truth.
De Weever asked Mingo if he is not the one who chose to sell lands that belonged to harbor for almost nothing. The MP also asked for queries about the land sold to EDC and what happened to the monies that the Harbour Group took as financing for the EDC project. De Weever also asked about the land the Management of the Harbour Group sold to the Indian Merchants.
De Weever said that while the Government owned company is battling with the insurance companies and Ballast Nedam who built the harbor which can only withstand up to category four hurricanes, he wants the management team to tell Parliament how much it would cost the Harbour Group of Companies to repair pier one that was damaged by storms and hurricanes. De Weever said based on the information Mingo shared with the committee members, it is clear to him that the Harbour is looking for more monies (30 to 35 million USD) for expansion. The DP MP said that he wants to know exactly how much the harbor properties was sold for compared to the price they are willing to pay for other properties for further development.
De Weever also asked for more information on the agreement they are working on to purchase the properties of Bobby's Marina.
MP De Weever asked if the causeway will be completed and if it will cost the government of St. Maarten more monies. De Weever said that while SLAC has certain responsibilities including the waterways, just recently he went to see the condition of the Simpson Bay lagoon and he concluded that the Mississippi River is in better condition than the Simpson Bay Lagoon. He said that SLAC falls directly under the Harbour Group of Companies. De Weever reminded Mingo that as a St. Maartener he knows the importance of waterways and therefore he should do his best to save the Simpson Bay Lagoon.
Mingo gave the committee members a full outline of the activities of the Harbour Group of Companies. He mentioned how the causeway which is currently under construction came into being and some of the other projects that will be connected to the causeway. Mingo also confirmed on Tuesday during his presentation that the height of causeway had to adjust because the workers of the Airport Towers shared concerns on the height of the causeway.
Mingo in his presentation said that the Harbour Group has been making a lot of contribution to the community and he is also in agreement with the Minister of Finance who is currently working on a policy for government owned companies to pay government its dividends. Mingo said that he hopes that the other government owned companies would pay their fair share to the shareholder.
Other Members of Parliament congratulated the management team of the Harbor Holding Companies for the informative presentation they presented to the committee members. However, Member of Parliament Romaine La Ville in his presentation said he believes that the Harbor Holding Companies could offer more opportunities to the younger generation of St. Maarten by granting one or two students a year full scholarship.
Member of Parliament Jules James said that he is of the opinion that Mark Mingo is a politician based on the way he answered the questions that were posed. James said that it appears to him as though Mingo is preparing to contest in the 2014 election. James also asked Mingo how much money the Harbour Holding Companies invested in TEMPO Turns 7 and if they believe that was good investment for St. Maarten. The UP MP further asked the Harbour Group Management how do other people qualify for funding.
