LOPEZ Resigns as GEBE Consultant
PHILIPSBURG: --- The shareholder representative (government) plans to have a forensic audit conducted at GEBE in order to have a sound report on the spending at the government owned company.
SMN News understands that government will be conducting the forensic audit to get a clear picture as to how much monies members of the supervisory board have been spending on themselves and to also see exactly what members of the management team have been spending.
The issue of the misuse of the credit cards, by the CFO Romelio Maduro and CFO Rene Gartner will also be investigated. The hiring of St. Maarten Services Provider which is owned by former journalist Alfred Harley.
Another issue that government want to investigate is the function of the internal controller who recently had an accident and total loss GEBE vehicle. SMN News learnt that the internal controller had an accident and GEBE covered the cost of the claim even though the driver did not have a valid driver’s license at the time of the accident. Besides that GEBE then rented a Wrangler Jeep for the controller instead of a smaller vehicle like the one she had the accident with.
While the Prime Minister and the leader of Government seems to be protecting the COO Romelio Maduro who recently signed off check for $68,000.00 in the name of St. Maarten Service Provider and signed the MOU with GB Energy, it appears that their main goal is to get rid of certain employees they have a ‘beef’ with or believe is leaking information to the media.
Now that all the irregularities at GEBE are being published one of the consultants that were located in an office upstairs of the Windward Islands Bank have submitted his resignation to GEBE stating that he does not like what is taking place at GEBE. A source within GEBE said a former employee of VROMI Lopez who went on pension was hired as a private consultant for special projects by GEBE. However, since SMN News started to expose the irregularties that are taking place at GEBE it is understood that Lopez tendered his resignation last week, while the COO Romelio Maduro is on sick leave after it was made known that he wrote and signed a check to St. Maarten Service Provider to the tune of $68.000.00 while he does not have a valid contract to work at the government owned company.