Altered spreadsheet shows gross mismanagement at a Government owned Company.
PHILIPSBURG:--- As the internal documents from GEBE business transactions began to surface one must ask themselves if the management team of GEBE were functioning and if the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Rene Gartner knew what was taking place with the former Chief Operational Officer Romelio Maduro who signed off several checks to St. Maarten Service Provider. Moreso, where were the experts that worked in the finance department? Were there any checks and balances within this government owned company or was there gross mismanagement? Several persons believed that Maduro and Harley were involved in some sort of fishy business when the two of them signed the agreement to allow a purchasing company to operate as a consultant.
In a press release issued two weeks ago the Chairman of the Supervisory Board Rene Richardson said that a ‘whistle blower” within the government owned company alerted one of the board members that is accused of micro-managing the company about the checks and the contract between St. Maarten Service Provider and GEBE. It is further stated that the only reason the ‘whistle blower” informed at least one member of the supervisory board was because he/ she considered Harley to be arrogant. It appears from that statement alone that if Alfred Harley did not act arrogant or as if he owned the company then the abuse committed by the former COO and Harley would have been swept under the proverbial carpet and business at GEBE would have been business as usual at the expense of the people of St. Maarten. Somehow, something smells ‘fishy” or like a “dead rat” when one looks at the documents that is now coming out of the closet. One must know that the finance department had to have that contract and payments could only have been made based on the contract. Secondly, civil servants (workers) on the whole are obliged by law to report all wrong doings wherever they work if not they too can be held culpable to any crimes committed.
SMN News contacted Rene Gartner on Thursday to question him about the checks that were issued but Gartner quickly brushed off SMN News and said that contact should be made with the chairman of the supervisory board. Somehow, Gartner seems not to know that the supervisory board is not responsible for the day to day management of the company and he being the Chief Financial Officer (COO) who is now totally in charge of the operations of the company will have to answer some strong questions that law enforcement will ask. The fact that Gartner and Maduro has made it out to be that the two were not getting along, each one of them had a specific role to play and they cannot escape by just say they did not know. The head of the finance department who recently got a promotion would also have to say how these payments were made even though they were in full violation of the contract Maduro and Harley signed.
It seems more and more that Maduro is one taking the fall for this contract and payments that were made to St. Maarten Service Provider while the others that are also responsible for checks and balances are being protected by someone.
SMN News learnt from sources that Maduro even granted one of the Supervisory board member a favor by putting his wife on GEBE payroll while the woman had no educational background to do the job she was given. This board member SMN News understands is totally against the actions the Supervisory Board has taken against Maduro because he personally got favors from the former COO.
While Romeilio Maduro the former COO of GEBE has taken the fall for the contract signed between St. Maarten Service Provider and NV GEBE it must be noted that the first check written and signed off on 25/02/2015 to the tune of $12,300.00 was signed off by the CFO Rene Gartner who recieved orders from a particular Member of Parliament. A well placed source said that Gartner even went as far as taking the check to Alfred Harley. It should be noted that Alfred Harley got recomendations from MP Theodore Heyliger, MP Johan Janchi Leonard, The Daily Herald Newspaper and The Today Newspaper in order for him to obtain the contract from NV GEBE.
