PHILIPSBURG: --- Leader of the United Peoples Party Omar Ottley presented a motion during the draft amendment of the 2024 Budget debate; the motion was presented Tuesday evening.
The motion, which was read out on the floor of parliament before it was presented, addressed the burden thrown on the residents and businesses of St. Maarten since the NV GEBE crisis began in March 2022.
Ottley said that electricity is a basic human right, and since the crisis, several residents of St. Maarten have been living without electricity simply because they cannot afford the high bills.
The Member of Parliament expressed his frustration when he posed several questions regarding NV GEBE and the $76M budgeted for NV GEBE to purchase three new generators.
The motion presented by Ottley received 11 votes in favor with three votes against. Those who voted against the motion are the Leader of the Democratic Party and Chair of Parliament, Sarah Wescot Williams. Leader of the URSM and Prime Minister Dr. Luc Mercelina and Member of Parliament Viren Kotai.
Details of the motion are below. The motion received support from nine Members of Parliament.
Draft Motion
The Parliament of Sint Maarten in its meeting of today, October 29th, 2024;
Considering:
• That the residents and businesses of Sint Maarten have been significantly burdened by high utility bills from NV GEBE, exacerbated by the Fuel Clause, the Throughput fee, and the double application of Turnover Tax (TOT);
• That the constant power outages caused by NV GEBE's operational challenges have not only damaged household appliances and electronic devices but had to be replaced at the consumer’s expense;
• That the numerous and daily load shedding have negatively impacted the reputation of Sint Maarten's tourism product and the overall economic stability of the country; resulting in loss of business and revenues;
• That the SHTA survey on NV GEBE impact on business sector showed that 41% lost business and 19% lost stock;
• That NV GEBE was affected by a Ransomware attack on March 17th, 2022 which resulted in the loss of 12 months of data (March 2021-March 2022) causing incorrect and untimely bills to customers and incorrect or missing department collection reports;
• That this Ransomware was no fault of the consumer but actually created a burden for the consumer;
• That NV GEBE's inability to provide reliable and affordable services is directly affecting the quality of life for residents and the operational capacity of businesses;
That the existing Throughput fee is passed on in the fuel price charged to NV GEBE without the consent of the consumers and has continued to burden consumers unfairly;
• That immediate relief for residents and businesses from these exorbitant costs is needed to support economic recovery, restore public confidence, and alleviate financial hardship;
• That despite the Government's continued position that the people of St. Maarten will not be financially burdened with the investments needed for NV GEBE, it insists on amending the 2024 Budget to invest Naf. 75.6 million in taxpayers' money to finance three generators for NV GEBE, further burdening the people;
• That these three generators will take over two years to arrive in St. Maarten and be operational;
• That the placement of Naf 75.6 million on the budget capital expenditure eliminates the housing project and Caybay phase 1 project and building of a high school, all affecting the people of St. Maarten while asking them to carry the cost; and
• That NV GEBE is actually losing present and future revenue by chasing past due revenue. By GEBE disconnecting the average earner due to an extremely high past due the consumer is now forced to stop making present payments due to being disconnected and are required to settle old bills in order to be reconnected.
Resolves:
• To call on the Government of Sint Maarten to ensure that all TOT are not placed on invoices as it is not common practice for businesses to transfer their TOT to the consumer;
• To provide financial relief to NV GEBE consumer by considering writing off (fifty percent to a maximum of NAf. 5,000) taking into account the financial feasibility of such, from all outstanding residential electricity bills ensuring that the most vulnerable in society benefit the most from this measure and regain electricity which is a basic human right;
• To request the Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Traffic, and Telecommunications (TEATT) as the minister responsible to set maximum tariffs to use the power invested in her by the concession ordinance to decrease the tariff in the interest of the people immediately via a National Decree containing general measures for residential bills.
• To request the Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Traffic, and Telecommunications (TEATT) as the minister responsible to set maximum tariffs to use the power invested in her by the concession ordinance to decrease the tariff in the interest of the people immediately via a National Decree containing general measures for commercial bills for 3 months and report to parliament and the public on change value within two weeks;
• To regularly engage with commercial customers to understand their needs and challenges better and use feedback to develop programs that can provide a more meaningful relief without compromising GEBE’s financials permanently;
• To revise and simplify the calculation of NV GEBE's Fuel Clause to ensure it solely reflects the actual cost of fuel, thereby providing more transparent and fair billing practices to the people of Sint Maarten;
• To request NV GEBE to present up to date financial audits. And yearly financial reports to shareholder; To ensure that renewable energy is not neglected, request GEBE to present their renewable energy plan within three months whereby the relevant minister will be asked to return to present said to Parliament;
And goes over to the order of the day.
Copies of this motion to be sent to:
- The Government of Sint Maarten
- The Board of Directors of NV GEBE
- The Ministry of Tourism. Economic Affairs, Traffic and Telecommunication (TEATT)
- Relevant stakeholders
