Calls for a Strengthening of Local Companies to Ensure Jobs of St. Maarteners
The Prime Minister of St. Maarten the Honorable Sarah Wescot-Williams over the weekend commented on unfounded rumors in the community regarding the merger between UTS and Telem. The Prime Minister stressed, as shareholder representative for Telem, that negotiations regarding any merger is still ongoing and that due diligence regarding the process should be followed: "At no time did the shareholder rep of Telem in my person make any statement regarding a final decision having been taken for Telem to partner with UTS or anyone else for that matter. Yes, UTS is and has been a prominent prospect in this regard. This shareholder representative has ensured that no politics intervened in this process and a negotiating team has been carrying out the negotiations thus far. Naturally with the recommendations in our hands, a decision will be taken by the government of St. Maarten. The stage this process is currently at requires confidentiality by all concerned in the negotiations," stressed the Prime Minister.
The PM also emphasized that the families of the shareholder representatives should be taken into consideration and that cooperation across various institutions has been the vision and the focus; "Remember, UTS too has St. Maarten employees who need to be considered by the government of St. Maarten. These employees have families as well. The shareholder rep. of Telem has fought for Telem and GEBE to work together, resulting in an MOU between the two companies more than a year ago. This was done ahead of considerations to be given to the proposals that are on the table for a "super" holding of all government-owned companies. Again, this is an idea that needs to be studied as to its effects for the companies and the government. It is no secret that the Democratic Party is a proponent of government-owned companies aligning themselves with government’s vision for the country and not the other way around," stated Prime Minister Wescot-Williams.
The Prime Minister also stressed that the Government of St. Maarten is considering the fact that it still has minority shares in the former Government owned companies of the Netherlands Antilles and Discussions are ongoing regarding what to do with those shares; "Thirdly and separately, the Government of St. Maarten is considering what is in the best interest of the government and the people as far as its shareholdings in the former Antillean government companies are concerned, such as UTS. In all of these companies, St. Maarten has a minority share. In the case of UTS, this company has physical assets on St. Maarten. Hence consideration is being given to a "swap" in exchange for the shares owned by St. Maarten. Naturally this too must be subjected to an analysis to determine the feasibility and the bottom line always should be: ‘What’s in it for St. Maarten?’ Our local telecommunications companies must be strengthened to withstand any threat of being gobbled up by deep-pocketed private telecom companies. The telecom market is a cutthroat one and if we want to protect the St. Maarten workers at Telem and UTS, we better had start to strengthen our own local companies first. And not ‘clear the ground for monkey to run on’ as the old saying goes." Emphasized Wescot-Williams.