Government owned companies together with Curaçao.In the final agreement of November 2006 the two countries Curacao and St. Maarten signed a political agreement by which they were bound to cooperate on different levels. Article 6 of the "Rijksbesluit rechtsopvolging burgerlijke rechten en verplichtingen Nederlandse Antillen" (Government Decision succession civil rights and obligations Netherlands Antilles) regulates the ownership and/or interest of St. Maarten in Government-owned companies that are shared by both Countries.
The Government of St. Maarten recently decided upon recommendation of the Prime Minister/ Minister of General Affairs the Honorable Sarah Wescot-Williams, to revisit its co-ownership in all government-owned companies in order to evaluate its relevance therein. This evaluation is important primarily because it is part of good corporate governance. A shareholder must also periodically evaluate the functioning of a company to ensure that it is operating within the context of the prescribed regulations governing them.
Secondly, the Government of St. Maarten is also aware of the intentions of the Government of Curacao on this matter, as outlined in their Government Program. Similarly, an evaluation of the mentioned companies will take place geared at arriving at policies with regard to cost control and payment of dividends.
The decision of the Government of St. Maarten to evaluate these government-owned companies will seriously focus on the influence and interest of St. Maarten as co-owner. St. Maarten will place emphasis on to what extent are the interests of the Country taken into account as a result of decisions established by the other owner, in this case the Government of Curacao. Therefore, St. Maarten’s position should be clearly identified before decisions are taken in mentioned companies.
Following the evaluation of this exercise, a draft policy will be submitted to the Council of Ministers for approval and subsequently said policy will be sent to the Corporate Governance Council for further recommendations.