Hard Dates

Prime Minister Dr. Luc Mercelina’s presentation to Parliament on GEBE last week was not the easy answer many people wanted. He did not pretend government can simply lower bills overnight, remove the fuel clause by political instruction, wipe away arrears without consequences, or issue a tariff decree without the proper legal and financial basis. The reality is difficult.

Reality is people want relief. GEBE needs revenue. Government must stay within the law. BTP needs proper data. The Ministers of TEATT and Finance are reviewing options that must be both lawful and financially responsible and the new supervisory board and temporary management must stabilize the company. At the same time, customers are still paying bills, questioning bills, disputing bills or, in some cases, using the confusion as a reason not to pay.

Mercelina’s main point was simple: relief must be legal, responsible and sustainable. The fuel clause cannot just be removed as if the fuel cost disappears. GEBE still has to buy fuel to produce electricity. If that cost is taken off the bill without another approved way to pay for it, someone still has to cover the gap. That could be GEBE, government or eventually the same consumers in another way. It is basic math.

The same applies to other ideas. Redirecting the concession fee may help, but it affects government revenue. A subsidy may bring relief, but it has to be placed in the budget. Waiving certain charges may sound good, but if the impact on the average bill is small, the public should be told that honestly. Erasing arrears may sound like a clean reset, but it would create a serious financial hit for the utility from which it would never recover. So yes, the Prime Minister was right to be careful. St. Maarten cannot fix one GEBE problem by creating another one behind the scenes.

But here is the rub. All of the above not withstanding, the country now needs hard dates. Joe down the road and Mary in the shop have heard too many phrases such as “under review,” “in process,” “being finalized” and “to be brought forward.” Those phrases may be true, but they are no longer enough. Not with GEBE and not with public confidence this low.

Hard dates are now necessary. Not because every problem can be solved overnight, but because every person and institution involved needs a clear target. Deadlines allow Parliament, the public and the shareholder to see whether real work is being done. The Prime Minister did indicate that work is taking place, including the Ministries of TEATT and Finance reviewing (there is that word again) relief options. BTP is also involved in tariff review and regulatory oversight.

Many may not want to hear it, but that is actually a structure. But structure without deadlines can easily become another waiting game. The same applies to GEBE’s power generation. The issue of Wartsila, pending proposals and new engines must be handled with more urgency. A loan has been secured, yet not one engine has been ordered. That is hard for the public to understand.

The same goes for tariff reform. If BTP is now central to the process, there should be a target date for when GEBE must deliver all required information. There should be a target date for when the tariff review will be completed. There should be a target date for when government will say what relief is possible and what is not. Without dates, confusion continues. And as long as confusion continues, GEBE remains unstable.

This is also where the human side of the crisis has to be acknowledged. Have GEBE employees lost their cool at times? Yes. Has the public lost its cool? Yes. Have some customers failed to honor payment plans or refused to keep up with their monthly obligations? Also yes. Are some people are using the confusion as an excuse not to meet their monthly obligations? That's a hard yes. None of that should be used to excuse bad behavior from anyone. But it should be understood as proof that the situation has gone on too long without enough clarity, structure and trust. That is why the structure must now be established and the open-ended debate must be brought to a close.

The new supervisory board and temporary management are not walking into a normal company. They are walking into a utility company carrying years of public frustration, delayed decisions, billing concerns, questions about fuel pricing, governance issues and pressure for immediate relief. Their job is not only to keep GEBE running. Their job is to help rebuild trust.

Mercelina’s presentation was useful because it brought the debate back to reality. GEBE cannot be solved by populist screams such as “cut the bill” or “remove the fuel clause.” But the presentation also made something else clear: St. Maarten can no longer keep explaining the problem without delivering progress. We dare say that the public can understand complexity. What people cannot accept is endless uncertainty.

And finally, though it might seem small, GEBE also needs something simpler and just as urgent: clear communication. Because when the lights are already expensive, the least the company can do is stop adding confusion to the bill.

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