Elected body
Opposition leader William Marlin has a point (see Tuesday’s paper). The US $25,000 donation of government-owned TelEm to The Sky is the Limit Foundation for the “From Us to You” calypso show led to a request for information from Antillean Governor Frits Goedgedrag for a reason.
The Lt. Governor as shareholder representative may have reasons of his own to send the information he gathered on the matter to the Executive Council first, but in the end it should be made available to the Island Council as the highest elected body on the island. Considering the circumstances, one would have to agree that in this case the people and their representatives have the right to know.
The fact that the commissioner in charge of telecommunications and her husband, who is a member of the TelEm board, are no longer board members of The Sky is the Limit does not change the fact that they were closely involved in setting up the foundation and in the donation request. The commissioner’s husband is still listed as the founder and even signed the request.
Sponsoring the show may very well be a good business decision for TelEm and there is no indication of unlawful behaviour, but the perception of a conflict of interest is clearly there and there is enough cause to address it in terms of adhering to principles of integrity and good corporate governance.
To make sure that is indeed done, the people should be provided with the relevant facts through their elected representatives, not just the Executive Council. The opposition in turn would do well to keep in mind that the most important thing is not so much that things that may not have gone as they should, but to prevent similar cases in the future.
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