No info given on TelEm
donation to foundation
~ Public meeting today ~
PHILIPSBURG--Opposition party National Alliance (NA) still has not received answers to questions posed on the contributions The Sky is the Limit Foundation has received from telecommunications company TelEm.
The party hopes to receive answers to its questions during today’s Island Council meeting scheduled to start at 10:00am.
The “meat of the matter” for NA is the obvious conflict of interest. “For the NA, the conflict of interest is very obvious. The husband of the Commissioner of telecommunication, who himself is on the board of TelEm, signs a letter requesting sponsoring of a Carnival activity or show organised by a foundation of which the Commissioner is the president. We want the Executive Council to state their position and clear the matter,” said NA leader Councilman William Marlin.
NA has also received indications that other organisations that have requested sponsorship or donations did not receive them as quickly as The Sky is the Limit Foundation had received its donation. They also did not receive the same amount of money.
Marlin said it was unfortunate that the answers on questions posed had not been received yet. “We don’t hope that games are being played. In the past, the Lt. Governor had answered the Island Council directly. Now he has decided as the shareholder representative to send the information to the Executive Council first. We don’t want the issue to drag on until people forget about it.”
This issue of delay is the reason the party requested a public meeting, because the Executive Council has not been forthcoming with the information. The answers will come perhaps after the Island Council’s summer recess.
Marlin believes that, as the country moves towards country status, the issue with TelEm sends out negative signals on how the island is dealing with rules of good corporate governance.
“We understood from reports that the Lt. Governor also requested information. We don’t know what the Lt. Governor has done in this case, but we do not hope that he too has to receive the information from the Executive Council,” Marlin said.
