Philipsburg – In response to the article published in The Daily Herald on February 9th, regarding a leaked letter from the World Bank Country Director for St. Maarten Tahseen Sayed concerning the state of affairs of the SXM Airport, Prime Minister Jacobs expressed disappointment in the lack of integrity of those who chose to leak an internal document. Prime Minister Jacobs further expressed that government, as the sole shareholder of the Princess Juliana International Airport Holding Company (PJIAH), which holds corporate governance in the highest regard, will ensure this matter is addressed in the Extra ordinary meeting of the Council of Ministers prior to sending a response to the author of the letter which was leaked to the press regarding their concerns. From the onset, the government has pledged and has been committed to executing all the Trust Fund projects that are already under implementation, of which the reconstruction of the SXM Airport is one of government’s top priorities.
As such, government will continue to ensure good corporate governance practices and policies are followed and executed at not only the SXM Airport but also at all government owned companies. This includes the continuous presence of adequate and qualified management and staff at PJIAE, to enable the company to undertake all its assigned responsibilities as the Project Implementing Entity.
“The government of St. Maarten will continue to do all in its power to ensure that the World Bank and all third parties are aware of government’s intention to ensure that the Grant Agreements and the Project Agreement signed with the World Bank are upheld. However, if the intention is that there is limited political interference locally, all third parties must consequently ensure that political interference from governments and entities outside St. Maarten is also limited!” concluded Prime Minister Jacobs.
