During a recent meeting in Curacao with Curacao's Minister of Finance George Jamaloodin, Minister Shigemoto laid down on the table Sint Maarten's concerns with respect to the current status quo with the CBCS and that it wasn't in the interests of both countries for things to remain where they are currently at.
Minister Shigemoto said he informed all present which also included the Chairman of the Board of Commissioners, a CBCS board member, and reps from Notary Hu-A-Ng, that CBCS management should get the opportunity to defend themselves; and secondly, that any investigation into the bank's management based on allegations made by the Curacao Government must be done by a jointly selected independent international organization
The Sint Maarten Minister of Finance also insisted that before any investigation is decided upon, that also the Board of Directors and Supervisory Board be heard by both Ministers of Finance in order to obtain answers to outstanding questions which both Finance Ministers may have.
The meeting is to take place at a neutral location in Curacao. In order to avoid any bias, questions will be sent by each Minister to the Notary and each Minister will mandate the Notary to forward on the questions to the boards simultaneously and the boards are to send back their answers to the Notary. This must be done two working days before the April 16 meeting.
"I have made it very clear that due diligence, transparency and good governance must be at the base of any independent investigation. I reiterated several times that this investigation is for all of management within the corporate structure of the CBCS.
"I also informed all present that decisions or actions taken by the Curacao Government or Aqualectra itself which affect Aqualectra negatively as it relates to the ability of Aqualectra to re-pay its Naf. 300 million loan has consequences for both countries and the CBCS.
"I also stressed that the budget 2012 needs to be passed so the bank can function properly to which the chairman of the board replied that the 2011 budget still hasn't been approved. I brought up hiring of staff for the branch on Sint Maarten and when will the budget be approved so we can start. These are important matters that need to be addressed right away," Minister of Finance Hon. Hiro Shigemoto pointed out.
Minister Shigemoto was supported by members of his Cabinet Policy Advisor Dwayne President and Legal rep Judith Brewster.
