MP Meyers: “Stop talking foolishness", relief must be real, responsible, and collective

GREAT BAY--Member of Parliament and leader of the SAM Party, Franklin Meyers did not mince any words in Parliament on Wednesday on the issue of relief for GEBE customers. While supporting the need for relief, he sharply criticized colleagues for what he called “reckless talk and unrealistic promises” that could damage the very company people rely on.

“Stop talking foolishness,” Meyers declared. “We are hearing dangerous statements about writing off bills and starting from zero. How is that going to affect the company? Because when the company is not viable, we’ll be right back here again, and then everyone will turn to government to bail it out. That is not responsible leadership.”

Meyers stressed that providing relief is not as simple as some suggest. “If it was that easy, it would have been done already. Each and every one of us has served in some capacity, and none of us could wave a magic wand to cut bills overnight. In my tenure as Minister, I gave a four-cent relief. And you know what? It barely affected the people’s bills. This is why we must first look at the numbers, the operational cost, the overhead, the financials, before making promises we cannot keep.”

The MP underscored that GEBE, as a government-owned company, is governed by the Civil Code. “Let’s be clear: Parliament cannot order GEBE to give relief. We can recommend, we can call for it, but the management board is responsible to the company, not to Parliament, not to us. That is the law. When politicians meddle directly in the operations of government-owned companies, they get themselves into trouble. That’s why the law is designed for a hands-off approach.”

At the same time, Meyers acknowledged the hardship residents are facing. “Do I believe the people of St. Maarten need relief? Yes, absolutely. Each and every one of us feels it. I’ve experienced it myself. I had part of my house shut down for 11 months, no pool pump running, and yet my GEBE bill remained the same. We all know the pain of outages and high bills. But the solution has to be real, not political theater.”

He posed a series of questions to Prime Minister Luc Mercelina to ground the debate in facts: “What is GEBE’s current megawatt output compared to last year? What is the company’s annual operational cost? How much has been paid in concession fees and dividends over the past 10 years? How many outages have we had in 2025 compared to 2024? What is the current level of accounts receivable? These are the numbers we need before we can talk about meaningful relief.”

Meyers also drew attention to the recent crisis where GEBE’s inability to present financial statements blocked financing for new generators, forcing the Prime Minister to intervene and secure Dutch support. “Let’s not forget, when the Prime Minister stepped in, he prevented island-wide blackouts every four hours. People forget quickly. But it was his leadership at that critical time that kept the lights on.”

He did not spare criticism of past governments, pointing to what he described as “epic irresponsibility.” “We cannot ignore history. A previous government raided GEBE’s coffers of $30 million to balance the national budget. Had that money remained with GEBE, the company could have financed its own generators. Instead, the people are left paying the price for those bad decisions.”

Meyers dismissed suggestions of creating a bipartisan board to address GEBE’s challenges, insisting the responsibility lies with Parliament itself. “We already have a bipartisan Parliament. If we cannot work together in this chamber to do what is right, then how will creating another board solve anything? Relief starts and ends here.”

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