WILLEMSTAD - For the continued existence of Buskabaai NV (asphalt lake) it is necessary to appoint Remsis Martina as interim director. Even if this deviates from the Good Governance Code.
Prime Minister Gilmar Pisas writes this to the advisor for government appointments SBTNO. Martina meets the profile. SBTNO previously had serious objections to the intended appointment. Although the profile is in order, the procedure used was against the rules. That is why Martina could not be appointed, the advisor found in an advice of 26 July.
Without Martina as interim director, the undesirable dual role that now exists within Buska Bay cannot be ended, according to Pisas. Martina will be appointed for a period of one year, during which time 'a proper recruitment and selection procedure' will be started for the appointment of a 'statutory director'.
The main objection of SBTNO was that Martina was well-known and this gives the impression of an 'old friends network'. He had previously been a candidate for the position, but according to Pisas, his resume and leadership style have indeed been carefully considered.
“Recruiting through one's own network may lead to good candidates more quickly,” he writes. Martina has ten years of experience in managerial positions and has an affinity with business and project plans. The government did not have enough information about the history of the administration of Buskabaai, according to the prime minister. The company has been without a director for years and the position is therefore held by the Supervisory Board (SB).
Documents dating from 2015 to 2017 would indicate that the appointment of a statutory director has been deliberately frustrated, so that "those temporarily entrusted with management can continue to receive the associated allowance," Pisas writes. The current situation at the financially weak company is contrary to the principles of company law, the statutes and the code, the prime minister quotes a recently obtained advisory report from 2018 from Advocatenpraktijk VanEps Kunneman vanDoorne.
The dual role of director and member of the Supervisory Board must be ended. Pisas concludes his letter by acknowledging that the government, as its sole shareholder, "has not been entrepreneurial enough to break through the current situation."
It is precisely because of the special circumstances that Martina's appointment is justified to guarantee the continued existence of Buskabaai. In this way, at least temporarily, good governance of the NV can be guaranteed until a definitive director under the articles of association has been appointed.
The Supervisory Board is requested to realize the appointment of Martina as interim director for a period of one year 'immediately'.