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PHILIPSBURG — The Committee of Petitions of Parliament on Friday approved a draft proposal to establish an ad hoc parliamentary committee focused on sustainable and affordable electricity and water, marking a significant step in addressing long-standing public concerns surrounding utility company GEBE N.V.
The meeting, held on Friday morning at 10:00 a.m., centered on a proposal to create a topical ad hoc committee that would allow Parliament to more deeply examine GEBE-related issues from a parliamentary oversight perspective.
Committee Chair MP Sarah Wescot-Williams (Democratic Party, DP) explained that the initiative originated at the end of the 2024–2025 parliamentary year, when she announced her intention to bring forward a proposal for a parliamentary body dedicated to GEBE. The matter gained further momentum following the submission of a public petition on November 5, 2025, by United People’s (UP) party MP Omar Ottley on behalf of concerned citizens.
That petition, titled “The People Demand Immediate Relief from GEBE’s Failures,” emerged from several town hall meetings and outlined widespread public dissatisfaction with electricity and water services. Although the Committee of Petitions later determined that the submission did not qualify as a petition in the strict constitutional sense, members agreed that the issues raised were of sufficient public interest to warrant parliamentary action.
After assessing admissibility, relevance, and public interest, the Committee of Petitions resolved to recommend the establishment of an ad hoc Committee of Parliament to focus on GEBE, sustainability, and access to affordable electricity and water. A draft proposal reflecting this decision was prepared following the committee’s January 13, 2026, meeting and circulated to all MPs on January 28.
The proposed ad hoc committee would be empowered to use parliamentary tools such as hearings, invitations to stakeholders, and work visits, enabling more focused and continuous scrutiny of GEBE than is possible through sporadic plenary debates. Committee members emphasized that this approach was deliberately chosen over a formal parliamentary inquiry, which was described as lengthy and procedurally rigid.
MP Sjamira Roseburg, representing the Unified Resilient St. Maarten Movement (URSM), welcomed the proposal, noting that GEBE-related issues have been repeatedly discussed in Parliament over the past two years without a single dedicated platform to address them comprehensively. She said the ad hoc committee would allow MPs to hold GEBE accountable and better monitor government action, stressing that electricity and water are basic needs that should not be taken lightly.
URSM MP Veronica Jansen-Webster also expressed support but suggested a minor technical correction in the draft proposal, recommending the use of the term “outages” instead of “blackouts,” as the latter implies an island-wide shutdown. The chair confirmed that the adjustment would be made.
During the meeting, several key issues identified in the proposal were outlined, including frequent power outages, financial and safety hardships for families and businesses, threats of disconnection despite billing errors, lack of transparency in tariff structures, absence of effective economic supervision of electricity pricing, administrative backlogs, concerns over concession compliance, and ongoing conflict between GEBE’s shareholder and supervisory board. Additional discussion highlighted the possible absence or outdated nature of a formal disconnection policy.
With no objections raised, the Committee of Petitions formally approved the draft proposal and agreed that a report would be forwarded to the Central Committee of Parliament for further handling, in accordance with the Rules of Order. Once approved at that level, Parliament is expected to move quickly to appoint members of the ad hoc committee, elect a chair and vice-chair, and begin substantive work.
The establishment of the ad hoc committee is expected to provide a structured parliamentary response to mounting public pressure for accountability, relief, and reform at GEBE. The initiative follows MP Ottley’s August 26, 2025, town hall meeting in Sucker Garden, where he launched the petition calling for revised tariffs, adjustment of the fuel clause, correction of billing errors with refunds, higher supervision of GEBE, and the reconnection of households during the Christmas season. Residents at that meeting cited prolonged outages, inflated bills, and economic hardship, underscoring the urgency that has now translated into parliamentary action.
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