Prime Minister William Marlin told members of the local press this week that he would be meeting with the Corporate Governance Council (CGC) to discuss possible misinterpretation of recent correspondence between them (see Thursday paper). The National Alliance (NA) leader seemed to be doing some “damage control” after coalition partner Democratic Party (DP) had distanced itself from an apparent decision to ask members
of the Council to step down over differences regarding the process to appoint a new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at TelEm.
Marlin spoke of “whatever misunderstanding there is” and denied having a poor relationship with the CGC. DP Minister Emil Lee had warned in his earlier release that he did not expect the Council members to take their dismissal lying down, thus creating “another potential for a protracted conflict.”
Evidently the Prime Minister also realised this and chose for consultations “rather than going into any further discussion on this issue and create any unnecessary bad blood.” He thereby showed a sense of maturity to set right what certainly looks like an unfortunate reaction on his part and deserves credit for doing so.
At the same time Finance Minister Richard Gibson, now also an NA candidate for the September 26 parliamentary election, announced that all appointments to Government-owned companies and foundations in the future would require approval by the Council of Ministers. He mentioned the creation of holding companies as overseers of the operating companies that were able to appoint board members without the consent of Government as shareholder.
No specific example was given, although it’s a pretty obvious reference to the situation at both the Airport and the Harbour. Gibson was quick to point out that this move by Government would not affect the CGC’s functioning.
That’s good to hear, but important is that the two parties maintain an appropriate level of mutual respect.
