~ Says: SZV not involved in MOU talks ~
POND ISLAND--General Pension Fund APS said on Thursday that it “remains open” to initiatives that ultimately would result in reaching a settlement with Government regarding the outstanding accounts receivable to APS.
These initiatives, APS said, include funds to cover the cost of expanding and completing the new Government Administration Building on Pond Island.
“It should be recalled that a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between APS and the Government of St. Maarten on October 7, 2013. What followed was a temporary hold until mid-2014 for further substantiation of the settlement and a detailed presentation to stakeholders and relevant third parties. These included presentations to the consultative body GOA, CGC and the financial supervisory entity CFT [Committee for Financial Supervision – Ed.],”APS said.
The MOU had a target date of January 31, 2014, for completion of the arrangement. This was to identify steps necessary for APS to acquire ownership of the building.
APS said it had taken notice of statements made by Social and Health Care Insurances SZV regarding the involvement of SZV in these negotiations. APS said the negotiations leading to the MOU and the draft agreements had not included SZV’s participation.
APS said it had executed a feasibility study that covered inspection of the building, as stipulated in the MOU. The study looked at the structure design and construction, electrical installations, data cabling, plumbing installations, air conditioning, the state of completion and the required budget for improvements to the building.
A budget was prepared for improvements to the building while agreements were formulated on the proposals for its purchase, lease, service and maintenance.
Draft agreements regarding settlement were presented to Government on February 6. Those agreements addressed the matter of multiple properties (building and parcels of land) and a framework was created that covered the entire scheme of proposed agreements.
“Although significant efforts have been invested by APS in this initiative, a final agreement has not yet been reached with the Government,” APS said.
“APS has always believed that it is important to give Government the opportunity to have the building completed/upgraded in a structured and organised manner, supervised by third party professionals,” the fund stated.
“APS furthermore subscribes to allowing the Government of St. Maarten to settle a portion of their outstanding owed to APS, thereby assisting Government to move one step closer to the approval of its 2015 budget, which would contain a clear plan as to how to move forward given its debt position.”
With the agreement, APS said it envisioned Government saving on numerous rents by centralising a significant number of its staff in one location and therefore improving its cash flow.
“This can be used to settle the remaining balance of its debt towards APS. This in turn would create the opportunity for APS to invest in the local economy what is stipulated by CBCS [Central Bank of Curaçao and St. Maarten – Ed.], while at the same time allow APS to collect a significant part of the fund’s accounts receivable related to the Government.”
Another goal envisioned by APS is the restructuring of the debt by converting this into fixed (tangible) assets that generate (rental) income.
