MP Omar Ottley.
PHILIPSBURG--United People's (UP) party Member of Parliament (MP) Omar Ottley says he will formally request a parliamentary inquiry into the operations and management of government-owned utility company NV GEBE.
Ottley said the inquiry will be requested once Parliament resumes. He announced his intention to request the Parliamentary enquiry in a video that he posted on Friday following the publication of two articles in this newspaper about GEBE spending over US $15,000 on a recent interview with USA Today and about concerns raised by GEBE staffers about the leadership style and communication approach of incoming CEO and Transition Manager Thomas Roggendorf, including reports that he suggested terminating several senior staff. Roggendorf has denied the latter allegations.
Ottley told “The Daily Herald”, which reached out to him for additional information, that the initiative will be based on Article 64 of the Constitution and Articles 81 to 89 of Parliament’s Rules of Order, which grant MPs the right to launch an investigation, commonly referred to as a parliamentary inquiry.
He explained that the first step will be to submit a formal written request to Parliament, detailing the scope and purpose of the investigation. According to Ottley, the goal is to uncover the root causes of GEBE’s mismanagement over the past decade and to chart a path forward based on the findings.
Ottley said his interest in launching the inquiry stems from the current situation at GEBE, particularly questions surrounding the approval process for the spending on generators.
