In a statement issued this afternoon, former GT&T CEO Yog Mahadeo said he was proud of the direction the company took under his tenure and publicly stated his support for Major General (Rtd) Joe Singh and Sonita Jagan who have taken over.
Stating that he took the company to new heights, Mahadeo thanked all those who “have loved and loved to hate.”
His statement follows:
“Colleagues,
“A good leader must be strong and responsible for everything, both good and bad.
“There comes a time in life when one has to take responsibility for things around him regardless of what those things are. Across the world, people in public life have stepped down whenever there is any degree of uncertainty or wrong doing by anyone under their watch.
“Over the past two years we have together taken GT&T to heights that were unimaginable. However everything comes to an end one day and while I had paid careful attention to the entire company’s image and built our public profile, the inner controls were slipping.
:”Currently, the board has advised me that there has been some lapse of internal control. Since this has happened under my watch, and since I have always held true to my principles, I have taken the decision to step down from my role at the company and to resign from any post at GT&T. This decision was tendered to the board last night.
“Under the circumstances, I must reflect on a number of years in which I dared to dream, to think out of the box and to deliver activities and events never seen before. I am proud of my achievements at this company – which some were of course naturally unhappy with.
“Through the years, I have built a lot of bridges for the company. I have crossed swords, I have argued, I have created and of course once day it shall end.
“I must say I am proud to have given Guyana the Ten/10 competition.
” I am proud to have given you many many bold and new things, too many to mention.
“My eyes have oft mist over when I reflect on Ten/10, FastBall, Jingle&Song Bollywood competition, ColorFest, Gospel Concert, Cinderella, National Spelling Bee, Berbice Rebellion, Feel the beat, Text, Talk, Topup, Dollar talk, Gameshow, Dora, Text-me, Wrestling, Easterfest, Beres Hammond, Donnie McClurkin, Shilpa Shetty, Night of love, Magical night of Christmas, Know-your-stuff competition, Switch-it-upp.
“There were also Diwali on the streets, Quaseeda competition and a whole lot more. Our presence at previous Building Exposition, GuyExpo, BikersFest , Motor racing and other such events were imaginative and extraordinary.
“I am also proud to have walked through villages and made new friends – Buxton, Corriverton, west coast, Bartica, – all over – I love you all. So many people lives have touched me and I have touched and along the journey, I have earned lots of love from a lot of persons. I have literally taken GT&T to every door. Under my watch, the company’s data subscribers grew from 5,000 to 21,000. I have opened doors to customers who never thought they would be with GT&T.
“In the process, I have experienced immense joy in giving out a lot of tokens and t-shirts and caps and other things to people are in need.
“We reached new horizons and created new visions.
“Today I hold my head high as I chose to step aside. I have been proud to have been your friend and brother, your colleague and compatriot. The new team will chart its own course. I will continue to look out for GT&T and will continue to be proud of any new achievement. I thank the entire company for their support over the years and wish the new team well. I will be available over the next couple of weeks to ensure that everything is handed over to the new team. I wish to publicly state and show support for Joe and Sonita and to say, you are in their hands.
“Now, having worked for two years at top speed, 12-14 hours per day, each day of the week, I must say that look forward to once more going for evening walks at the seawall, going to mandir, going to the supermarket and finally spending some time with Yoga.
“I thank you all; thanks to those who have loved and loved to hate.
“The ride was fun. I enjoyed every moment of it. Now, I will look to the future to other dreams and visions I have had and to continue to help our noble task of building this beautiful country of ours.”
