The Guyana Power and Light Company (GPL) continues to search for a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and says that no confidence by the Board in its former head Colin Welch led to his termination, after only six months of service.
“The outcome was that we took note of what the public was saying and we felt that the Board did not have full confidence in Mr Welch and we terminated his service, in accordance with his contract,” Chairman of the Board Robert Badal told Stabroek News, in an exclusive interview on Thursday.
Further, Badal explained, “We reviewed the entire situation …we preferred to have someone new at the head of the company and therefore we terminated his service…We are not covering anything we took all the facts into consideration, including what the public said and… information available from within the company… We looked at qualification issues, issues relating to conflict of interest and we found that the best way forward was to terminate the contract.”
Welch had been a deeply controversial figure at GPL with questions being raised about his credentials and experience.
The complaints against Welch alleged that he was in communication with the bidder and supplier of the meters, Tesco PLC, a British firm and Shenzhen Clou Electronics Company Limited of China, respectively, urging them to supply false information. It was also alleged that he did not meet the necessary academic and experience criteria for the CEO post.
Against the background of the allegations, a report was compiled under the orders of Minister of Public Infrastructure David Patterson.
When the new Board of GPL was commissioned in late January, Patterson had informed that the board had been given “all the dossiers” pertaining to administrative issues and its mandate included a review of an investigation into allegations against Welch pertaining to the importation of meters.
The Board was also charged with being responsible for appointing a substantive CEO and Deputy CEOs along with other executive appointments.
The GPL Board Chairman pointed out that the substantive deputy CEO posts had been filled, but while they had advertised to fill the CEO vacancy, no suitably qualified person applied during that time.
As such, a human resource firm will now source suitable qualified applicants for the next round of interviews.
“Post-election, we had a number of positions [becoming vacant] and no company can operate effectively without the full complement of competent executives. So we have recently appointed two persons: one to fill the deputy CEO Admin – Renford Homer and one to fill the Deputy CEO Technical – Elvin Marshall…We have asked the deputy CEO Admin Renford Homer to act in the CEO capacity…,” Badal said.
Welch’s predecessor Bharat Dindyal was let go as CEO of the Guyana Power and Light Inc, following ongoing clashes with his deputy, Welch, whom he had accused of overstepping his authority by trying to send senior managers on leave and forcibly removing them from company offices. The government had announced that Patterson, who was drawn into the conflict following an expletive-laced tirade by Dindyal that was uploaded on social media, had advised Cabinet to end the CEO’s engagement with GPL.
Dindyal’s salary of over US$30,000 monthly and benefits inclusive of house rental and first-class travel had been the subject of much controversy during the PPP administration.
Questioned about the possible salary range of the new CEO, Badal said it will be commensurate with experience and qualifications and there will be no controversy.
“What I want to do is to look forward from here on… Salaries are based on what will attract competent people and once it falls within what is reasonable and what the company can afford, and once we think the person is competent we will set reasonable salaries and not super salaries,” he asserted.
He added that with salaries in the past “politics was involved” but not with the current board.
