“Absolute power corrupts absolutely” is the famous quotation used by English Catholic peer John Dalberg-Acton, Lord Acton in an 1887 letter opposing the move to promulgate the doctrine of Papal infallibility. Well in Guyana, recent current events show just how fallible the loss-making power company is, in contrast with the absolute power and profit generated by consummate Chinese cuisine especially char sui, chop suey and chowmein preferably in an electrified setting, further lit up by revelations electrifying enough to fry many with a mega-jolt, see royal red and blow all fuses.
“Study the past if you would define the future,” Confucius cautioned 2500 years ago. The latest auditors’ findings of wanton irregularities published in the Stabroek News (SN) are downright shocking and illuminating. The popular New Thriving Restaurant, once described by a proud Chinese envoy as the best in the Caribbean, owed Guyana Power and Light (GPL) over $90M at the end of 2015 in a case stemming from stolen electricity.