Dear Editor,
Allow me the opportunity to address a response to a letter that was written by Ms. Nathalie Pinder, Public Relations Officer of the Guyana Power and Light Inc. refuting claims to a letter that was written and published in your newspaper on May 22, 2023 under the caption “Corrupt and Unethical Conduct at GPL”. There seems to be a trend by Ms. Pinder, as well as GPL, to debunk and discredit any and everything exposing corruption within the company.
Ms. Pinder mentioned that employees are promoted based on HR policies along with several other criteria. Editor, when the position was advertised for a supervisor within the customer services department, the requirements were as follows:
1. Diploma in Business Management or Public Management or Accountancy/ Communication from the University of Guyana with at least three (3) years relevant experience at a supervisory level OR
2. ACCA Level 11, with at least three (3) years relevant experience at a supervisory level.
The staff who was the subject of the letter did not and does not have a university degree or diploma nor at that time did he not have the experience of 3-5 years in a supervisory position. Can Ms. Pinder explain why this person was selected over the other applicants who were more qualified than him? Does this suggest a transparent system of shortlisting and vetting applicants by GPLs HR Department?
On the subject of the security deposits, it was mentioned that staff are manipulating the formula used for calculating the security deposits for some customers. Ms. Pinder refuted this and stated that this is the responsibility of senior officers of the company and is in keeping with the ESRA. What Ms. Pinder failed to mention and failed to understand is that the formula can be manipulated for high consumption consumers by adjusting the date and hours of operation for those consumers. Calculating the security deposit was the responsibility of supervisors approximately 4 months ago when it was discovered that the supervisors were manipulating the formula which was causing the company to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars as well as putting monies in the pockets of those that are guilty of this.
This responsibility was then transferred to the Commercial Officer and guess what? No form of disciplinary action was taken against the supervisors. I challenge Ms. Pinder to provide proof to substantiate her claim since I have in my possession several copies of security deposits that were signed by the supervisors of the customer services department prior to it being taking away as mention above. Ms. Pinder is too naive and is working for her keeps so she has to debunk everything that is written exposing the company of fraud and corruption but the staff and public at large knows the culture at GPL and many other government agencies.
On another issue that was not mentioned in the letter, staff of the customer services department have been printing tenancy agreements from their work computer for customers who cannot satisfy the requirements of showing legal occupancy of a property. A staff saw the female customer service supervisor allowing a contractor to forge signatures on a tenancy agreement and application which she submitted for processing and later approved. Why are contractors allowed entry to an area that should only have authorized personnel? Why haven’t management banned contractors from entering customer services? We know that the contractors and staff will find other means to do illegal transactions but management should at least try.
Editor, they all are fully aware of the length they go to do illegal transactions. They are protected because they too have evidence of their superiors who conduct corrupt activities. Some customers have genuine issues and because they have no money to probe these issues they are misdirected by the clerks. Senior officials are fully aware of the rackets. In the past, customer service had integrity. Customer service had leaders who were driven by passion and not money. Persons are fully aware of the rackets but don’t feel protected enough to come forward. Seniors feel that if they should investigate then their jobs and safety will be at risk. The senior officials do not want to hear from the regular staff and are fully well aware of what goes on daily but refuse to do anything about it since this will reflect negatively on their leadership.
GPL is in the habit of victimizing staff who they feel are responsible for writing letters in the newspapers. Editor, one staff was victimized and forced to resign because he was accused of writing several letters to the press about what goes on at GPL. The company is always more concerned about the author rather than what was written.
Sincerely,
(Name and Address Withheld)
