WHO LET GO OF BHARRAT?
August 15, 2015 | By KNews | Filed Under Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom, Source
Reports in the media indicate that the most successful Chief Executive Officer of the Guyana Power and Light Inc. Mr. Bharrat Dindyal was let go, another way of saying that he will not be offered a new contract of employment. This is a decision that will be debated in the days to come not just because of the excellent record of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), but also because of the manner in which it was made
The reports in the media seem to indicate that this decision was endorsed by Cabinet and was made by someone outside of the Board of Directors. If this is true, then the new government needs to address the manner in which it is acting.
For the record let it be stated that there has been no investigation into the performance of the Chief Executive Officer. Neither was there any indication that the CEO did not enjoy the confidence of the new administration or the company’s Board of Directors.
The dismissal of the head of the Guyana Power and Light comes amidst the playing of an audio, for which there has been no authentication, in which someone is heard uttering an expletive in what seems to be a heated exchange with another person.
A statement on the dismissal of Chief Executive Officer does suggest that the dismissal was related to a host of factors, but may have been hastened by the release of the audio tape.
Now if indeed the tape is one of the reasons why the CEO was let go, something is radically wrong here, because without authentication, the tape in itself cannot be used against the person or persons whose voice(s) could be heard in the recording.
The government has to be very careful about the manner in which it is operating. There are a sufficient number of trained lawyers within the government to point out that there are procedures that should be followed in either dismissing or not offering a new contract to an incumbent office holder.
What was the basis of the dismissal? The fact that there may have been no existing signed contract should not be an issue, because even if there was a month-to-month arrangement, there has to be a basis for bringing such an arrangement to an end.
More importantly, it is unwise for the CEO to have been sent off at a time when there was a major investigation taking place into alleged actions of another manager. The public will read their own meaning into this decision, despite there being enough cheerleaders to support the decision to let go of the CEO. It would have been better if there was a full investigation into the allegations made against the person who was at the centre of allegations before the CEO was let go. The timing of the letting go of the CEO will add currency to those who may be tempted to argue that it was because of this investigation into the actions of the staff member that the CEO was let go.
What needs to be established is just who made the decision to let the CEO go. Surely that decision can only be made by the Board of Directors. No politician has any right to make such a decision. So was the Board involved in the decision to let go of the CEO of the Guyana Power and Light Inc. And why was Cabinet advised? What role does it have in this matter?
Even if it was the Board, and there is no evidence as yet about this, why was this decision not communicated in the name of the Board? Is this the manner in which the new government expects to operate?
And what about the CEO? Was he afforded a hearing? APNU+AFC promised that better would come. But from the manner in which it is doing things, the very opposite is happening.
