Latest update January 9th, 2025 4:10 AM
Latest News
- Gov’t fearful of what investigation of lopsided oil contract would reveal- Chris Ram
- Hess hopes govt. 7th oil project will be approved by April
- ‘Ceasefire, captives deal in Gaza ‘very close’—Blinken
- Guyana protests as Venezuela plans to elect governor for Essequibo
- Woman dies while relaxing in car with boyfriend
Sharma as PPP candidate was “wholly inappropriate”
GEA CEO, Mahender Sharma
– Finds Corporate Governance to be weak at various levels
Forensic auditors have flagged various irregularities at the Guyana Energy Agency (GEA) during its investigations, some of which point to poor corporate governance at the entity.
The auditing team of Nigel Hinds Financial Services said that Section 18(2) (c) of the GEA Act 1997 mandates that the Agency’s Board Members shall consist of any number of persons not exceeding seven.
However, its investigation revealed that during the period January 25, 2011 to June 30, 2012 there were eight board Members.
In addition, the auditors took note of the fact that GEA’s Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Mahender Sharma, was a candidate on the PPP/C national list of candidates for the May 11, 2015, General Elections.
They said that adherence to the decisions of a political party concurrent with managing a state owned corporation, is “wholly inappropriate” and “creates conflict of interest issues” that have very negative implications for employee morale, use of GEA resources and the image of GEA.
Furthermore, the forensic auditors emphasized that the GEA Act mandates that the CEO and Deputy Executive Officer (DEO) shall be full time officers of the Agency and shall be appointed by the Minister. In this regard, they noted that there has never been a DEO since the establishment of the GEA.
The Energy Agency was also found to be in breach of Section Four of the 1997 Act, which requires that the heads of division of the agency designated as members there of shall hold office for such period, not exceeding three years, as may be specified by the subject Minister.
Based on investigations carried out by the auditors, contracts of division heads were renewed, without any input from the Minister.
The auditors emphasized that there is need for adherence to the laws and regulations governing GEA and recommended the hiring of a DEO to enhance the management structure of the entity at the senior level.
They recommended, too, that a Board of Directors’ Charter should be prepared for the Board. Once approved by the Board, the auditing team recommended that the implementation of the Charter should occur at the earliest possible date, with annual revision of the Charter.
Similar Articles
THE BLUNT OF THE DAY
Sports
Features/Columnists
Jagdeo’s policies were a disaster
Peeping Tom… Kaieteur News- Bharrat Jagdeo’s proclamation of his party’s approach to reducing income inequality... more
Forget Begging Rich Nations: Caribbean Countries Should Act to Save Themselves
By Sir Ronald Sanders Kaieteur News- It has long been evident that the world’s richest nations, especially those responsible... more
Weekend Cartoon
