Critics of this appointment are living in the past

Feb 02, 2018 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

Quite a few Guyanese are upset over the appointment of a foreign national as the Chief Executive Officer of Guyana Power and Light Incorporated. Unpublishable adjectives were used to describe the appointment.
Those opposed to the appointment of a foreign national as the head of our power company pose a simple objection. They ask why a Guyanese could not have filled this position.
Government corporations have to operate as businesses, not welfare institutions. The mission should be to get the best persons to be in the senior positions of the companies. The Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL) is a multibillion-dollar concern. It needs the best management. GPL had advertised internationally in order to get the best management. It has selected someone who it feels is best suited for the job. What can be wrong about that? The fact that the person selected is not Guyanese?
It is a hypocritical position. There are Guyanese occupying senior positions in corporations in the Caribbean. They have been doing this from time immemorial. If every nation adopts the position that only their nationals should be employed in their countries, then tens of thousands of Guyanese would be out of jobs.
If those countries can allow Guyanese to hold down top jobs in their countries, how is it that we are screaming foul when a foreign national is appointed to head our electricity corporation?
The GPL did not rush this decision. They took eighteen months to make the decision on a new Chief Executive Officer. In order to restore confidence in the management of the GPL, following instability at the top of the corporation, a foreign national, qualified and experienced, would seem to be the perfect fit for the job. Two former CEO’s demitted office in relatively quick succession, and for a company as large as GPL, this was bound to have an effect on the overall quality of management.
Those opposed to the appointment seem to forget that we are living in the age of globalization. The American people are presently being subjected to protectionism and to anti-immigration sentiments but even amidst this, there are provisions for the movement of capital and labour. Globalization means that capital and labour should be able to move freely across borders.
The free movement of labour is also one of the objectives of the Caribbean Single Market and Economy. The principle, in relation to labour, is that the movement of skills should be liberalized under any single market and economy. Guyanese should be free to apply for jobs in the Caribbean and vice versa.
There is therefore absolutely nothing wrong with the Guyana Power and Light appointing a foreign national to head the beleaguered power company. In fact, in the present situation which faces the entity, it is best that someone who is not familiar to the local staff is appointed. This person will bring a fresh perspective to the GPL
Such a perspective is needed to modernize the aging distribution and transmission network system, and to reduce the acute technical losses in the distribution of power. Some of those losses are due to theft, and are being contributed to by corruption within the ranks of GPL. Someone from outside would be best placed at this time to break up cells of corruption within GPL
GPL needs someone with the experience of running a large utility. There are major projects in the pipeline which require expert help. The introduction to smart meters, the installation of new transmission lines, the expansion of electricity generation and the provision of electricity to unserved areas, are all now priorities which require a full time, substantive Chief Executive Officer who is not subject to political direction, but to general direction by the Board of Directors.
The new Chief Executive Officer should be given a chance to show what he brings to the Guyana Power and Light. The argument that the job should be filled by a Guyanese is outdated.

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