Questions as GPL operates without board for almost 11 months

Nov 22, 2018 News

Eleven months into the year, and one of the state’s biggest companies has been operating without a Board of Directors.
The situation has officials of the Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL) and others asking hard questions about major decisions taken in the company.
Earlier this year, former chairman, hotelier Robert Badal, opted not to return leaving the Coalition Government to find another person to lead what is one of the most criticized entities in the country.
However, apparently a number of names for a new chairman and board were submitted by the Ministry of Public Infrastructure but were not approved.
In the meantime, stakeholders are complaining over the major decisions that were supposed to be made by the board.

Questions as GPL operates without board for almost 11 months

“We have major contracts to the tune of billions of dollars that are to be decided on. We understand that the decisions are being taken by a ministry. This is not supposed to happen,” a source close to the previous board explained.
It was disclosed that contracts pertaining to the amount are supposed to be considered at various levels of the board- starting from a Tender Evaluation Committee, Management Tender Committee and the Tender Board of GPL.
“So what we having is that a number of checkpoints are being bypassed and these are raising worrying questions.”
Earlier this year, Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo, expressed worry over the fact that GPL has been operating for almost six months without a Board of Directors.
Jagdeo noted that GPL is raking in billions of dollars in revenue and decisions are being made concerning the company, in the absence of a functioning board.
Jagdeo said, then, that appointing a board is not a time-consuming exercise, “yet Government has failed to appoint one since January 2018. The question is, “Who makes the decisions for the company?”
GPL’s “Corporate Governance Code” states that a functioning Board is imperative for the company’s operation.
The code said that the “shareholder” which is the state, “shall appoint the members of the Board and the Chief Executive Officer.”
The Chairman shall work closely with the CEO and the Board Secretary to finalize information which will flow to the Board, set meeting agendas, and arrange meeting schedules; (ii) will chair meetings of the Board; (iii) call special meetings of the Board as needed; (iv) serve as a channel of communication between the Board and the CEO; (v) ensure that Directors receive important information in timely advance of meetings; and (vi) receive communications from the shareholder for transmission to all Directors.”
Further, the code said that the Board is supposed to hold twelve scheduled meetings per year; special meetings are held as required.
It says, “Every effort should be made to schedule meetings sufficiently in advance to ensure maximum attendance at each meeting.”
GPL, in the recent years, has been facing uphill challenges to provide reliable power with old transmission lines and equipment, coupled with aging engines proving a daunting challenge.

GPL falls under the portfolio of the Ministry of Public Infrastructure.

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