Hopefully GPL’s new CEO will get the utility back on track

Aug 19, 2015 Letters

DEAR EDITOR,
It was reported in the media of August 17, that Bharat Dindyal, until recently the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL), was relieved of his duties by David Patterson, Minister of Public Infrastructure. Elsewhere views were expressed that his dismissal was due to political interference which was racially motivated.
These sentiments are unfortunate in a rather polarized society as the circumstances for Mr. Dindyal’s demise suggest otherwise.
Firstly, in most democratic countries, newly elected governments more often than not usually change the heads of key departments at the start of their administrations, because they want to have qualified people in key positions who share their ideals and can execute their policies. The APNU/AFC Government is no different since they have to be answerable to the people who elected them and they could be booted out of office, as the PPP recently experienced, if they fail to perform.
Further, those who are familiar with the administration of GPL know that Mr. Dindyal failed to provide the Guyanese people with a reliable and affordable source of electricity. Regular black-outs and brown-outs were the order of the day. Theft of electricity was at a high level. The accounting system was in shambles as some of the staff paid themselves hefty wages without Board approval while subsidized electricity was given to selected groups as the utility accumulated heavy losses and although high fuel costs was a factor for these losses, his poor management style was the major contributor.
Under his watch the Vreed-En-Hoop Power Plant chalked up large time and cost overruns. Any Guyanese who wanted a faulty meter replaced or a new power connection to his/her property experienced long waits for such a service, but if he/she wanted to move things along quickly and had the resources to do so he/she had to grease some palms. I could attest to that.
Mr. Dindyal had scant notion of what his staffers were doing and how well they performed in executing their duties or for that matter how GPL should have been managed to provide the intended service reliably and efficiently.
Hopefully the newly appointed CEO of GPL would be able to get the utility back on track to provide Guyanese with a reliable and reasonable cost electricity supply.
Charles Sohan
New York City, USA