— for weeding out corruption

By Vanessa Braithwaite
Guyana Power and Light interim manager Colin Welch is firmly of the view that he is being framed because he is weeding out the evident corruption in the loss- recovery unit of the company.Welch was speaking on the allegations made against him on compromising the multi-million dollar tender for prepaid meters. It was alleged that Welch tampered with the US$4M tender of 28,000 meters by sending text messages via the application Skype to the Chinese manufacturers of the meters, Shenzhen Clou Electronics Limited.
The alleged text messages were leaked revealing that the acting CEO requested that the suppliers lie about whether they manufactured the type of meters requested by GPL and whether they could ship the quantity needed. The purported text messages were aimed at expediting the shipment of the meters since the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) had closed the bids after noticing several inconsistencies with what was required and what could be supplied by Shenzhen. The Tender Board sent a correspondence to the suppliers asking for clarifications into the matter before reopening the bid.
The text messages allegedly sent by Welch were to compromise this delay.
The acting CEO in an exclusive interview with the Guyana Chronicle said that he was framed and even though he has an idea of who is out to get him, he would not disclose the individual’s name to the media. He however revealed that he was sure the individual was from the loss-reduction division since he has been weeding out corruption in that unit from the time of his tenure as Deputy CEO – TECHNICAL. The loss reduction unit that is responsible for minimizing both technical and commercial losses within the company has been doing the exact opposite since the employees within that unit were found guilty of skullduggery, according to Welch.

FAKE PROFILE
He told this publication that in his effort to thwart these fraudulent activities, he was framed by someone who created a fake profile to send electronic messages to the suppliers and then leaked those messages to the Minister of Infrastructure David Patterson among other executives of GPL.
“These persons created a fake profile and even spelt my name wrong and they were attempting to discredit me to have the Government send me home,” said Welch. He said he was moving to help customers in an effort to better manage their consumption, which would allow them to pay lower electricity rates. There could not have been an accurate assessment of this initiative as GPL employees, according to Welch, were compromising the system and he commenced an investigation into the issue.
“GPL workers were assisting persons to steal from these meters and it was my intention to weed out these corrupt practices since stealing is a human behavioral problem,” he told this newspaper. This weeding out resulted in 10 teams being fired up to the time of the allegation being made against him.
After the leak of these text messages, Minister Patterson ordered an investigation into the allegations via a board of directors that will determine whether Welch was framed or not. That Board of Directors is yet to be initiated and investigations are yet to commence. The Board of Directors is also to do an investigation into Welch’s qualifications that were reported to be forged.

PASSION TO SERVE
Welch told this newspaper that he left Guyana since he was a kid and always had the burning desire to give back to his country. This desire grew stronger after learning that Guyana was struggling in his area of expertise which is procurement. Upon his return to Guyana he paid a visit to the then Vice Chancellor of the University of Guyana, Professor Jacob  Opadeyi with whom he shared his desire to set up a curriculum in procurement for the University. He later received a call and was summoned to a meeting with Cabinet officials of the Government under the PPPC’s administration, who requested his service for the power company noting his wide array of qualifications, which includes achieving a degree at the University of Harvard. Welch said that he did not immediately accept and returned to the USA and he was further summoned by the then government for his services. With the blessings of his family he returned and was given the position Deputy CEO Technical.
Welch revealed to the Guyana Chronicle that his qualifications landed him several executive positions in high ranking multi-million dollar electrical companies around the world that possessed an economy higher than Guyana’s. He said he ran one of those companies in Japan. “If I wasn’t qualified two years back when I was deputy CEO, how can I not be qualified for CEO. Have my qualifications suddenly changed?” he sarcastically asked.
Welch said that Guyana’s media system worries him since articles concerning him were published and he was never invited to comment on these issues. “These media houses publish articles about me with no verification or validation and it seems to be the normal custom in Guyana to do that,” posited Mr. Welch.
When asked whether he would continue his service to GPL and to the Guyana government despite allegations against him, he said that he had come to serve his country and he was staying right here.
Colin Welch was appointed interim CEO after the dismissal of former CEO Bharat Dindyal on August 14.