INTERIM Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) Colin Welch, who has been fingered in much controversy over the last few months, has reportedly been fired by the Board of the company. According to reports, the termination of his employment was allegedly linked to several decisions made by him, regarding the awarding of contracts for GPL.
In December of last year, reports had surfaced that Welch had interfered with the tendering process of a contract for the supply of 28,000 prepaid meters to Guyana. The contract was valued at over US$4M.
However, the then CEO had vehemently denied the accusation, deeming it as a “total fabrication.” Subsequently, there was a public outcry for the government to take action against Welch. During that time, the board of the power company had not been installed and it was expected that Welch’s fate would lie in the hands of board members after a probe.
Evidence had been accumulated from a series of chat messages and Skype calls reportedly made by Welch with regard to the meter transaction. These were subsequently sent to senior government officials.
And according to a Newssource report on Friday, two senior government officials have confirmed Welch’s firing by the board. Further, the officials indicated that the reason may have to do with recent decisions taken by the CEO regarding the awarding of contracts for the power company.
Welch was installed as the interim CEO after former CEO Bharrat Dindyal was sent packing by the government last year. According to reports, Deputy CEO (interim) Renford Homer is expected to fill the capacity of CEO.