Correct “some miscalculations” made by NDC Government on appointing persons to serve on statutory bodies
Losing Ben Brathwaite is a concern. He is respected.
This is the response from a longstanding member of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) government of Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell to the sudden resignation of the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the state-owned electricity company known as GRENLEC.
His comment was echoed by a top member of the management team at Grenlec who believes that the departure of Brathwaite after serving for only 13 months should result in the Prime Minister relooking some of the persons appointed to serve on several statutory bodies on the island.
Speaking to THE NEW TODAY on Tuesday, the official said that the Congress leader “has been making some miscalculations” with several of the persons appointed to serve on the Board of Directors of state bodies since the June 2022 general election and change of government.
“I think that somebody needs to have a chat with him (PM Dickon Mitchell),” he remarked.
The official referred to problems existing with the functioning of some boards, especially the one at Gravel & Concrete and the other at the National Water & Sewerage Authority (NAWASA).
There have been reports in recent months about two factions at work in the Board of Directors at Gravel & Concrete and of problems at Nawasa which forced the government to remove Water Engineer Alphonsus Daniel from the Board.
The Grenlec insider dropped hints that differences have clearly emerged on the Board at his company between Brathwaite and some members who felt that a senior manager who is a non-national should be fired from her senior position.
He said that under the former New National Party (NNP) government of Dr. Keith Mitchell a directive was allegedly given to the former Chairman of the Board to dismiss the individual but it was never done.
He stated that fresh attempts are now being made to get rid of the person but Brathwaite as Chairman is cautious on the grounds that it could prove costly financially for the company if it was not done the right way.
“Braff feels that there is a right way and a wrong way to do things. If you have people on contract you just can’t terminate a contract and has been telling his people (on the Board) that’s not the way to deal with that.”
“Ben will have none of this stuff – it’s not like he is trying to save the person’s skin – he is just saying let’s do the thing properly.”
The senior manager at Grenlec also alluded to a Board member who is allegedly attempting to push the company into the purchase of generating equipment from his previous employers.
He accused the Board member of “advancing certain projects” and was working to achieve his plan closely with a top figure in the company whom he said “does not have a spine” to stand on his own when it comes to decision-making.
According to the senior staffer, Grenlec is looking to expand on the purchase of machinery for the generation of electricity and the only one name that keeps coming up at meetings is the company linked to this particular Board member.
He told THE NEW TODAY that some of the Engineers and Technocrats in the state-owned utility “are having challenges” with the existing equipment of that company that is currently being used by Grenlec.
“We are saying let’s be more objective, let’s be more thorough, let’s do this thing properly – he (the Board member) is hell bent on pushing this stuff (buy generators from this particular company).”
The Grenlec insider pointed out that whenever the name of another competitor in the region who is offering generating equipment comes up at meetings this particular Board member often expresses the view that that company “will not be able to make the grade.”
“If it is a competitive bidding process that’s not your business. You do the process – you go out to bid and where the chips fall you let them lie,” he said.
When contacted, Brathwaite confirmed his resignation as Grenlec Board Chairman but chose not to go into details “until the dust is settled.”
“I did tender my resignation as of last Friday. We had a Board meeting on the 24th (August) and I resigned on the 25th. I could tell you that I informed the Prime Minister on the night of the 24th. I informed him that next morning he will have my resignation sent to him,” he said.
Brathwaite did not go into details about the things that “concerned me” at Grenlec which prompted his sudden resignation from the company.
Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell is also coming under fire from staffers at Gravel & Concrete who have been seeking a meeting with him for several months without success to air their grievances on several matters including alleged mismanagement by the current Board of Directors.
THE NEW TODAY also understands that the Board itself has failed in their efforts to get the Prime Minister to meet with them since taking over as their Line Minister after he assumed the Infrastructure Development portfolio from Dennis Cornwall who became the new Minister of Finance in April.