(Trinidad Guardian) The board of the Trinidad and Tobago Electricity Commission (T&TEC) has sacked its general manager, Glenford Cyrille. Cyrille, general manager from May 1, 2011, was sent on leave last Friday. T&TEC communications manager Annabelle Brasnell confirmed that Cyrille was on “pre-retirement leave.” He was due to retire on December 22, 2012. Cyrille, 58, told the T&T Guardian he was called into a meeting with chairman Omar Khan and deputy chairman Susilla Ramkissoon-Mark last Friday at 1 pm and asked to leave immediately. The reasons advanced, he said, were his inability to meet deadlines and his opposition to policies which the company wanted to implement.
“I was told that the political directorate was not happy with my performance,” said Cyrille, an engineer who has worked at T&TEC for the last 37 years. He was allowed into the company to pack his personal belongings on Sunday evening, he said. Contacted for comment, Khan told the T&T Guardian: “It’s something that’s still being discussed at the board level and I don’t want to make a statement on it. You’ll get something soon.” The Guardian learnt the decision to sack Cyrille was ratified at a board meeting on Monday, with assistant general manager of Distribution Kelvin Ramsook assuming the vacated post. Ramsook confirmed his acting appointment yesterday.
Oilfield Workers’ Trade Union’s T&TEC representative Peter Burke said the union met with Khan and Ramkissoon-Mark about the issue on Tuesday. The union was told the board was not satisfied with Cyrille’s performance with regard to timeliness. “We’re not convinced that the issue was his performance..We believe it’s something more sinister than that,” said Burke. “I did ask the chairman if the manager was removed because he was trying to protect the procurement and the recruitment process of the company, but the chairman said it had nothing to do with contracts,” said Burke. Burke told the T&T Guardian Cyrille was passed over for the position of general manager three times and there was even opposition to his appointment in May.
“My information is that he was not the preferred candidate…There was always an antagonistic approach to his tenure,” said Burke. He’s concerned that with Cyrille’s removal, several issues, including union negotiations and job evaluations would be set back. Cyrille maintained that he “was happy.” “While I am no saint, I could not accede to some of the requests put before me,” he said. Cyrille pointed out that he also butted heads with former chairman Devanand Ramlal. “A past general manager was sent home because he broke procurement procedures,” he said. “As far as I am concerned, I was sent home because I did not want to. “I believe in proper governance…I feel my job as general manager was to advise the board and there were certain things done which were not consistent with proper governance.”
T&TEC’s Web site describes the general manager duties as being “responsible and accountable for managing all T&TEC’s operations to ensure that customers are provided with a safe, reliable, high-quality electricity supply in an environmentally responsible and cost-effective manner. He reports to a Board of Commissioners appointed by the President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.” Cyrille said the company had been working hard to improve the delivery of their services. “It’s not perfect but it is expanding,” he said. For the moment, T&TEC is subject to two investigations: a criminal probe by the Anti-Corruption Investigation Bureau for its street-lighting programme and a forensic audit by the office of the Attorney General.
