The decision by the Chairman of the National Communications Network to proceed with the appointment of Public Relations Consultant, Lennox Cornette, did not receive the full support of all members of the NCN Board.

In a flurry of emails between board members, the Chairman of the Board, Bish Panday, sought to defend the decision to confirm the appointment of Cornette even after he told the Board that Cornette had admitted to him that his employment at GT&T came to an end after he forged the signature of then Deputy General Manager, Terry Holder.

The issue, according to the emails seen by News Source, came up for scrutiny after the Board Chairman was informed that Cornette had an issue with GT&T back in 1999 which led to his departure.
Director of Public Information, Imran Khan and another Board Member had raised the issue with the Chairman after it was brought to their attention.

In an email to the Board members, the Chairman Bish Panday wrote “In view of the phone calls I delayed my hand and did some investigations. I met with Mr. Cornette and put the GT&T issue to him. He readily admitted that in 1999, he did sign  Mr. Terry Holder’s  name and there was a parting of ways between him and GT&T. He said it was mistake he has regretted ever since and it’s the only blot on his copy book.”

In response, Director of Public Information and Board Member Imran Khan, expressed the view that he believes that the confirmation by Cornette that he had forged the signature of the late GT&T Manager was serious enough to disqualify him for consideration.

Khan wrote that “I am gravely afraid of entrusting Mr. Cornette with the authority of CEO at NCN, or anywhere else for that matter, in light of his admitting to what effectively constitutes fraud. Should this information become public Chair and colleagues I am afraid that we would find ourselves in extreme difficulties to defend it”

The Director of Public Information further stated in the email exchange that “Should we proceed with Mr. Cornette and there is a single instance or hint of fraud or financial malpractice, we as a Board are taking a huge risk with Mr. Cornette and would have to offer our immediate resignations as a result. Is that a risk we, as a collective, wish to take by placing a company who Director Mohamed has repeatedly rightfully defined as not only a national asset but one which is at the centre of national security in the hands of someone who has admitted to effective fraud, however small or large it might have been? Fraud is fraud am afraid.”

Khan was pushing for the hiring of veteran broadcast journalist and media manager Enrico Woolford. In his push for Woolford’s hiring, the Director of Public Information explained Cornette had no broadcast media experience and NCN needed someone who could hit the ground running.

He said “Mr. Cornette has never worked in broadcast media. In my mind NCN requires a CEO who is au fait with broadcast media as NCN desperately requires someone who is capable of hitting the ground running in light of the myriad problems we have. From all the evidence provided I am not convinced that Mr. Cornette is capable of this and could take as much as a year to fully familiarize himself with the company in order to operate at an optimal level of efficiency.”

Khan told the Board that NCN is currently suffering from having a CEO who is unfamiliar with broadcast media and he fears that with Mr. Cornette, the company will be making a similar error in judgment.

“I believe we need an executive head of NCN who understands the business intimately and who can be augmented with specific administrative skill sets in the areas of Human Resources, Marketing, Finance and Administration. What NCN most lacks is someone who understands broadcast media inside out. I fear that we have that person and who is also keenly interested”, Khan added.

In a missive to the concerns of the Public Information Director, the NCN Board Chairman indicated that “the board went through a transparent process. I called a special meeting. The Board agreed to Mr Cornette. I received two calls. I investigated the matter. I reported to the board. I received the authority of the Board to make an offer. I made an offer which was accepted. You can have your objection or disagreement noted but I was transparent and I have followed due process. I never promised more. Mr Cornette is the new CEO.”

The email exchange went on and ended with Mr. Khan telling the Board that In light of the admission by Mr. Cornette, he is not able to agree to appoint him CEO under the circumstances.

“Regrettably that being the case it would virtually render me continuing as a Director untenable and I will have an obligation to provide my reason for same, an obligation which I will find challenging to avoid”, Khan concluded.

The only other board member to contribute to the email exchange was Dr. Paloma Mohammed who appeared to have supported the Chairman’s position. However, she suggested that the Board ought to look at the terms of the contract that will be handed to the new CEO.

The Chairman went ahead with the decision to appoint Cornette as the new Chief Executive Officer and made the announcement via a press release through the private Guyenterprise Advertising Agency.

In that release, the Chairman said that Cornette had emerged as the best candidate for the job.

News Source understands that the issue at GT&T which may have involved a document to an embassy, Cornette may not be in a position to travel to the two western nations.

The Government of Guyana is the sole shareholder of the National Communications Network.

Related posts:

NCN CEO tenders resignation as contract nears end Director of Public Information resigns from NCN Board over appointment of new CEO PR Consultant Lennox Cornette tipped to be new CEO of NCN; Board still to confirm appointment Ministry of the Presidency’s Communications Director turns down NCN Board appointment