| By Abena Rockcliffe-CampbellThe Board of Inquiry set up to look into the affairs of the Guyana National Broadcasting Authority (GNBA) has recommended the removal of Board Chairman, Leonard Craig, and some form of “sanction” for Director Anthony Vieira.GNBA Chairman, Leonard CraigThese measures were recommended based on the examination of the “acrimonious” relationship that existed between Board members.According to the report of the Inquiry submitted to the Prime Minister by Major General (Ret’d) Joseph Singh, the tension between begun to grow from the inception. There was basically no grace period.Singh reported that before there was any meeting of the Board, Craig took it upon himself and sought to get familiar with Broadcasters.Singh stated, “His (Craig’s) decision to meet, on his own accord, with Broadcasters without the consent and knowledge of the Board generated great discontent and condemnation at the inaugural meeting.”Singh stated that despite the fact that Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo is lawfully empowered to select the Chairman of the GNBA, the Directors were of the view the selection ought to have been made by them.Despite the fact that Singh highlighted the utter disrespect shown to Craig, he still said that the Directors were “professional”“The Directors are recognized as high performing individuals due to their expertise and “professionalism. However, their competence to a large extent has been overshadowed by the pervasive atmosphere and tension which prevailed at the Board meetings.”At the hearings, staff expressed concerns about the relationship between Craig and Vieira.They were “particularly worried about the detrimental impact this relationship will have on the current andGNBA Director,Anthony Vieiralikely future performance of the GNBA.”Singh said that during the course of the inquiry, it became clear, from the evidence provided, that the Craig was not providing transformational leadership,Wholesale Jerseys, showed little inclination to expedite recommendations brought from the committees to the Board, and influenced the divisive and interpersonal conflicts.Singh added that Craig’s failure to provide transformational leadership “is largely responsible for the breakdown in working relationships, characterized by an absence of genuine goodwill, respect and trust between chairman and directors”.Major General Singh said that the caustic exchanges during the stages of the decision-making often made the process dysfunctional, resulting in meetings being adjourned with unfinished business.He also reported that the “unruly behaviour of particular Directors,” lack of effective debate and the inability of the Chairman to preserve order are indicative of “deep divisions within the GNBA.”Singh said that the pattern of behaviour continued and was followed by months of bitter divisive exchanges including an altercation between Director Vieira and the Chairman, and between Director Vieira and NFMU Head, Valmiki Singh. One such altercation resulted in Vieira moving a no confidence motion against Craig. However, that motion was not supported by other members of the Board.Singh said that the relationship between Directors and the Chairman was undermined by “the antagonism and vindictiveness displayed by particular Directors”.He said that as the vindictive and abusive outbursts intensified, working relationships continued to deteriorate. The relationship issues were a product of a number of factors including personality clashes, politics, egos and personal differences.Singh said that it “was very unlikely that the Directors would ever work productively.”Singh concluded that the “evidence” points to a disrespectful and distrustful relationship. He said that a combination of factors is indicative of the Directors having no confidence in the Chairman resulting in some adopting the position of not being willing to serve under his leadership“Having regard to the disrespectful relationship that exists between Director Vieira and the Chairman, and having impugned the characters of Directors Vieira and Insanally without giving them the benefit of a hearing, Craig has compromised his ability to be Chairman of the Board,” Singh said.He added that Craig should no longer continue to serve as Chairman.Further, Singh said that Vieira’s attitude towards Craig was one of “gross disrespect. He should be sanctioned for this type of behavior.”Craig has reportedly already tendered his resignation and has left the country. However, this has neither been confirmed by him, nor the Authority. The Prime Minister never announced whether Craig’s resignation was accepted. |
