Georgetown: Imran Khan, Director of Public Information, has resigned from his position as a director on the Board of the National Communications Network (NCN), citing his disagreement with the appointment of Lennox Cornette as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the state broadcaster. His resignation took effect on Tuesday.However, Chairman of the NCN Board of Directors, Bishwa Panday, noted that the Board had not received Khan’s resignation letter even at approximately 15:37 hrs yesterday. Panday could not say anything further on the matter at the time, since he was in a meeting with members of that board.
Khan has, however, issued a statement that indicated he has submitted his resignation letter to Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, whose office has responsibility for public information. Khan indicated in that statement that his resignation resulted from Cornette being appointed CEO of the NCN because of his disagreement with that decision. He said he told Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo that Cornette was appointed CEO of the NCN although, as per the confirmation of Chairman Bishwa Panday of the NCN Board, he had admitted to committing an unlawful act in the past. Khan said he could not associate himself with Cornette’s appointment.
“I advised the Honourable Prime Minister of the reason for (my resignation), thanked him for the confidence reposed in me for having been selected to serve as an NCN Director, and expressed regret that the circumstances do not permit me to serve the full duration of the term for which I was appointed,” Khan’s statement explained.
He said he views the decision of the Board to proceed with Cornette’s appointment as “reckless and imprudent”.
Cornette reportedly admitted to the board in a pre-employment interview that he had forged the signature of the late Terry Holder, CEO of the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T), while he was employed as Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the company years ago.
In a press statement Cornette stated that the matter at GT&T was an internal one that was dealt with internally, and there was no financial impropriety involved. He said he and the GT&T had still maintained a cordial relationship.
An earlier press release from GuyEnterprise had stated that, after conducting various interviews and reviewing applications submitted for the position, the NCN Board of Directors had concluded that Cornette had “emerged the best candidate for the CEO’s position based on his diverse communication, financial and executive management background”.
The Board of Directors of the NCN was appointed by the Prime Minister seven months ago. Bishwa Panday was appointed Chairman, while other members of the Board included Imran Khan, Mark Archer, Dr. Paloma Mohamed, Margaret Lawrence, Kojo McPherson, Dhanwanti Sukhdeo, Carolyn Walcott and Colin Thompson
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