The Anguilla Electricity Company Limited (ANGLEC) CEO, Mr Sutcliffe Hodge, on Monday, August 29, sought to set the record straight when he spoke with radio programme host, Mr Keithstone Greaves, in a specially arranged interview.
Mr Hodge Denies Premier’s Allegations
Mr Hodge denied allegations made by the Premier, Dr Ellis Webster, accusing him of attempting to destabilise his administration and bring it down.
He said: “It is unfortunate that the Premier would make such a statement. I’m not sure if he realises that such a statement is in fact libellous.
“Upon taking up my appointment at ANGLEC, I recognised that there was a financial challenge that the company was facing, and that a substantial amount of money needed to be collected from customers. Principal among the customers was the Water Corporation of Anguilla (WCA).
“I then decided to write to all of the offending customers who owed ANGLEC a substantial amount of money. One of those customers is the WCA. One of those customers is my own brother. The identical letter was sent to the WCA as was sent to my brother except the moneys owing was different.
“In addition to that, letters were also sent to a number of other customers who fell in that same category. So, to claim that I, as CEO, was trying to destabilise his government is, to my mind, unfounded and libellous, and I intend to address that at some future date.”
Mr Hodge’s Remit and Commitment
Mr Hodge joined the ANGLEC management team as CEO of the electricity company that has been plagued with problematic issues over the years. Some of those issues involve the government of Anguilla in general, and the WCA in particular. He noted that his role in the electricity company is to ensure that it remains a viable entity.
“Upon taking up the role of CEO at ANGLEC, I committed to serve ANGLEC to ensure that we are delivering value for money to our customers, and to ensure that we are delivering value to the shareholders of ANGLEC. That has been my remit.
“One of my principal responsibilities is to ensure that all moneys owing to ANGLEC is in fact collected, and to ensure that ANGLEC is a viable operating entity. That is my remit and my commitment.”
Speaking in more detail about the debt collection, Mr Hodge explained that in order for the company to survive, all debt must be collected.
“ANGLEC’s position is that we need cash to buy diesel as fuel prices around the world have reached unprecedented high levels. Unfortunately, those costs are being passed on to customers either in part or in full. We, in Anguilla, are charging customers just under half of what we really should be charging in the fuel surcharge. Today, it is costing us more for fuel than revenues generated.
“So, in order for us to survive during this period of very high fuel prices, we have to collect all outstanding debt. This is nothing political. It is purely commercial, and my role is to operate as a commercial officer in ANGLEC in the capacity as CEO.”
In presenting the financial challenges that ANGLEC has been plagued with, Mr Hodge noted that “the biggest challenge that ANGLEC has faced since its formation is that government has tried to ride on the back of ANGLEC by not paying its bills on time and having substantial debt written off – about $20 million.”
He noted that the collective debt owed by the government to ANGLEC totals about $60 million. This includes just under $20 million that the government had written off the books, $28.3 million in duties (fees) that were wrongfully collected from ANGLEC, and $14.9 million incurred by the WCA. “This gives you a picture of the enormous financial stress that ANGLEC has been and is, subjected to, by government over the years.”
Mr Hodge stated, for the record, that ANGLEC had retained a QC out of Jamaica as its legal counsel to deal with a three-year old matter involving the fuel supplier, Delta Petroleum. For a retainer fee of US$5,000, ANGLEC’s legal representation was able to bring the matter to a successful resolution in five days.
Mr Hodge noted that “skills, competence and experience matter” and, among other duties, the legal counsel will also pursue options for collecting the moneys owed by the Government of Anguilla to ANGLEC.
Mr Hodge’s Practice of Good Corporate Governance
During the interview, Mr Hodge talked about his role as CEO and focused on his practice of good governance.
“As the CEO of ANGLEC, my role is to run an efficient business. I was hired to try to run a professional entity that is governed by the Electricity Act, the Corporations Act and Corporate Governance. Those are the instruments that guide my behaviour in ANGLEC, and I am trying to do it, for the most part, to the letter of the law while being considerate and compassionate at times.”
Speaking on the issue of compassion, Mr Hodge said that “when we disconnected the WCA, they went on standby power. A couple weeks later, we were told that the generator had failed and they needed our support. We contacted our legal counsel and informed them of the situation and agreed to allow the WCA to be reconnected for a period of at least three weeks during which time they claimed they would have their generator repaired.”
Regarding his appointment as CEO, Mr Hodge stated that he applied for a job that was advertised as the CEO, and was interviewed by an independent body whose members, as far as he knew, were not employees of ANGLEC, and were not members of the Board [of ANGLEC].
He indicated that he received notification that he was the successful candidate and negotiated a contract. “Beyond that, I do not know anything else as it relates to my appointment,” Mr Hodge stated.
Mr Keithstone Greaves posed questions to Mr Hodge regarding ANGLEC’s position on getting government’s backing for a loan. Mr Hodge indicated that he did not know of any instance where the government has had to guarantee a loan for ANGLEC.
“I have heard statements on the radio – utterances made by the Premier – that ANGLEC needs government’s approval to borrow money. I have done my own independent investigation, and there is no evidence to support that. Consequently, on August 11, I wrote to the Premier asking for the specific details where this is a requirement – to which he had not responded. A follow-up letter was also sent on or about August 25 and this morning, August 28, I got an email from him indicating that he is in receipt of my letters and will respond to the letter of August 11 after consulting the Ministry of Finance.
“I am not about to have a fight with the Premier. We are brothers in the church and I believe that we are people that have great faith and confidence in God. We should seek to do the right things at all times.
“I try to order my life in a way where I am open, honest, and transparent with all of my undertakings. So, I would hope that there isn’t a sinister plan that I am not aware of.
“Let us be open and honest – recognising that we have a responsibility to the people of this country who are customers of ANGLEC. We have a responsibility to the shareholders of ANGLEC who have made substantial investment – including Government – to ensure that ANGLEC is professionally run. I am determined, by God’s help, to do my best to run ANGLEC as efficiently as possible to deliver for all the stakeholders.”
Mr Hodge concluded that the Government of Anguilla “has been bleeding ANGLEC from its inception” and should now honour the debt obligations to ANGLEC and pay its bills.
“If the government were to settle its outstanding debt of almost $60 million to ANGLEC, there would be no need for ANGLEC to have an overdraft – which it has today. What we are trying to do, is to get the government to honour its obligations to ANGLEC.”
Mr Hodge said that Government is of the view that ANGLEC needs its approval to get a loan for the phasing of the renewable energy roll out. In reality, though, the savings from just over four months of diesel supply will comfortably pay for the roll out of Phase 1 of the renewable energy programme, and there would be no need for the company to secure a loan for funding.
Furthermore, savings realised from the implementation of the first phase of the programme could pay for Phase 2 and, subsequently, Phase 3 and any other Phases in the future. In reality, if the government – inclusive of its statutory bodies – paid all its debt owed to ANGLEC, ANGLEC’s renewable energy programme could be rolled out immediately and be fully funded by ANGLEC.
The Release of Unaudited Accounts Information
The government of Anguilla, as the largest shareholder in ANGLEC, has been requesting financial documents from ANGLEC to no avail.
Mr Hodge said in the interview that it would be irresponsible of ANGLEC to provide any shareholder with unaudited financial accounts information.
“The majority shareholder has no such claim or authority. If the majority shareholder can request that information, so can a person who has one share in ANGLEC, [simply] because he/she is a shareholder.
“Corporate governance and the bylaws speak to shareholders –whether they own one share or 99% of the shares. They are treated the same way. No shareholder can get an unaudited account; it is not the responsible thing to do by any corporation. You have access to audited account information and reserve [the right] to raise questions on the floor during a Special Meeting or during an AGM.”
The Electricity Commissioner, Mr Ralph Hodge, has also requested certain information from ANGLEC. Mr Sutcliffe Hodge, CEO, spoke to that request during the interview.
The CEO stated: “This is a matter that is being dealt with by our legal counsel, and as you might be aware, the Electricity Commissioner is in fact a regulator. There is some legal guidance for the conduct of the Electricity Commissioner. Our legal counsel is dealing directly with the Electricity Commissioner as it relates to the request made of ANGLEC by the Commissioner.”
The biggest impediment to ANGLEC’s growth and progress, right now, is the government of Anguilla, Mr Hodge observed.
