On Friday, the House of Assembly approved the appointment of Sheldon Scatliffe as the BVI Electricity Corporation’s new chairman for a period of three years starting on July 4.
He succeeds Rosemarie Flax, who was appointed for a three-year posting in November 2019 after the board had been disbanded for about six months. The chair position had been vacant again since Ms. Flax’s appointment ended last November.
Transportation and Works Minister Kye Rymer said Friday that Mr. Scatliffe — who works at the Financial Services Commission — has “over 20 years of accounting, auditing and financial services experience both locally and abroad.”
He is a certified public accountant and a chartered global management accountant, according to Mr. Rymer.
“As chairman, I see that Mr. Scatliffe will be able to provide leadership and direction to the board which oversees the management of the corporation,” Mr. Rymer said. “He will be responsible for ensuring that the BVIEC operates efficiently and effectively and that it meets its objectives and goals.”
‘Not an easy job’
Representatives including Junior Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries Dr. Karl Dawson and Opposition Leader Ronnie Skelton spoke about the many challenges the BVIEC is facing.
“The job that Mr. Scatliffe has chosen to take over is not an easy job,” Mr. Skelton said. “As chairperson, he has to think about the long-term strategic planning of the BVIEC. The power supply is extremely important to the country and to the economic development of this country.”
Opposition member Mitch Turnbull turned attention towards the power outages that have occurred in recent weeks.
“There have been a host of outages leading up to the summer months that have caused some discomfort and expenses to people who would have damaged refrigerators and televisions,” he said. “I’m hoping that with the new leadership and the way that we are seeking to grow the renewable energy efforts that are being put in place, that we are moving to a better and brighter place.”