Saturday, December 03, 2005

Entrepreneurial Farmer

By Ambrosio R. Villorente
Is NEA Blocking Member–Consumers Empowerment?
The job of the Change Management Team of the Aklan Electric Cooperative will be until December 31, 2005 only. In its November 7, 2005 Regular meeting of the AKELCO Board of Directors, Board Resolution No. 099, Series of 2005 was approved “extending the contract of the Change Management Team from July 1, 2004 until December 31, 2005.”
Actually, a previous Board Resolution No. 038 Series of 2004 has already extended the contract of the Change Management Team (CMT) from July 1, 2004 “until such time that AKELCO is registered with the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) and its operation is stabilized with its new set of members of the Board of Directors as provided for under the existing laws…” This extension has no time frame when will CMT end its services.
CMT services will only end after AKELCO is registered as a legitimate cooperative. But is there a move on the present AKELCO management and the present Board of Directors to register AKELCO with CDA? The answer is a big NO.
But the final approval of AKELCO Board Resolution No. 099 is on the National Electric Administration. Should NEA reject Resolution No. 099 then the CMT will continue serving AKELCO. This means AKELCO out of the money consumer–members pay will also continue paying the CMT P350,000 monthly. In addition, a P1,000 meal allowance daily will be paid them.
To recall, the NEA in the year 2002 assigned CMT to AKELCO to help solve many management problems. Today, the present AKELCO management claimed it has reduced considerably the systems loss, paid overdue accounts, improved collection efficiency, improved personnel morale and upgraded its services. It has upgraded AKELCO from Class E to Class A+.
Very well and good! That is what they are here for. If they did not do that and did not accomplished that, they are failures.
Having successfully accomplished its mission in Aklan, how long will the CMT continue serving AKELCO? Will it stay for some more time at cost to the member–consumers? I suggest AKELCO before the CMT leaves Aklan, must honor them with a farewell program and recognize the outstanding accomplishment not later than December 31, 2005.
How about the team of Malilay – Quenisio–Sauza? This is a local management team AKELCO hired at P90,000 a month. Is it true? AKELCO management owe this information to tell the member-consumers who pay the monthly bills. The public must also be told in fairness to Mr. Sauza, former Makato Mayor Wayne Malilay and Ms. Silvia Quenisio how much they are really paid..
For one thing, why hire an additional management team when AKELCO is already class A+? When the present CMT is still around? This is additional expenses. Let them tell the consumer-members what have they done?
-o-
Last November 29, 2005, at the Corazon Legaspi Cabagnot Training Center, Buswang Old, an idea was floated and circulated. According to them, NEA is hesitant and even finding ways and means to delay if not block the registration of electric cooperatives to CDA. NEA officials wish to continue their rule of electric cooperatives thereby not empowering the member-consumers who actually own the electric cooperatives like AKELCO.
The idea is for a group of Aklanons with representatives from Pandan and Libertad, Antique to form an Electric Cooperative. After it is duly registered with the CDA, the Board of Directors will request the present AKELCO management to furnish them the following: a. inventory of properties, b. inventory of personnel, c. financial statement, d. asset and liabilities among others.
They will also invite all the member-consumers of the present AKELCO to join the newly electric cooperative. They will then approve a resolution requesting for the turn–over to the new electric cooperative of the AKELCO for its own operation.
This measure will be resorted to only if the present Board of Directors and management of AKELCO will be adamant to register it with the CDA. /MP mailto:madyaas_pen@yahoo.com

No comments: