THE DIRECTOR general of the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR), Ahmad Zia Mian, is to demit office at the end of his current term on February 8.

He was appointed director general on February 10, 2009.

On loan to the Government of Jamaica by the World Bank, Mian first served in Jamaica as the energy policy/technical adviser on issues of deregulation, liberalisation and the development of regulatory framework for utilities, and assisted with the establishment of the OUR.

Mian has spearheaded a number of important developments since taking office.

Under his guidance, significant strides were made in the improvement of the quality of service in the electricity, telecommunications and water sectors. He has lobbied tirelessly for changes to be made to the OUR Act to allow the organisation to become a more effective regulator. The proposed amendments have been prepared for consideration by the Cabinet. If approved, it will provide the OUR with enforcement powers to effectively mandate, intervene and effect compliance in the regulated sectors.

Under his watch, the OUR has started the preparatory work for ISO certification, which is expected to be a validation that the OUR's policies and procedures conform to international best practices.