Water board directors sacked
Regional Development Minister Conor Murphy has dismissed the chairman and three non-executive directors on the board of Northern Ireland Water
Friday March 12 2010
Campaigners said public confidence in one of Northern Ireland's most high profile government bodies was in shreds after half its board was sacked over the mishandling of lucrative contracts.
Regional Development Minister Conor Murphy dismissed the chairman and three non-executive directors on the board of Northern Ireland Water (NIW) after a damning report on the organisation.
The top level cull is the latest in a series of controversies to rock the semi-public body which oversees Northern Ireland's water supply, leading the Consumer Council to say public confidence has been shattered.
A further internal probe will now investigate if senior staff at NIW should face disciplinary action after confirmation that major contracts were awarded without competitive tendering.
"Consumers will be demanding answers and have the right to know the financial implications of this mismanagement," said Consumer Council chief executive Antoinette McKeown.
"They need to know that they are getting the best possible value for their money and the reality is now they don't know. On their behalf the Consumer Council wants to scrutinise the full detail of the report into this investigation so that we can begin to restore consumer confidence which will be in shreds."
The Regional Development Minister confirmed that following an independent review of NIW he had dismissed its chairman Chris Mellor, plus non-executive directors John Ballard, Ruth Thompson and Declan Gormley.
Mr Murphy said: "I have today, in light of the findings of the recently completed Review of Procurement Governance in NIW, dismissed the chairman of NIW, Chris Mellor and a number of his non-executive board colleagues. I have taken this step after a great deal of consideration of all the evidence.
"The findings of the report stated that there had been a serious breakdown in the governance and control framework of NIW in relation to contract approvals, and stated that this was a serious matter for those responsible, namely the NIW board and executives responsible for ensuring compliance.
"I intend to take firm action to fully address the recommendations within the report and have asked the NIW chief executive to work alongside my department in putting in place an action plan to do this."
