|
|
News CategoriesThis story is tagged with the following keywords |
Chris Mellor sacked as NI Water chairman after probe reveals 'serious breakdown' in governance Northern Ireland's regional deveopment minister has sacked chairman Chris Mellor and three non-executive directors from the board of Northern Ireland Water after an investigation into procurement practices at the company revealed "serious breakdown in the governance and control framework" of how contracts were awarded at the company. The minister, Conor Murphy, said: "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 NI Water 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 NI Water chief executive to work alongside my department in putting in place an action plan to do this." Those who have been dismissed from the Board are: Chris Mellor, John Ballard, Ruth Thompson, and Declan Gormley. Earlier this year, Laurence MacKenzie, chief executive of the government-owned company, said he had asked internal auditors to look at the company's procurement practices. The auditors found "possible failures in some of these procedures", at which point MacKenzie alerted NI Water's board, its regulator NIAUR and the Department for Regional Development (DRD). The department and NI Water jointly commissioned the report. Commenting on the report's publication, MacKenzie said: "My commitment to ensuring that appropriate financial controls are in place within NI Water is absolute. The Independent Review, jointly commissioned by me and by the permanent secretary of the DRD, has been a robust and challenging process, which has enjoyed the full cooperation of the entire organisation. "The review has now issued its report, the minister has considered its findings, and he has now taken steps to implement its recommendations. These include the need to put in place a detailed programme of work to ensure that the control weaknesses are addressed as a matter of urgency. This is my responsibility and one that I take extremely seriously." Source: Utility Week © Faversham House Group Ltd 2010. News articles may be copied or forwarded
for individual use only. No other reproduction or distribution is permitted without prior written consent.
|
Highlighted Jobs |
|
|