Northern Ireland Water Chairman Chris Mellor, together with three non-executive directors on the company’s board, has been dismissed by Northern Ireland's regional development minister after an investigation into procurement practices at the company. The investigation revealed "serious breakdown in the governance and control framework" of how contracts were awarded at the company.
The Minister, Conor Murphy, today announced that he has dismissed the Chairman and a number of non-executive Directors of the Board of NI Water (NIW). Making the announcement, the Minister 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.
Those who have been dismissed from the Board are: Chris Mellor, John Ballard, Ruth Thompson, and Declan Gormley.
I have taken this step in order to provide a firm basis for the company to establish new governance arrangements, and to move forward with the confidence of the community”.
An independent review team was jointly commissioned by the Accounting Officers of the Department for Regional Development (DRD) and NI Water (NIW) to undertake a review of procurement governance issues within NIW. A copy of the report is now available.
Commenting on the report's publication, Laurence MacKenzie, chief executive of the government-owned company, said: Northern Ireland Water, 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."
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