FIRED!

FIRED!
Glen Laville

W&SC GM is Out

The general manager of the state-run Water & Sewerage Corporation (W&SC) has been fired, Eyewitness News Online can confirm.

The immediate dismissal of Glenn Laville comes a week after a damaging Ernst and Young (EY) audit on the water corporation was tabled in Parliament by W&SC Chairman Adrian Gibson, during the 2017/2018 Mid-Year Budget debate.

Gibson told Eyewitness News Online last evening that Laville’s termination, which took immediate effect, came following a unanimous vote by the board of directors.

While he did not reveal much specifics, he said, the decision was due in part to findings in the EY audit. He said Laville’s termination was ultimately in the “best interest” of the company.

Senior Assistant General Manager Elwood Donaldson will act as general manager with immediate effect, Gibson confirmed.

An all staff advisory notice, which Eyewitness News Online obtained a copy of states, “Effective immediately, the Board of Directors of the Water & Sewerage Corporation (and the Government of The Bahamas) has taken the decision to terminate the services of Mr. Glenn Laville, General Manager.”

The advisory – dated March 14, 2018 and signed by Gibson – continued, “Mr. Elwood Donaldson, senior assistant general manager, has been appointed as acting general manager with immediate effect. Your full and complete support is anticipated.”

When contacted for comment, Bahamas Utility Service and Allied Workers Union (BUSAWU) President Dwayne Woods said, he had been advised of Laville’s termination earlier in the day by the chairman.

He said the union will fully support whoever the board appoints to run the utility company.

Woods, who is the chief bargaining executive for workers at W&SC said, the union is in ‘wait and see’ mode, considering Laville’s termination was due in part to findings in that controversial audit.

Rumors of pending layoffs at the corporation have already begun however, Woods said, the union has not been advised of any.

Last Wednesday, parliamentarians heard how the EY audit uncovered what it called numerous irregularities, particularly in the corporation’s management and finances.

One of those irregularities mentioned in the auditor report was the awarding of a contract worth $9.6 million to Nassau Island Development (NID), for the construction of the Gladstone Road Waste Water Treatment Plant (GRWWTP).

The report further pointed out that the project actually cost taxpayers close to $20 million.