Unjust firing

Unjust firing
From left: Leader of the Opposition Philip Davis and Former General Manager of the Water and Sewerage Corporation, Glen Laville.

The recent firing of Water and Sewerage Corporation (WS&C) former General Manager Glen Laville is not sitting well with the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP).

In a statement issued Thursday, PLP Leader Philip Brave Davis shared his concerns for Laville’s abrupt dismissal and encouraged the current Minister of Works and W&SC Chairman to “re-examine this matter”.

The statement read: “The  dismissal was for cause. This denies him his right to severance and possibly his pension. I will continue to monitor this. I am concerned about the bloody mindedness of this FNM regime. They double down to defend their position even in the face of clear mistakes and errors. It appears that basic due process may have been overlooked.

“For example they have based the dismissal on an Ernst and Young report which is replete with errors and can be set aside for lack of due process in its results.”

According to Davis, “this dismissal for cause smacks of an injustice”.

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 Wednesday that Laville’s termination, which took immediate effect, came following a unanimous vote by the board of directors.

According to an W&SC all-staff advisory obtained by Eyewitness News, Senior Assistant General Manager Elwood Donaldson will act as general manager with immediate effect.

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.

Since the release of the EY report, Davis and other members of the Opposition have maintained their disdain for its findings and questionable methods of gathering information.

Davis has called the report “sordid, libelous and misleading.”