Search on for new NWC board
Published:Sunday | April 13, 2014 | 12:00 AM
Gary Spaulding, Senior Reporter
The search is on for a new board of directors for the National Water Commission (NWC) as a 60-day extension granted to the present board comes to an end.
The Sunday Gleaner has confirmed that the life of the board chaired by Leary Myers came to an end in February but the members were asked to stay on for two months by Robert Pickersgill, the minister with portfolio responsibility for water.
Late last week, Pickersgill told The Sunday Gleaner that he could not comment as the matter has to obtain Cabinet's approval.
"I am not going to say anything at this time as it's a Cabinet matter," declared Pickersgill.
However, with several questions being raised about the effectiveness and productivity of the nine-member board which was appointed in 2012, the Opposition Jamaica Labour Party is watching the developments closely.
opposition concern
Dr Horace Chang, the opposition spokesman on water, has charged that Myers is among a group of board chairmen of statutory bodies attempting to play the role of executive chairman.
"The Opposition has some concerns that some of the chairmen of statutory agencies and organisations are functioning as acting executive chairman, which is in direct contravention of national policy, as stated in the Public Bodies Management Act," said Chang.
"We think that this contributed to the problems at the Housing Authority of Jamaica and ongoing concerns with the NWC and National Housing Trust," added Chang.
He charged that as one of the largest commercial entities in the island with a cash flow in excess of $25 billion and a staff of about 2,000, the NWC requires the attention of a professional manager with a fully professional team.
"A part-time chairman acting as an executive chairman, who gets involved in the day-to-day operations will demotivate the professionals," said Chang. "Because these part-time chairmen tend to be seen by professionals as interference ... when the board through the chairman interferes in operations it leads to significant inefficiencies."
According to Chang, Colin Campbell's appointment as managing director of the Jamaica Urban Transit Company is acceptable as he is operating on a full-time basis and his input will not be viewed as interference.