Fired WASA CEO: I did nothing wrong

THA Division of Infrastructure, Quarries, and Urban Development (THA-DIQUD) technical advisor, Dr Ellis Burris
THA Division of Infrastructure, Quarries, and Urban Development (THA-DIQUD) technical advisor, Dr Ellis Burris

Former Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) CEO Ellis Burris has described his dismissal from the authority as a “witch hunt.”

Burris, who was ap­point­ed CEO in Ju­ly 2017 is adamant that he did nothing wrong. His intention now is to begin legal proceedings.

Burris spoke with Newsday after Public Utilities Minister Robert Le Hunte said on Tuesday in the Senate, that Burris was fired last year because he breached his duty by failing to obtain WASA’s board approval and proper authorisation for a $2 million payment.

Le Hunte was responding to queries from UNC Sen­a­tor Wade Mark on the cir­cum­stances which led to Burris's sus­pen­sion and sub­se­quent dis­missal in 2019.

Bur­ris was fired last May af­ter be­ing sent on va­ca­tion as a re­sult of an in­ter­na­tion­al in­ves­ti­ga­tion. Le Hunte had said last year Bur­ris was sent on leave be­cause of an in­ves­ti­ga­tion in­to al­le­ga­tions that he had ac­ted with­out the board’s in­volve­ment.

Speaking with Newsday on Thursday, Burris denied any wrongdoing.

“I have not exceeded any limit. WASA has given the authority to the CEO, who has a limit of $3 million."

Le Hunte said over $2 million had been wrongully spent, but Burris said, "these were monies legitimately owed to workers at the Navet dam. They have been toiling over time, going to work on time, their home-to-office travel has been there years and months to be paid…it was not paid.

"The union raised the issue. I. as the CEO. must investigate. I did investigate, as it could have created an industrial unrest. I therefore went about my normal procedures.”

Calling his dismissal “nothing but a witch hunt and wickedness," he said he wanted the public to know.

"They know when and where I’ve worked already. I was the Chief Administrator in the Tobago House of Assembly, I was the Permanent Secretary and Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Public Utilities, I’ve been the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Tobago Development. All these places I’ve worked without any problem… I am aware of administration and administrative activities.”

Burris said it seemed there was a feeling that he went to "clean up" WASA, which was plagued with several ongoing issues.

From the time he arrived, he said, "Tthere were challenges by some people. Some people believed that I must have come to clean up the place, but I was at least walking and working with them. We had a nice quarterly meeting where we reviewed the last quarter and gave suggestions for the upcoming quarter. The entire (board of) directors prepared their presentations on a quarterly basis for discussions at quarterly meetings.”

When the issue of the payment to workers arose, he said, "I went about from a public service perspective to investigate. I put the auditors in, I sought legal advice and after that a note was supposed to be prepared for the board. I sent a note to the director of HR, who generates notes on HR matters to the board, to prepare the necessary arrangements to go to pay the workers.”

The matter is now in the hands of his lawyer, Pamela Elder.

He complained, “Already the process has been flawed because of the way it was handled. It is unfair for an individual to be treated in this way.I hope the State would reconsider what has happened.”

Comments

"Fired WASA CEO: I did nothing wrong"

More in this section