[UPDATED] WASA CEO Lennox Sealy in shock resignation

A MERE five months after being appointed CEO of the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA), Dr Lennox Sealy has resigned with immediate effect.

A release sent on Thursday morning said Minister of Public Utilities Marvin Gonzales had met with Sealy earlier and thanked him for his service, but noted that the Government "felt that the transformation was not proceeding at a sufficiently rapid pace.”

It said WASA's board of commissioners is expected to announce the appointment of an interim executive management team. This team will work towards “facilitating a seamless process of restructuring and transformation of the authority.”

Deputy chairman Ravindra Nanga will chair the board.

Nanga dismissed rumours that Sealy had been fired when Newsday contacted him for a comment. He said Sealy's resignation letter was submitted on Thursday morning.

Sealy, who served as chairman before he was appointed executive director of WASA as well as CEO of the authority in February, came under heavy criticism within the last month for his move to introduce mechanisms for new water rates and threats to disconnect customers who failed to pay outstanding arrears.

Gonzales said Sealy was appointed executive director because it was felt that he needed full executive authority to make the decisions that would urgently set the authority on the path to a long-overdue transformation.

There was still much to be accomplished, he said, to get the authority to a place where citizens can enjoy a reliable supply of water.

“The transformation of WASA remains very much on the front burner and I will soon say more about Government’s plans for the water sector in the very near future.”

Contacted for comment, president of the Public Services Association (PSA) Watson Duke said he wasn’t surprised by Sealy's resignation.

“It was always coming. We knew it would have come to this...we are not surprised."

Duke further called for Gonzales to be removed as Public Utilities Minister.

“He will do best as an MP without portfolio. He doesn’t deserve the responsibility of managing the resources of this country,”

Duke and Sealy had a rocky relationship after the authority threatened to terminate Duke’s employment with WASA, citing a conflict of interest between his portfolios as PSA head and an assistant manager at WASA.

In the first warning letter, Duke was called on to account for his absence from WASA for some 11 years – on no-pay leave – to focus on his role at the PSA. After failing to respond to two warning letters, Duke was threatened with termination.

The authority said this move wasn’t personal, but part of attempts to transform WASA into a more efficient and reliable organisation.

The matter saw a heated legal exchange before Sealy retracted all warning letters to Duke and granted him an extension of his no-pay leave for another four years, to continue his PSA duties.

Sealy then found himself at the centre of controversy after he suggested, during an interview, that customers would have to buy their own meters, which he said would cost around $3,000. Days later Gonzales sought to "set the record straight" in a release, saying installing water meters throughout the country wasn’t a priority or part of the plans for restructuring WASA.

Then in June, Sealy was again criticised for a debt-recovery drive targeting customers who had not paidoutstanding rates or contacted the authority about late payments.

Within days Gonzales stopped the move. He told Newsday he hadinstructed Sealy to focus on the “transformation strategy and a new structure for WASA.”

Calls to Sealy went to voicemail and attempts to reach Gonzales were unanswered.

The newly appointed WASA chairman told Newsday he already has a clear vision of how he intends to drive the transformational process.

Nanga has been an attorney for over 26 years and hopes his legal background will help in WASA’s transformation.

“My first mandate," he said, "would be issues addressed in the subcommittee cabinet report…We will be focusing on the operations. There is a sector of the population still not getting a reliable water supply. Sealy started addressing this issue and I would like to continue addressing the inefficiencies at WASA with a view of improving the service to the public.”

This story has been adjusted to include additional details. See original post below.

A MERE five months after being appointed CEO of the Water and Sewage Authority (WASA), Dr Lennox Sealy has resigned with immediate effect.

A release sent on Thursday morning said Minister of Public Utilities Marvin Gonzales met with Sealy earlier, thanked him for his service but noted that the "Government felt that the transformation was not proceeding at a sufficiently rapid pace.”

It said WASA's Board of Commissioners is expected to announce the appointment of an interim executive management team. This team will work towards “facilitating a seamless process of restructuring and transformation of the authority.”

Deputy chairman of the WASA Board Ravindra Nanga will hold the position of chairman of the board.

Sealy, who served as chairman before he was appointed executive director of WASA's board as well as CEO of the authority in February, came under heavy criticism within the last month for his move to introduce mechanisms for new water rates and threats to disconnect customers who failed to pay outstanding arrears.

When contacted for a comment, president of the Public Services Association Watson Duke said he wasn’t surprised by the resignation.

“It was always coming, we knew it would have come to this. He has done many injustices so we are not surprised."

Duke further called for the removal of Gonzales as Public Utilities Minister. “He will do best as an MP without portfolio, he doesn’t deserve the responsibility of managing the resources of this country,” Duke said.