By Chantalé Fletcher
MINISTER of Public Utilities Marvin Gonzales is not saying why Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Sherland Sheppard has been suspended.
The matter is under investigation said Gonzales in answer to an Urgent Question by Opposition Senator Wade Mark in the Senate on Wednesday.
Mark asked Gonzales to explain the recent suspension of the acting CEO by the board of WASA.
Gonzales said, “Therefore it will be irresponsible, foolhardy and reckless on the Minister of Public Utilities to come out and speak on matters that are actively under the board of commissioners of WASA.”
On April 14, Sheppard was suspended for a period of two weeks. He was appointed in 2021.
However, when Mark asked whether Sheppard’s suspension was linked to his refusal to sign a retrenchment of more than 3,000 employees of WASA, Vice President of the Senate Dr Muhammad Yunus Ibrahim told Mark he would not allow that question.
In a second attempt, Mark asked Gonzales whether there were irregularities that involved Sheppard that could have criminal implications.
Mark’s question was again denied by Dr Ibrahim based on Gonzales’s first response.
However, on Monday, MP for Princess Town Barry Padarath called on Gonzales to explain Sheppard’s sudden suspension.
Padarath said the sudden suspension of WASA’s acting CEO was a clear sign the day-to-day management of WASA has failed and that the company is continuing to spiral out of control, as it has been over the past seven years.
