Published on: 28/04/2011
Most households in Northern Ireland have their water supplied by a government owned company called Northern Ireland Water (NI Water). Recently NI Water has been harshly criticized for a lack of transparency in procurement procedures. The Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) published a report in March 2011, which listed all procurement failures over the last five years. Their report shows that the company did not adhere to widely recognized procurement rules to prevent corruption. As a result, many contracts were issued without competition or extended without approval. The chairperson of the PAC, Paul Maskey, said: “This case has undoubtedly undermined confidence in the integrity of the public sector, but it is important to remember that there are good and honourable people at all levels in public bodies.” The report concludes with a series of recommendations to address the weak procurement procedure of NI Water.
Source: government-news
