NI Water chief MacKenzie is to step down

5 January 2011 Northern Ireland Water chief executive Laurence MacKenzie is to step down from his post, the BBC has learned. Mr MacKenzie had faced sharp criticism over his handling of the water crisis which left 40,000 homes off supply. BBC political correspondent Martina Purdy said sources had told her Mr MacKenzie's resignation was imminent. He has not spoken to the BBC, but in an interview with the Belfast Telegraph newspaper, he said he had not resigned and was not considering doing so. Mr MacKenzie joined NI Water in 2009 with an annual package worth £250,000. Marting Purdy said: "I have been told that Laurence MacKenzie will be going shortly, indeed a very senior source told me he wanted to go and that details of his decision would be announced this evening after the (NI Water) board meeting. "I was also hearing yesterday that Mr MacKenzie had indicated his willingness to resign earlier this week and the board was minded to accept this," she said. "The company has said he hasn't resigned and he would be in work this morning." Mr MacKenzie told the Belfast Telegraph on Wednesday: "I have been under no pressure to resign, apart from journalists and the media. "My track record speaks for itself. It's for others to judge if I can take this beyond the crisis." Homes: Meanwhile, there are now about 100 homes in NI still without water, down from the tens of thousands cut off at the height of the crisis. The Stormont minister responsible for government-owned NI Water had refused to be drawn on speculation that its chief executive was set to quit. Regional Development Minister Conor Murphy, asked about Mr MacKenzie's performance, said he was focused on having people reconnected to the mains. "Everyone's confidence in the operation of NIW has been shaken very badly," Mr Murphy said. "My focus at the moment, and this is with the agreement of the Executive, is ensuring all of those, and there are still people who remain unconnected, get connected and that the immediate lessons are learned and systems put in place." Tens of thousands of households were affected over the Christmas holidays. Extreme cold weather followed by a significant rise in temperatures caused unprecedented numbers of burst pipes. At its peak more than 40,000 properties were affected and NIW was widely criticised by customers over its response. Mr MacKenzie, along with other senior managers, was due to appear before Stormont's regional development committee on Thursday. The committee wanted to know who was going to take responsibility for the crisis. The utility regulator was due also to meet with senior managers this week. Meanwhile, NI Water said 1,300 properties in the Dunmurry area in Belfast faced a limited curtailment of supply on Tuesday evening. Full details are available on the NI Water website. The Department of Education has listed the schools which were due to reopen after Christmas but will be closed on Wednesday. Eleven schools due to reopen after Christmas were closed on Tuesday due to damage caused by flooding. It had been feared the number would have been higher after hundreds reported incidents over the holidays. However, round-the-clock work to repair burst pipes at schools has been largely successful. Schools with problems have been asked to contact the department between 0900 GMT and midday on 02891 279480, 02891 279481 and 02891 279473. Source: BBC News (bbc.co.uk/news)