The board of Montserrat Utilities Limited (MUL) was asked to resign effective today, Monday, December 18, 2023, as part of measures taken by the Government of Montserrat (GoM) to avoid financial collapse of the company.
The government has had to prop up the company which provides both power and water distribution services to the island.
According to a release from the Government Information Unit (GIU), the government’s intervention was agreed to in Cabinet and “includes the provision of additional technical engineering support, capital support and technical financial support through the payment of an additional Engineer for the MUL.”
The outgoing board members are Owen Lewis, Alvin Ryan, Peter White, Steadroy Meade, and Emile Duberry.
The government thanked the outgoing board for its services over the years and stated that a new board is still to be elected.
The Financial Secretary, along with the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Communication, Works, Labour and Energy (MCWLE) and MUL’s Chief Engineer, are to be part of the new board composition. The current Secretary of the board, who is MUL’s HR Manager, will continue to serve on the new board, once elected.
Managing Director, Kendall Lee and PS of MCWLE, Colin Fergus are the only two members who will continue on the board.
The new board will be expected to restructure the company and explore ways of addressing the financial problems, the release added.
“Despite MUL’s financial challenges, the Government is reassuring MUL’s employees that there will be no job or income losses as a result of these financial issues,” the release continued.
In 2022, Fergus reported to Cabinet that due to ballooning expenses at the power plant and outstanding customer payments of up to XCS$2 million, MUL was in financial distress.
The Government of Montserrat already provides ongoing financial and capital support to MUL by funding the company’s major infrastructural development to include the power plant and purchasing of its medium and high-speed generators among others.
The government said it will continue to monitor the situation at MUL and will provide further updates to the public as required.
