Business
Water boss should not resign as problem ‘far wider than individual people’
The chief executive officer of the water company involved in a major supply issue in Kent should not resign as issues in the industry go “far wider than individual people”, a director has said.
South East Water (SEW) has issued a “boil water notice” for 24,000 homes in and around Tunbridge Wells who have experienced a loss of water or low pressure since November 29.
On Wednesday the company said the “water quality issues” which caused the initial shutdown had returned.
They have decided to continue pumping water so that people can flush their toilets and shower, but the water cannot be drunk without being boiled first.
Liberal Democrat MP Mike Martin told the BBC earlier this week that it had been “a total failure of leadership” and called for the chief executive of SEW, Dave Hinton, to resign.
Douglas Whitfield, SEW water supply director, said resignation demands “fundamentally misunderstand the challenges that we’ve been facing in this incident as a company over the last few years, as an industry going forward, I don’t think that’s helpful”.
He told BBC Radio Kent: “I would point you to the independent Water Commission that sets out the challenges the water industry are facing and the changes it needs to make.
“They’re far wider than individual company and individual people.”
Mr Whitfield apologised to customers and said the precautionary boil notice was in place for 10 days because “public health is our key priority”.
But he said he was unable to guarantee the problem ensuring water quality would be solved within the 10 days as he was unable to provide a “definitive answer” as to why the water was not responding to normal treatment.
He said: “For the last 24 hours, the treatment process has actually been operating within all of the water quality parameters.
“Until we’re confident that we’ve resolved the issue and that it won’t reoccur, we’ll be working to keep that boil notice in place, until we are confident we can take it off.
“I can confirm all the water we supplied up to the point we put the boil notice on fully complied with all the regulations.”
Mr Whitfield apologised for “overly optimistic” messages put out to customers since the problem started but said this was “one of the most complex events that we’ve ever had”.
He added: “I can only apologise to the customers for the last week and the communications that we gave during the incident were on what we thought was going to happen at the time.
“The incident has changed from what we thought was happening at the weekend to a much longer, much more complicated issue that we’re trying to resolve.”
The Consumer Council for Water (CCW), an independent body representing water consumers across England and Wales, has called for a thorough investigation into the incident.
Co-op chair Debbie White said: “We thank Shirine for her leadership and for the significant contribution she has made to our Co-op, to our communities and to the co-operative movement during her tenure. The Board is grateful for her commitment and leadership, particularly during a challenging few years, and we wish her every success in the future.”
Air travel is all set to become highly expensive as the airlines are indicating at doubling the air ticket prices following a whopping increase in jet fuel rate.
The jet fuel price has rocketed to Rs417 from Rs388 per litre in Pakistan and the airlines have started to increase the airfares through enhancing fuel surcharge rates.
The airlines maintained the basic fare but added the fuel price surge into the fuel surcharge.
The one-way fare from Karachi to Islamabad and Lahore has shot up to Rs40,000 while air travel on chance seats for Islamabad and Lahore has soared by 150 percent.
Accordingly, the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has boosted the airfares by 10 to 100 dollars.
Domestic flights will now carry additional $10 fuel surcharge which on Canada routes extra $100 will be received as fuel charge.
Passengers on UK-bound flights to pay 75 dollars additional surcharge while 50 dollars will be received on Middle East routes.
Private airlines have gone a step ahead as they enforced charging additional 15 dollars to 150 dollars on different routes.
The airlines were under pressure after closure of many air routes with the airlines administrations are saying that extraordinary rise in airfares has become inevitable.
Earlier on Wednesday, Pakistan fuel NOTAM forced foreign airlines to tanker Jet A-1 fuel from abroad and limit uplift at Karachi and Lahore airports.
The Pakistan Airports Authority issued the order to protect local supplies amid supply disruptions.
Foreign carriers now arrive with enough fuel for their return flights while Pakistani airlines receive full requirements.
This change hit operations on March 25 when one Karachi-to-Doha flight diverted to Muscat.
The Pakistan fuel NOTAM A0147/26 took effect on March 13 and runs through March 31 2026. It targets Jinnah International Airport in Karachi and Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore.
Airlines follow the rule and carry maximum fuel on inbound legs. Officials confirm foreign airlines get only the minimum quantity inside Pakistan.
Pakistan fuel NOTAM creates immediate changes on the ground. Foreign airlines offload passenger baggage and cargo to stay within weight limits.
The extra fuel adds weight that reduces payload capacity on every affected flight.
According to a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) issued by the PAA, the supply of aviation fuel at domestic airports has been significantly curtailed due to regional supply chain disruptions, advising international carriers to maximize their fuel “uplift” at foreign stations and minimize refuelling within Pakistan.
The directive has already begun to impact international flight schedules.
The government-backed bank has been accused of a series of errors, including not paying bereaved families money that was rightfully theirs.
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