$100k bill for finding failed boss
Waikato DHB should demand a refund from a recruitment agency they paid $106,000 to hire Nigel Murray, the NZ Taxpayers’ Union says.
The call comes during a Serious Fraud Office investigation into the disgraced former chief executive’s spending.
Murray resigned as DHB chief executive on October 5, part way through an investigation into allegations he misspent health dollars during his numerous trips, both abroad and within New Zealand.
A further investigation by Audit New Zealand found he had spent taxpayer dollars without authorisation. Murray sought approval for some of the spending after the fact.
DHB chairman Bob Simcock later resigned his post over the controversy.
The new details of what the DHB spent to hire Murray were revealed by
The documents revealed that the DHB contracted Sheffield Search to help it find a new chief executive in 2014, with its initial invoice to the DHB costing taxpayers $23,334 for the ‘‘first instalment in respect of the search for a Chief Executive Officer’’. The total cost came to $106,556.58.
The NZ Taxpayers’ Union executive director Jordan Williams was disgusted by the cost given what it produced.
‘‘That taxpayers paid for this incompetent man’s salary was bad enough – let alone footing the bill for his expense card abuses. Now we learn he came with a $106,000 recruitment agency fee. This news just adds insult to injury to taxpayers,’’ he said.