27 January 2006
The chief executive of a London housing association that provides homes for refugees and immigrants has been suspended by the Housing Corporation.
The corporation suspended Ronnie Moodley, chief executive of African Refugee Housing Action Group, on January 20, along with its finance manager Richard O'Dur after an inquiry found misconduct and mismanagement.
The inquiry, set up in December, is continuing and the corporation stressed that both suspensions are temporary.
ARHAG was set up in 1979, initially to help African families find homes in the capital. It now owns about 600 homes across 13 London boroughs.
The inquiry follows an Audit Commission inspection last year, and a report is expected shortly. The corporation said that it was looking into 'a number of aspects of the business of the association'.
It refused to reveal whether it had previously used its powers under the 1996 Housing Act to suspend the chief executive of a registered social landlord.
Mark Lupton, policy analyst at the Chartered Institute of Housing, said: 'It's a very unusual situation. Things must be quite extreme for the corporation to go to the lengths of suspending a chief executive.'
ARHAG was also placed under supervision, which means it is not eligible to receive public funding.
Owen Ingram, who has been appointed interim chief executive, said it was waiting for the next stage of the inquiry but declined to comment further.
PFjan2006
