By Sue-Ann Wayow
ONLY 16% of the national population receives a continuous supply of potable water which was a massive decrease from 74% continuous supply under the previous administration.
This is according to Member of Parliament for Princes Town Barry Padarath who said that he was not surprised by the revelation made by the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) at the Joint Select Committee (JSC) on Land and Physical Infrastructure on Thursday.
Padarath in a statement on Friday called on Public Utilities Minister Marvin Gonzales to explain the decrease and also questioned what has the Government been doing in the past seven years that led to the low percentage.
The Opposition Shadow Minister of Public Utilities said that despite the Government’s announcement of Modulated Water Treatment plants that deals with production the Acting CEO of WASA Sherland Shepard confirmed to the JSC that 50% of WASA’s potable water was lost in distribution as a result of ageing infrastructure and leakages.
Padarath stated that this was a matter that he has been raising over the past few months and the Government has not addressed the issue of pipelines that were over 80-years-old, dilapidated mains and rotting conduits.
Padarath said what was also alarming was that the Acting CEO stated at the JSC meeting that WASA received no instructions, advice or recommendations from the Government as it relates to the Sub Cabinet Committee report into WASA’s management despite having been laid in the Parliament over one year ago.
What was equally alarming was that the Shepard told the JSC that he was unaware of the contents of the report, Padarath said.
The heated JSC meeting of which Padarath was also a part of involved Padarath saying, “It is unfortunate that WASA has said it cannot answer questions. It has been over one year since the report was made public. These reports are laid in parliament, so for one to claim ignorance is a sad state of affairs.”
And WASA’s Director of Finance Giselle Spence said the authority has been utilising its revenue to pay off a US$9 million debt to the Desalination Company of Trinidad and Tobago (Desalcott).
