WATER is an essential part of life and should not be withheld from the population especially at this time when there is an emphasis on health and sanitisation.
On Thursday, Members of Parliament for Chaguanas West and East Dinesh Rambally and Vandana Mohit both issued press releases calling for debt recovery action being undertaken by the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) to stop at this time.
The MPs stated that while they understand the state enterprise needed to be financially viable, water was not an optional commodity.
Rambally stated, “It is unfortunate that WASA has embarked on such a course of action in the midst of a pandemic when people are seeking rent relief and moratoriums on loans. Some have even lost their jobs and are depending on the goodwill of charitable persons to feed their family on a daily basis.
“ In the past, when WASA has rationed water, bills were not issued on a pro-rated basis. People paid their bills fully. Now that they are unable to pay due to the devastating impact of the pandemic, it is unfortunate that WASA has begun this debt-recovery drive, even threatening to disconnect supply or sell people’s property. This is a draconian measure simply because of its timing.”
Rambally stated that people were already struggling with a daily food supply and some were struggling to get basic household and baby supplies.
‘To levy on such families with a threat of disconnection is insensitive, at the very least,” Rambally stated.
He added that the constituency of Chaguanas West was large and there were many areas that were already suffering from an unreliable water supply, a list of which he presently compiling for submission to WASA and the Ministry of Public Utilities.
Rambally asked Public Utilities Minister Marvin Gonzales what basis were Chaguanas and Barataria/San Juan were targeted as the pilots for the debt recovery initiative.
Mohit stated, “The country is already stressed by high levels of unemployment and financial chaos resulting from the COVID-19 Pandemic, where customers have lost their income streams with no support measures initiated to render assistance during these uncertain times by the Government of the day.”
She asked, “Where is the human face of WASA? Why not facilitate a moratorium for customers in default pending the amelioration of the financial environment?”
The MP added that the thrust of WASA’s debt recovery should be on a concentrated drive to remedy the leakage along the pipeline infrastructure which creates a tremendous financial loss to WASA’s income stream.
Mohit also said the Government must direct WASA to hold their hands on this initiative pending the overall improvement of the economic fortunes of the country.
On June 17, WASA in a press release stated that it has begun it debt-recovery action “ after numerous attempts to encourage those customers to pay or make an agreement to pay proved futile.”
WASA stated, “The Authority will be continuing similar actions in other areas throughout Trinidad and Tobago, towards collection of outstanding rates under the Water and Sewerage Authority Act, under which the Authority can implement several punitive actions to recover payments including disconnection of service and sale of property.”
AZPNews.com has requested a statement from Gonzales on this matter.
