By Sue-Ann Wayow
THE plan to establish several Modulated Water Treatment Plants is like spinning top in mud since it deals only with production and not distribution.
This is according to Member of Parliament for Princes Town Barry Padarath.
In a statement on Wednesday, Padarath said the water woes in Trinidad had to do significantly with ageing infrastructure, dilapidated rotting pipelines, poor administration and thousands of leaks across the country. He added that for the past six to seven years, the government has been speaking about the woes at the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) but has done nothing during this time.
On Tuesday, during the segment Conversations with the Prime Minister, Public Utilities Minister Marvin Gonzales spoke about the plan to alleviate water woes that will be executed with the assistance of Canadian authorities.
He said that a huge reservoir in Central Trinidad has been identified that can produce five million gallons on a daily basis and by October, five million gallons of water could be produced.
With the establishment of about 10 plants, the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) should have sufficient water for distribution throughout the entire country.
The line minister for WASA also knocked the state agency for years of what he said was inefficiency saying he has begun doubting any advice from them.
“If you walk in there blindly, they will mislead you,” Gonzales said.
Padarath said Gonzales comments that the Modulated Water Treatment Plants would add an additional five million cubic feet of water to central Trinidad brings little relief to consumers since the central area requires more than that for a reliable supply of water.
The Princes Town MP is also calling on the minister to say what is the cost of the Modulated Water Treatment Plants and to put the terms and conditions of this Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in the public domain through a ministerial statement in the Parliament in the immediate future.
He also said it was troubling that the minister was doubting WASA’s board advice as it was the Government who appoints the board and chairman of WASA.
Padarath asked, “Is the Minister saying that the board and chairman appointed by the PNM of party hats is misleading and lying to them as it relates to WASA? Has the Minister advised the Cabinet of this and if so, why is the chairman and board of WASA still there?”
