58 years and still without an adequate water supply

THE EDITOR: We are in 2020 and I am yet to see a government aggressively tackle the water woes the country has been facing even before our independence in 1962. I am sure people have read about the water riots of 1903 when citizens set fire to the Red House.

WASA has just announced its plan to further ration water due to many issues. Some of those listed are due to climate change, poor conservation by customers, illegal connections. However, WASA is yet to identify years of mismanagement and neglect as one of the main reasons we are yet to achieve water security.

Former public utilities minister Robert Le Hunte began taking steps towards that goal but was unsuccessful for whatever reason.

Fifty-eight years as an independent nation and TT only has one desalination plant even though being surrounded by water. And that plant is owned by a private company, Desalcott, to which WASA pays approximately $250 million a year for water.

Just imagine the kind of money WASA and the Government could have saved if they had built desalination plants in north Trinidad and in Tobago decades ago – instead of having to buy water.

Fifty-eight years and we are now seeking to build new dams. The sad thing is the droughts we are facing have been predicted since the start of the century but instead of acting in advance we wait until problems are at our doorsteps.

It is my hope that all parties offering themselves to the electorate have solid water security plans, because water is an essential and fundamental need for the progress of any nation.

With citizens being unable to access adequate water in 2020, we need to seriously check our priorities.

NATHANAEL JOHN

via e-mail