Gonzales: UNC saddled TT with US$7m desalinated water bill

PUBLIC Utilities Minister Marvin Gonzales said the UNC burdened the country's taxpayers with a monthly US$7 million bill for desalinated water.

Gonzales made this disclosure during his budget contribution in the House of Representatives on Monday

He declared,"Because of the UNC's destructive policies in water management, WASA's (Water and Sewerage Authority) desalination purchase bill from both Desalcott and Seven Seas is a whopping US$7 million per month.

"This take-or-pay contractual arrangement was initially due to expire in 2022 when it was first entered into, but was further extended to 2036 when the UNC came into power in 2010."

He said it was clear that elections do have consequences, and "the error of electing the UNC into government in 2010" had put that noose around taxpayers' necks.

After outlining measures WASA was taking to improve its ability to provide an efficient and reliable water supply, Gonzales said, "In recognising WASA's problem, through leaking pipes throughout the country, the Government has allocated funding to WASA to reduce the continuous loss of water."

He observed, "WASA finds itself in the untenable position of receiving an annual subsidy of $1.8 billion while providing around-the-clock water supply to just under half of the population."

Gonzales declared this is even more unacceptable because over the last decade, WASA has received a total of $22.7 billion in state subsidy.

"WASA owes contractors just over $1 billion, with just about $600 million in unrecorded liabilities," he said, and customers owe $700 million.

Gonzales said now was time for an urgent intervention in WASA's affairs.

Since its establishment in 1965, Gonzales continued, WASA has been plagued by several problems that have worsened over the last 55 years.

He said it is unfortunate that the authority lacks the capacity to measure how much water it provides to various communities, saying other public utilities such as the TT Electricity Commission (T&TEC) can do this.

On a review of water rates, Gonzales said the legal mechanism for such a review will be initiated. Such a review, he continued, is essential to ensure WASA's survival and future sustainability. He said should the review show the need for higher water rates, Governmennt will ensure that the burden is lessened on the most vulnerable sectors in the society.

While T&TEC is "one of the shining lights" within the public utilities sector, Gonzales said, "Up until recently, T&TEC owed the National Gas Company $750 million for natural gas used to generate electricity over the last 11 years.

He said $500 million of that debt has benn settled through an arrangement between his ministry, the Finance Ministry, NGC and T&TEC.

Gonzales said T&TEC is owed US$147 million by customers.

He praised TSTT for re-engineering itself during the pandemic and helping to provide 5,000 electronic devices to the Education Ministry for students who need them.