Gonzales: UNC, not WASA collapsing

PUBLIC Utilities Minister Marvin Gonzales has said an electrical problem which caused a shutdown of the Desalination Company of TT 's (Desalcott) plant at Point Lisas over the weekend are being addressed.

In a WhatsApp message to Newsday on Monday, Gonzales said, "WASA (Water and Sewerage Authority) is managing in the challenged circumstances and doing everything it can to mitigate the fallout from the issues at the desalination plant."

He repeated his comments on Sunday that his ministry and the Education Ministry are working to ensure schools in all the areas affected by the shutdown had access to water for the opening of the school term the next day.

On Monday, Gonzales had good news to report: "All schools got their supply of water as requested."

He said based on the latest information available to him, "the desalination plant is expected to be between 80 to 90 per cent production later this evening."

In a statement, WASA said the electrical problem happened at the plant happened around 7 pm on Sunday.

The plant is operating at 50 per cent capacity at present.

WASA said it would supplement the shortfall in water supply to the affected areas with water from its Caroni and Navet water treatment plants as well as the Point Fortin desalination plant.

Gonzales rejected claims by Princes Town MP Barry Padarath and other UNC MPs that the shutdown was a crisis and WASA had collapsed.

"The UNC is true to form. They love a crisis situation to make themselves relevant in the media."

Referring to the resignations of members of the UNC before and after last month's local government elections, Gonzales said, "Padarath and his UNC colleagues understand collapse very well because they are seeing it first hand in the UNC right now."

Before the elections, former UNC chief economist Taharqa Obika and two former UNC councillors, Marcus Girdharrie and Sheldon Garcia, resigned and joined the PNM.

After the elections, some members of Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar's public relations team resigned.

In a statement on Sunday, UNC PRO Dr Kirk Meighoo referred to a newspaper report to indicate that some of them had chosen not to renew their contracts, had no animosity towards anyone in the party and remained loyal to it.