No holiday for Halliday

THE TASK of incoming WASA CEO Keithroy Halliday is gargantuan. Mr Halliday will bear the burden of being the newest face, for the moment, of the State's long-term plans for the transformation of the water authority.

Thus far, those plans have seemed as deep as they have been delayed: a Cabinet committee reportedly recommended a complete WASA overhaul by 2023; Minister of Public Utilities Marvin Gonzales promised the entity would be able to meet operational expenses by this year.

But Mr Halliday, who arrives in November after the last CEO chosen abruptly died following a lengthy recruitment process, will take up the position during the already advanced transition from the current fiscal period to the next.

Mr Gonzales is due this week to provide fuller details of the restructured team the new CEO will lead, amid the Government’s continued concern about a top-heavy organisation. Acting director of finance Giselle Spence resigned in July.

At least five individuals have had stints in the CEO’s office in just seven years, namely: Kelvin Romain, Sherland Sheppard, Dr Lennox Sealy (also chairman), Alan Poon King and Dr Ellis Burris.

Perhaps because of this, enthusiasm, much like the average reservoir level, is running low. Trade unions, who in the past have recoiled from major shake-ups announced by the Cabinet, have already voiced their belief little will change and that, simultaneously, there is too much interference in WASA.

Nonetheless, expectations are high going into the upcoming budget, during which the Government must more clearly spell out how it plans to address a situation in which the authority has received more than $8.1 billion in subventions since 2019, alongside an ongoing capital expenditure tab of more than $1 billion.

That levels at four reservoirs remain lower than average suggests staffing and rate reviews cannot be the full extent of reform. Clearly, capital expenditure needs to occur to make infrastructure more robust and fit for purpose and to reduce the pressure in relation to problematic contractual arrangements. This is part of Mr Halliday's task.

While the search for a new CEO was international, it is notable officials have ultimately selected someone relatively close to home in the person of a St Kitts-born individual who will arrive in Trinidad and Tobago having served as the general manager of the Barbados Water Authority.

According to WASA, Mr Halliday, during his seven-year tenure at the latter, advanced its finances to the point of it becoming a “zero-budget” entity.

Barbados has a reputation for a scarce freshwater supply given its limestone landscape and it could be that the new CEO is well-poised to take up the somewhat different challenge here, particularly with his track record in securing green climate funding.

With so much time wasted, he must hit the ground running.