Augustine: Autonomy could improve Tobago's water woes

THA Chief Secretary Farley Augustine believes the water problems many Tobagonians experience could be solved if the island had its autonomy.

He was speaking to reporters after the recommissioning of the $2.6 million Kendal Aquatic Facility, Tobago, on January 30.

The function took place the day after Minister of Public Utilities Marvin Gonzales addressed a sod-turning ceremony for the construction of the $50 million Goldsborough Water Treatment Plant.

Gonzales announced that the government had, to date, spent $127 million to improve the supply of water in Tobago. He added a further $54 million had already been set aside for upcoming projects on the island.

The minister said while there is still much work to be done, the water supply in the country is far better than it was 50 years ago.

But Augustine believes access to potable water has always been a political issue.

“When you have a THA Act that lists public utilities as a fifth-schedule item, and then you have a state agency (WASA) that does not report to you at all to do the delivery of said public utility, and then you are on island and you just see by the way that they open a well or open some new project and you are not consulted in the room, you are not able to express what the people you represent want, and let that help to impact the policies that WASA actually is making, then the politics, of course, becomes a challenge in that regard,” he said.

“All of this boils down to the question of Tobago’s autonomy and what we really should be in charge of as an island, and ensuring that it’s abundantly clear who is in charge of what.”