Public Utilities gets biggest chunk of budget reallocation

ALMOST half of the increased funds given to the Ministry of Public Utilities will be gobbled up by the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) to facilitate loan agreements and pay wages.

WASA is currently on the financial operating table and is expected to undergo severe fiscal cuts in order to save millions of dollars.

Last week the Parliament approved an increase of $944,577,000 to the Ministry of Public Utilities with $575,900,000 going to WASA. Public Utilities received the most of 14 ministries out of the $2.9 billion increase.

According to the Standing Finance Committee agenda, the money given to WASA was “required to enable WASA to meet personnel expenditure including wages and cost of living allowances (COLA); salaries to contract officers; and to meet the contractual obligations to Desalination Company of TT (Desalcott) for the delivery of desalinated water to Pt Lisas to the end of fiscal 2021.”

WASA has a $60 million annual tab to Desalcott.

WASA also took two loans from the Inter-American Development Bank which are being repaid by the Ministry of Public Utilities. One loan, signed in January 2013 by Dr Bhoendradatt Tewarie. then minister of planning and sustainable development, saw WASA borrowing US$246,500,000.

So far TT has repaid US$7,268,324.27 on that loan which has a 25-year lifespan, following a grace period of five and a half years.

The other loan, with the same grace period, was signed in 2011 by then finance minister Winston Dookeran for US$50 million. To date, TT has repaid US S7,268,324.27 on that loan.

Last Wednesday Minister of Public Utilities Marvin Gonzales said there will be changes to WASA’s organisational structure. WASA, Gonzales told Sunday Newsday last Thursday, has 2,500 more workers than it needs.

Speaking during the Standing Finance Committee last week, Gonzales said there are 3,000 contract and daily-rated workers in the organisation who could not be found but who cost over $600 million.

After a sub-committee report on WASA was laid in Parliament on March 5, it was revealed that WASA spent $94 million annually on overtime between 2016 and 2020.

Gonzales told Sunday Newsday it was able to reduce the overtime bill by $8 million during the pandemic.

Asked how this was done, he said: “There were tighter administrative controls. WASA insisted that all work be executed during working hours. Overtime is now only for emergency purposes.”

In March, president of the National Trade Union Centre Watson Duke, told workers the trade unions were willing to protect their “nice paying jobs.”

Asked if the union gave WASA any pushback over the reduction in overtime, Gonzales said no.

While WASA is chopping away at overtime, the company is also ramping up its collection drive for errant customers. Top of the list are government ministries and agencies, who collectively owe some $99 million as at the end of 2020.

The ministries are Education, National Security, Public Administration and Health.

The Housing Development Corporation (HDC) also owes WASA some $33 million.

The second biggest debtor is the Education Ministry, with a $13 million tab. while the others each owe $7-$8 million.

In February, then acting CEO Allan Poon King told members of the Land and Physical Infrastructure Joint Select Committee (JSC) that WASA has a $10 billion debt. He added that the now-defunct Petrotrin owes WASA $8.2 million. That debt is four years old.

The JSC also took note that residential customers owe WASA some $586 million.

Last Wednesday, in a media release WASA said 45 per cent of its customer base is in arrears.

Gonzales told Sunday Newsday that this drive is a new initiative and so far no money has been collected as yet. The debt recovery drive will focus on both residential and commercial customers.

WASA’s financial woes are an accumulation of unnecessary increased labour force, high overtime and outstanding loans. In 2013, in a bid to acquire an IDB loan, WASA offered half of its 5,000 staff members Voluntary Separation Package (VSEP). Within five years, some of the same employees had returned as contract workers.

The increase to WASA for the fiscal year meant that WASA received just over $1.5 billion, after requesting some $1.6 billion.

Asked about this, Gonzales said: “WASA got enough to meet its outstanding financial commitments for the rest of the year in the area of personnel expenditure, salaries, COLA and to meet contractual arrangements for Desalinated water.”

The remaining money given to the Public Utilities Ministry went to paying debt incurred by the Trinidad and Tobago Electricity Commission (T&TEC) and to finance the running of the Solid Waste Management Company (SWMCOL).

T&TEC received $152,673,000 for street lighting projects and $72 million to pay outstanding refunds. A T&TEC loan which is due before the end of September, totalling $108,979,000, was also part of the disbursement.

SWMCOL got $7,821,000 to meet its financial obligations.

The remaining $27 million went to the Public Sector Investment Programme, which will take care of replacing old transmission infrastructure ($7.6 million) and the community water improvement programme ($16 million).