THE EDITOR, Madam:
THE NATIONAL Water Commission(NWC) should be commended for its efforts to collect what it is owed. The two periods of amnesty were good examples of collection strategies. Notwithstanding, they must now look at how internal waste can be trimmed, indeed, eliminated. It was recently reported that the Ministry of Water was about to launch a rapid response repair leak team. Where is the money to come from to fund this venture?
If this new maintenance machinery is to be operated along the lines of the Ministry's existing Rapid Response crew then all that is happening is the proverbial, "saving it through the cork and losing it through the bung."
I will elaborate, the only revenue earner in this Ministry is the NWC.
The rapid response unit provides service to the NWC which in turn pays them for same. Interestingly enough the orchestration of this special unit is done out of the Ministry but the regional/parish co-ordinators are located at offices of the NWC and by extension this company is compelled to absorb their recurrent expense.
If the rapid repair leak team is expected to repair and then submit bills, then the public needs to be told what are the control mechanism to guard against over-representation of material and service costs by contractors. More importantly, why is it that every time there seems to be some concern with the NWC the Minister sets up an adjunct body, out of his Ministry paid for by the NWC. Essentially what this does is to give the appearance that this company is paying pay twice for the same service via contractors and retained staff.
Additionally, it divides the already limited resources of a cash-starved company.
I make the following suggestions:
1. Deliver to the NWC the trucks and tanks used in the Rapid Response programmes for their use and management.
2. Provide the company with the financial resources to be used in the rapid repair leak programme.
3. Set performance criteria, evaluate them at designated periods and hold managers and their seniors accountable for shortfall and dereliction.
4. Conduct a comparative analysis of the services provided by the Ministry and the commission. Here the resource gap of the NWC should be considered.
5. Rescind the NWC Act and operate the present services out of the Ministry of Water.
Caribbean Engineering and Construction Limited(CECL) operates as a marginal revenue earner within the Ministry as well.
I am etc.,
MARLENE SCOTT
E-mail:
waynescottam@yahoo.com
Manatee Way, Braeton
Portmore, St. Catherine
Via Go-Jamaica