Beckles: $100M for water for poor

Addressing a post-Cabinet media conference at Whitehall yesterday, Beckles said, "This morning Cabinet agreed to supplementary funding in the sum of $100 million to the National Social Development Programme (NSDP) to facilitate water projects to be undertaken by the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA)."

While the initiative would improve water supply throughout the country, its focus would be on areas currently without a supply and areas which get less than 48 hours of pipe-borne water per week.

"The additional funds would be required to undertake 222 projects to benefit some 4,675 households, and to impact on just over 20,000 citizens."

These works, she said, would cost $100 million, compared to some $54.7 million already allocated earlier this year chiefly for projects in Siparia, Fyzabad and Tobago.

Beckles said the areas which would benefit from the proposed $100 million project include Laventille, Morvant, Diego Martin, Biche, Piparo, Ecclesville, Tunapuna, Santa Cruz, Lopinot, Matelot, Gasparillo, Mammoral, Carlson Field, and Four Roads (Tamana). These areas require some additional infrastructure, said Beckles, because they are outside of WASA’s existing network of pipelines.

She said the NSDP funds also had to take account of areas which required truck-borne water last Dry Season, especially Mayaro/Rio Claro.

Speaking as Minister of the Environment, Beckles said this year marked the bicentennial of Fort George. A management committee for the historical site had been established under businessman Gregory Aboud. Fort George receives 55,000 visitors per year, she said, one quarter of which were foreigners.