00:00It is only the uninitiated could sound like that. People who never even run a
00:05parlor, who really believe that the IDB will give you 80 million US dollars and
00:10you just have it sitting down in the bank account and you wouldn't even start
00:13to drill a well. Public Utilities Minister Marvin Gonzalez speaking about
00:17his political opponents before the ceremonial signing of the National Water
00:22Sector Transformation Plan, a signing that involved the IDB, the Inter-American
00:28Development Bank and NIPDEC, the Trinidad and Tobago state-owned National
00:33Insurance Property Development Company Limited. And the Minister Gonzalez
00:37wanted to clarify one thing about the plan where the general election due in
00:422025 is concerned. So all of the contractors who have been successful in
00:50being awarded contracts under this program, I want to let you know that your
00:55feet are going to be held to the fire. We are not going to be taking any on-due
00:59delays in any one of these projects. We have an election, I have an election to
01:04win. Next day please God. And therefore before any election is called in
01:12Trinidad and Tobago, I don't want nobody telling me that the reason why we are
01:17not getting water is because there is an election. Because that is not so.
01:21Minister Gonzalez said the projects require three years of hard work. Look at
01:26the projects that we are undertaking. Plenty of them is in non-PNM
01:30constituencies. But you have human beings, they are citizens. I want to salute every
01:36single worker within the Water and Sewerage Authority including Mr. Ravi
01:41Nanga, Senior Counsel. For the great work you and your board would have done.
01:49Minister Gonzalez also thanked the former Public Utilities Minister Robert
01:53Lahunt, the current Executive Director of the IDB, who also spoke at the
01:58ceremonial signing ceremony. There is no silver bullet for fixing the water
02:05system in Trinidad and Tobago. And two, there is very little, if anything, that
02:14you could do without money. You see, fixing the water problem requires a
02:19holistic plan that comprehensively addresses all facets of the system. The
02:25IDB's Executive Director said that includes effective management systems as
02:31he explained the full extent of the bank's conditional line of credit for
02:36the National Water Sector Transformation Plan. Much could be achieved with this
02:41first tranche of US $80 million. And we have made available a total envelope of
02:49$315 million or $2.26 billion available to the country for the
02:57execution of the plan as and when the country needs the funds. The Public
03:03Utilities Minister said that the Finance Ministry will also make funding
03:07available to WASA for the improved supply of water. Over the last three
03:12years, WASA would have been able to successfully complete over 75 projects
03:18under the Community Water Improvement Program, bringing water for the very
03:21first time to several communities all over Trinidad and Tobago. The Public
03:26Utilities Minister said the Ministry is ready for another round of
03:30conversations with the IDB with regard to the National Water Sector
03:34Transformation Plan but made no mention about the plan for the restructuring of
03:40WASA. Jule Brown, TV6 News.
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