00:00Do you think the situation is politicized?
00:02Well, the situation is always politicized.
00:06When you have a THA Act that lists public utilities
00:10as a fixed schedule item,
00:12and then you have a state agency
00:14that does not report to you at all
00:17to do the delivery of said public utility,
00:20and then you are on island,
00:21and then you just see by the way that they open and well,
00:24or by the way that they're doing some new project,
00:28and you are not consulted, you're not in the room,
00:31you're not able to express
00:33what the people you represent want,
00:35and let that help to impact the policies
00:38that WASA actually is making.
00:42Then the politics, of course,
00:43becomes a challenge in that regard.
00:45And see, all of this boils back to the whole question
00:47of Tobago's autonomy
00:49and what we really should be in charge of as an island.
00:52Mr. Augustine spoke on Thursday
00:54following the recommissioning
00:56of the Kendal Aquatic Facility.
00:58He said some communities in Tobago
01:00lack a basic steady water supply.
01:03We have communities like Charlottesville.
01:05If you go to Bel-Air and Top River in Charlottesville,
01:09those are communities that have not had,
01:11in some people's homes,
01:13pipe-borne water for well over two, three years.
01:17And that has become almost normal.
01:19And in that area, they use an informal system
01:22to collect water from on the top of the hill
01:24that's not part of WASA program.
01:27The community came together and did their own system.
01:30And then, I'm not sure if you remember,
01:32some time ago, the villagers in Castara
01:35protested and sort of blocked the road earlier morning.
01:38And some people were saying,
01:39well, the chief secretary representing you
01:40are not getting water.
01:42The chief secretary's fault.
01:42When the truth is,
01:44the chief secretary doesn't really control
01:46the policies within WASA.
01:48So clearly, there is a need for some harmonization
01:50with what the island needs.
01:52Mixed views from some residents in Tobago
01:55about their water supply.
01:57How is your water supply at this time?
02:00Right about now, well,
02:02we are accustomed getting water occasionally,
02:04but right about now, it's been bad.
02:10And as you can see, no water.
02:17And sometime when it come back, it come back brown.
02:19What's your water supply is like?
02:20This morning, when I wake up,
02:22the pressure was very heavy.
02:25And then when I do some, right now, it gone.
02:29How regular is your water supply?
02:32Well, I don't really get water,
02:34but a good time, it didn't go away, you know?
02:37Sometime it come back same day.
02:39Sometime it take three days to come back.
02:42How is your water supply at this time?
02:44It's excellent.
02:46Always.
02:47In this area, we always get a good supply of water every day.
02:51The water supply here right now is pretty good.
02:54Right now, we don't want to let you down.
02:57That's how it's all for me.
03:00One minute you have good flow, next minute it gone.
03:04But you're happy with your water supply so far?
03:06So far, yeah.
03:07Elizabeth Williams, TV6 News.
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