Saturday, August 11 2012

Half of the water produced in Trinidad and Tobago is lost through leaky mains.

So said Dion Abdool, interim Chief Executive Officer of the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA), at a conference for business opportunities available at the authority held at the Chamber of Industry and Commerce in Westmoorings yesterday.

Abdool said WASA services some 3,000 leaks per month — representing a loss of “45 to 50 percent of non-revenue water” — and the authority is moving to remedy this situation by having new mains installed and by repairing as much leaks as possible. The infrastructure for WASA services are seriously deficient and needs replacing, he added.

Abdool also said the authority was also targeting waste water operations, which he described as severely underdeveloped.

Ramchand Ramcharan, Director of Programmes and Change Management, said they have a secured $1.7 million in place for water treatment plants. The initiative is aimed at protecting the environment and generations to come. Abdool said “to achieve this the private sector involvement is required.”

The process to gain contracts with WASA has been making use of new technology through the introduction of the e-Tender with all documenting being done online, the e-Auction, is also a part of the new process where the aim is to get the lowest prices.

They have also introduced the e- Procurement where every tender has their individual website and they can share bids and communicate questions and answers. Doodnath Bhola, Director Corporate Services, said “contrary to what some people may believe our process is fair, and everyone has a fair chance to participate.” He added that with the new system there is a high level of checks and balances to make the system transparent.

President of the Public Services Association (PSA)Watson Duke said, “based on the revelations we have seen here, with all the ins and outs of expenditure on procurement, it makes WASA more transparent and it is good.”

He added that he observed some great business opportunities during the presentation and he will be informing his PSA members about them. He said when PSA members accept the Voluntary Early Separation Plan (VSEP) they would be great choices for the jobs because of their expertise.