Millions down the drain
Published:Wednesday | February 2, 2011 | 12:00 AM
Edmond Campbell, Senior Staff Reporter
AT LEAST 1,400 employees and 200 pensioners of the National Water Commission (NWC) have racked up $8.5 million in unpaid water bills, despite receiving the first 9,000 gallons of water free of cost from the agency.
The 1,400 employees at the NWC who are in arrears represent 66 per cent of the 2,100 people employed to the agency.
At the same time, executives from the commission report that some 100,000 customers of the company have been disconnected for unpaid sums.
The issue was extensively discussed during yesterday's sitting of Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC).
Auditor General Pamela Monroe Ellis told the committee that an examination of the staff accounts showed the sums owed by workers and pensioners of the commission.
She said this amount represents water billings in excess of the 9,000-gallon allowance provided to staff and NWC pensioners each month.
"We are inviting them to clear up the balances initially. Some of them are disputing some of the bills," acting NWC President Albert Gordon told the committee.
Gordon said the commission was also exploring the possibility of deducting the sums owed from the salaries of employees who were in arrears.
Describing the situation as untidy, PAC Chairman Dr Omar Davies quipped: "It wouldn't be good if the NWC employees start questioning the billing of the water commission."
Legal officer at the NWC, Kevin Williams, told the committee that the 9,000-gallon allowance for employees was handed down in an Industrial Disputes Tribunal (IDT) ruling some 20 years ago.
Last night, Charles Buchanan, communications manager at the NWC, told The Gleaner that on average a family of four uses 4,000-6,000 gallons of water per month.
When PAC members asked for a copy of the IDT ruling, NWC officials could not produce the document.
Genefa Hibbert, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Water and Housing, said the benefit given to NWC workers was set out in policy.
It was also revealed that, at present, NWC customers owe the agency $7.7 billion. Of this amount, a little more than $3.3 billion was collectible, the acting president conceded.