Walwyn against WSD becoming a statutory body

in All News / By: BVI News on December 19, 2019 at 6:20 AM /

Sixth District Representative, Myron Walwyn.

Sixth District Representative Myron Walwyn said he was categorically opposed to the government’s move to transition the Water & Sewerage Department (WSD) into a statutory body in its present state.

Communication and Works Minister Kye Rymer noted in September that ongoing consultations have prevented the Department from being transitioned into a statutory body.

But Walwyn argued that the government has a budget of nearly $400 million and has been unable to resolve the challenges at the department over the years. He suggested that it would be unreasonable to put together a board of persons to address the longstanding issues.

“The government itself can’t get Water & Sewerage [Department] handled the way it’s supposed to get handled,” Walwyn argued. “It belongs to you. You can’t get it handled, and you’re going to turn around now and find a board with six or seven people and say, ‘here’s my problem’, and they must get it fixed?”

He suggested that the government should first address the water issues affecting the WSD before deciding to put it on a statutory footing.

Walwyn also argued that the current situation where the government pays out nearly $30 million for water and only collects revenue amounting to $3 million is unsustainable.

The Sixth District Representative said he continues to receive daily complaints about persons in the district who are unable to get water. He argued that people are being forced to spend hundreds of dollars on water while the government flies around the world at the expense of taxpayers.

“People are spending $300 per load to get water and only $100,000 is in [the budget] to improve the network, but $2.9 million is spent on travel,” Walwyn stated. “People can’t get to bathe, can’t get water to bathe, cost of living is already high, and now you have to spend $300 a load of water while the government flies around the world at the expense of people.”

“The Water & Sewerage Department just cannot be a department just to go there and deal with pipes that are broken,” Walwyn argued. “And that is what a significant portion of their time is spent doing. They can’t do anything else.”