Samuda says NWC pressing ahead with capital works after audit concerns

Water Minister Matthew Samuda says the Government and the National Water Commission remain committed to carrying out the agency’s capital works programme.

Samuda addressed the issue today in St. Elizabeth, where he spoke at the ground-breaking for the Santa Cruz Bypass Mains Replacement project.

His comments followed public debate over an Auditor General’s report laid in Parliament on Tuesday. The report said the NWC spent less than it had planned on capital projects between 2019 and 2024, with the shortfall linked to limited funding.

During that period, the utility had projected capital spending of $44.92 billion. Among the report’s recommendations was that the NWC prepare an internally financed budget guided by what it can realistically afford.

Samuda said that in the last fiscal year, the NWC used 94 per cent of its capital budget, while the remaining six per cent was paid out in April.