Crackdown on delinquents

THE National Water Commission (NWC) says it is aggressively pursuing registered customers who can afford to settle their overdue bills but refuse to pay, with thousands already disconnected and placed on repayment programmes.

Water, Environment and Climate Change Minister Matthew Samuda said customers making occasional payments should not assume they will escape action as the utility moves to recover outstanding revenue.

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Speaking at a Jamaica Observer Press Club at the newspaper’s St Andrew headquarters on Wednesday, Samuda said the commission has traditionally given customers room to address their arrears once they were making payments. However, he said, enforcement has intensified since its debt amnesty.