PROBE WASA

For­mer pub­lic util­i­ties min­is­ter Mar­vin Gon­za­les is call­ing for a crim­i­nal in­ves­ti­ga­tion in­to an al­leged wa­ter truck­ing rack­et at the Wa­ter and Sew­er­age Au­thor­i­ty (WASA).

Dur­ing his con­tri­bu­tion to the de­bate on the Ap­pro­pri­a­tion (Fi­nan­cial Year 2027) Bill, 2026 in Par­lia­ment on Sat­ur­day morn­ing, Gon­za­les claimed some em­ploy­ees were de­lib­er­ate­ly de­priv­ing com­mu­ni­ties of pipeborne wa­ter to gen­er­ate busi­ness for wa­ter truck con­trac­tors.

Related coverageDesalcott Maintenance Delay Strains WASA Supply, Discolours Water in Several Communities21 reports

Gon­za­les said, “I am call­ing for a crim­i­nal in­ves­ti­ga­tion in­to the Wa­ter and Sewage Au­thor­i­ty, par­tic­u­lar­ly that wa­ter truck­ing is­sue, be­cause it is bleed­ing mon­ey from the Wa­ter and Sew­er­age Au­thor­i­ty, and many fam­i­lies are be­ing im­pact­ed ad­verse­ly by what is tak­ing place… If it goes un­su­per­vised, there are those in­side of the or­gan­i­sa­tion, they do not ben­e­fit and they do not wish for peo­ple to have a re­li­able sup­ply of wa­ter. Be­cause if they do so, they will have to pack up their trucks and they will not make a cent. But turn off valves, de­prive the peo­ple of wa­ter and force them to re­quest wa­ter trucks and some­body is mak­ing mon­ey and mak­ing a mint.”