leaks

I have been out of it the last week. I visited another civilization for a couple days. It is amazing how the other 7.0013000 billion people live. We on the rock think that we are it, we are the deal, we are the only people that have issues, that have strange politics. I can tell you we are not alone.  Some have in fact been where we are now, some still have a way to go but all in all its about what is it we actually want.

When I think of the very educated people that this rock has produced, the thinkers, the discoverers, the people who have contributed to the world and see where we are today. Look at the headlines in the local dailies, listen to the conversation on talk radio, the chat on social media, and one must wonder where are these people. Well, they have gone, gone to other countries, building other societies because they realized early in the game that this rock was too small for them. Very sad indeed!
The politics has created a divide that there is little or no come back. We have not evolved, our politics  dictate that we have a five year term and who ever else comes in during the next term will have to fight up with the hard decisions. Nothing we do is for the future. Its all about immediate gratification and forget this long term planning foolishness. Who has time for that? Is it then our type or style of governance that is creating the problem or those persons who we elect to govern? I think it is a mix because make no mistake there are more Trini's living outside of T&T who somehow adapt to other styles of governance and it is only when they return that the KFC box gets thrown out the vehicle window. It is frustrating!

Does anybody know how our water utility, WASA, processes reports of leaks, low water pressure and no water at all?

There are major leaks on the Saddle Rd that have been like that for months. I am talking about leaks on the trunk mains spilling thousands of gallons of potable water every hour, every day, every week and now every month. WASA has somewhere of over 3,000 employees. All of these persons have to travel on the roadway to get to and from work. The Chairman, the CEO, Directors, Managers, supervisors, field technicians, clerks, foremen, Regional Managers, Zonal Managers, you name it WASA people are on the move. I would think it would be difficult to believe that there is not a single person working at WASA who does not travel on the Saddle Rd. In fact there are four (4) Cabinet Ministers and (1) PMOTT who are very regular users of the Saddle Rd.
So, no one has seen the multiple leaks? Not a single WASA employee has taken the time to make a report, again and again? The question then is what happens when a report is made, how is the report logged, who manages the 'leak office' and who in top management is responsible for eliminating these unnecessary costs and wastage. Are there goals set for 'leak management'? Do the CEO and the Board of Directors receive a detailed report on a scheduled basis of how well WASA is doing in dealing with leaks? I think by WASA's own admission more than 50% of the total daily potable water production is lost due to leaks.

Well, I have a recommendation for WASA. How about developing an App which would allow John Public to log leaks, low water pressure and zero water pressure. The techs would work out how it could function but at the end of the day leaks would be logged with the location, whether it was a big or not so big leak. WASA could develop a data base showing which contractor fixed the same leak before, which areas are prone to lines breaking, the cost of operating pipelines in a particular zone, the response time to the fix. It would be a fantastic tool to be used to manage the business of WASA.

Maybe there is a system that is already in use. Then if there is why is it not working? I cannot stand to see good quality water going to waste.  If WASA was in a position to seriously manage their business then we could actually see water being pumped on a 24/7 basis.

Fun and games with the political parties. The two big guns are having major party assembly's with one having a snap internal election. One is on this Sunday the other at the end of the month. What is good is to see how the two handle their internal business, this of course being a reflection of how they would run the Government. One is already showing signs of not being the most democratic in their dealings and we wait to see how the other one fares.
It is amazing that the general electorate is not considered during an internal election. Of course this is the business of the particular party and only members can attend and vote but if one is looking to win a national election the base membership alone cannot put you in government. The general population is looking to see how you conduct yourself, your words, your statements, everything matters. I find it interesting when you hear people saying 'keep out of so and so's business'. A real political party's business is everybody's business.

The IMF is predicting a 1.8% growth for the rock in 2018 as a result of the additional natural gas being pumped. Not good, not good at all because we are going to come with the stupid talk about who is ah Trini and we gone again, no diversification, no control on our spending and spending habits and we live to spend another day.

I get the feeling that the people of the rock are a bit more serious about the economy this time around and really hope that we take this opportunity to make the required changes in the way we live and do business.

Keep it up people, let's get it on, we have a rock to save!

Good night and good luck!