YESTERDAY, the sometimes brash chief executive officer of the National Works Agency (NWA), Mr Patrick Wong, won our full backing on at least one thing.

Mr Wong announced that his NWA would take the National Water Commission (NWC) — and presumably any other company — to court, if they persisted in digging up the roads to do their upgrading work, without restoring them to the required standards afterwards.

We do not know if this was just bravado from an stressed-out CEO, but we were very heartened to hear Mr Wong speak in such a forthright manner as he addressed editors and reporters at the Jamaica Observer’s weekly Monday Exchange.

In many cases, the road is dug up just after it has been pristinely laid out by the National Works Agency at a heavy cost to taxpayers. Three recent examples can be seen at the Barbican Road, the East King’s House Road and on Paddington Terrace in St Andrew, all of which were left at the mercy of rains from Tropical Storm Nicole.

The NWA CEO can expect our undiluted support against any and all quarters, in the event he is attacked for that statement, which, we are sure, will encourage the hearts of many Jamaicans, motorists especially, who have to suffer the consequences of unconscionable utility companies which dig up the roads without restoring them to, at least, their previous condition.

Mr Wong also disclosed that his agency was willing to do the necessary restorative work after the NWA or any other company has opened up the roads, at a cost to those companies, of course.

Again, it was heartening to hear that his suggestions were getting traction at the NWC, even if it begs the question what took them so long to come to this position. It makes such good sense that we marvel that we have lived so many years with such a wasteful practice.

Mind you, we are not surprised that this bright idea would be embraced by the NWC which has, in difficult circumstances, been doing a reasonably good job in providing water to Jamaicans.

Our hope is that it will never have to come to the point where court action is necessary to realise what is so palpably simple. We commend the NWC and the suggestion by Mr Wong, that all the companies share their schedules with the NWA, thus allowing the agency to plan road works with their needs in mind.

Mr Wong has had a tendency to be short with people who press him too hard on some issues having to do with the National Works Agency, more recently the Palisadoes Road project and the Jamaica Development of Infrastructure Programme (JDIP). But we avow that when he is right, he is right. And he is now.