HANOVER, Jamaica — Prime Minister Andrew Holness says the National Water Commission (NWC) currently has over 100 projects on its books to provide potable water to residents across the country.

The figure includes works that are in train, but also some which are still being designed, and others which have recently been completed.

Rural Water Supply Limited, which in some instances serves as an engineer to the NWC and in other cases develops on its own, has some 80 projects on its books. It was not immediately clear which ones are overlapping between the two agencies.

The Prime Minister did not give a timeframe for the planned completion of the ongoing projects, but he bragged that this is the first time in the country’s history that a prime minister has commissioned so many water supply projects in any given year.

Holness said there are now some 80 communities which have recently tapped into piped supply.

“I am not here telling you that with this snap of a finger, or tomorrow, every community in Jamaica will get water, but I believe every Jamaican looking on is the first that they would have seen a prime minister turning on so many water supply projects in one year,” Holness said.

He was speaking at the commissioning of a water supply system in Claremont, Hanover on the weekend. The Prime Minister has also commissioned systems in Flower Hill, St James and in Mocho Clarendon in the past week.

“This government hears the crying of the people for water. Water is necessary for your fields but it is necessary also for your homes. It is an important convenience of life, but more than that Dave (Brown, Member of Parliament for Hanover Eastern) said it is your right to have water and this government is doing everything possible to ensure that every single Jamaican can have access to sustainable, affordable, potable water,” he continued. 

Last year, the budget for rural water quadrupled, moving from $140 million per year to over $800 million.

Anthony Lewis