THE National Water Commission (NWC) board has rubbished a declaration by Opposition spokesman on water Ian Hayles that it had no role in Prime Minister Andrew Holness’s announcement of a three-month amnesty for customers in arrears.

Hayles made the claim Tuesday morning during a news conference at the Office of the Opposition Leader in St Andrew, saying that the prime minister’s announcement on Sunday at the 81st annual conference of the ruling Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) was a knee-jerk reaction that shows desperation on the part of the Government.

Under the amnesty that is set to begin on January 2, 2025, pensioners and other individuals assessed as being in need, based on the Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education (PATH), could see all of their outstanding NWC debt written off.

In response, Hayles told journalists at the news conference: “This wasn’t a decision which was taken by the board of the NWC before the prime minister came and made the announcement.”

However, the NWC board said Hayles’ assertions are false as they were consulted before the announcement and given the opportunity to provide feedback to strengthen the policy direction.

“This announcement is an extension of the NWC’s receivables management plan already in operation in Portmore. The board fully supports the plans announced by the prime minister and minister of economic growth and job creation to ease the burden of the cost of living for Jamaicans while providing greater access to water,” the board said in a statement.

During the news conference Hayles said the policy was not properly thought out. He claimed that up to Monday, staff at the NWC were calling the Ministry of Labour and Social Security to ascertain the number of Jamaicans who are on PATH and how many are pensioners.

“So this was not well thought out; it was a knee-jerk reaction and it shows a level of desperation on the part of the Government,” he said, adding that in the end, no more than 10 per cent of the NWC’s 547,000 customers will benefit in any way.

He said that up to 350,000 customers of the water utility are in some form of delinquency, with approximately 150,000 not paying any bills at all. Additionally, he said the State-owned company is owed a staggering $52 billion.

Hayles also said that customers who were delinquent between zero and five years owe $13 billion; 6-14 years owe $15 billion; 15 years and over owe $24 billion. At the same time, $3.3 billion is collected monthly from paying customers he said.

“This Government has been there for nine years now and has done nothing about it,” he said.

Hayles suggested that the majority of the 350,000 non-paying customers will not benefit in any significant way from the announced amnesty, and reminded that between 2012 and 2016 when the PNP last formed the Government it had introduced a social water mechanism within the NWC under which customers and those on PATH paid a flat rate of around $500.

He questioned why it was discontinued.

“The NWC customer base cannot tell you who is a customer from who is a PATH beneficiary,” he said, and argued that a more meaningful way to help would be to offer a flat rate or a cap on the average 3,000 gallons of water used by each household monthly.

“Another thing is that you pay dollar-for-dollar in terms of sewage and water. You could cut back, you could have made an announcement if you really want to help those who are suffering, you could reduce the sewage [cost] by anywhere between 25 and 50 per cent,” he said.

“After nine years of the JLP Administration there’s no prosperity and there’s hardship on the land, but in this party [PNP] we agree to help the poor, help the pensioners, and all the other stakeholders. But, it must be met with a clear policy framework, research, consultation, board approval, management execution that speaks to a clear vision for the NWC,” said Hayles.