THE National Water Commission’s (NWC) three-month amnesty programme which was an olive branch to indebted customers has raked in $98.9 million in additional revenue “that would not have come in” otherwise, according to portfolio minister Matthew Samuda.

Speaking at the weekly post-Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House in St Andrew on Wednesday, Samuda said the windfall came in the course of the write-off of arears of up to $238 million which was “largely uncollectible and that was affecting thousands of households”.

First announced by Prime Minister Andrew Holness in November last year, the amnesty launched on January 2 this year is for NWC customers who are pensioners who have been disconnected for two years; people trying to transfer land titles; and customers who have been disconnected for longer than six months. Under the three-month amnesty, pensioners who are assessed as being in need, based on the Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education beneficiary identification standards, can also have their debt written off and reconnection fees waived. There are also allowances for other customers outside of the main groupings, who have challenges with their bill balances.

Providing an update to the nation on Wednesday, Samuda said the dollar figure for applications received so far totals $658 million.

“But what is important and what members of the media should be aware of is that this has also generated for the National Water Commission, since January 1, $98.9 million in additional revenue that would not have come in. Now the Government has been at pains to explain that macro-economic stability creates dividends for its citizens; well-managed entities and public bodies create dividends for its citizens. That dividend is being repaid, or paid, rather, to citizens by way of this amnesty who continue to suffer the burden or continue to suffer the burden of these bills related to massive leaks that they would have had,” Samuda stated.

He in the meantime said his ministry, in partnership with the labour and social security ministry, is contemplating an extension of the programme to accommodate members of the disabled community.

The current amnesty is an expansion of an initiative that was undertaken by the National Water Commission in 2024 in Portmore, St Catherine, in areas where there were particularly high levels of non-revenue water.

Samuda, commenting on the amnesty last November, said the initiative will return individual and legal connections to tens of thousands of Jamaicans and will return comfort and dignity to pensioners and those living below the poverty line who have been affected by debt and disconnected from the NWC.