THE Government has approved additional funds to truck water to communities affected by the drought, says minister without portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation Senator Pearnel Charles Jr.

Speaking with JIS News after a meeting with political representatives from St Thomas and officials from the National Water Commission (NWC), Rural Water Supply Limited (RWSL), Water Resources Authority, and the Jamaica Constabulary Force at his office in Kingston on Tuesday, the minister said repairs to water systems will also be done with urgency.

“We have given the commitment to have immediate allocation to support the urgency in the specific divisions, and we are going to be holding the NWC and RWSL to account, to ensure that they meet the timeline that they have articulated to the various stakeholders, to provide water to the people,” the minister said.

Senator Charles Jr underscored that the move is to “impact the communities through emergency trucking, and more importantly, to do those minor repairs that can alleviate the need for investment in trucking water”.

He pointed out that during his recent meetings with stakeholders and agencies under his ministry across the island, persons consistently cited deficiencies in the maintenance of the water infrastructure, and “breaches of our systems”, so there will be increased focus on upkeep.

“We have to focus also on enforcement, to make sure that when we put in a pump it is not stolen, and when we put in a pipeline there is no diversion. These are the things that we are focusing on,” the minister said.

Senator Charles Jr said the JCF has given its assurance to work alongside the NWC enforcement team, and to ensure that when information is passed on to them, “immediate” action is taken.