Senior Reporter
bavita.gopaulchan@guardian.co.tt
Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) Kelvin Romain has been told that an African national has been selected as the authority’s new CEO.
Romain, who has been acting in the position since 2022, told Guardian Media he was aware that a national of Ghana had been selected for the position.
“I was aware that a foreigner from Africa was selected as the new CEO as per the Government’s decision to transform WASA into an organisation that can sustain itself and provide the level of service required to satisfy all its customers,” he said.
“This selection was following a process where we saw the position advertised internationally.”
On Tuesday, Minister of Public Utilities Marvin Gonzales said Romain was among several executive members being replaced at WASA in the coming weeks.
He went further to confirm that the position of CEO will be filled by a non-national, as they needed someone with a proven track record of transforming a water utility company and not many people in T&T have that experience.
In a release yesterday, Gonzales indicated that Romain will either revert to his substantive position or be reassigned to another leadership role within the organisation once the new CEO is named.
Romain has not commented on whether he plans to stay with the company.
He was appointed acting CEO following the departure of Sherland Sheppard.
When Gonzales assumed the role of Public Utilities Minister in 2020, he said WASA’s transformation would be his priority and expressed concern about its performance and inability to service the country for more than 20 years.
In March, the minister revealed that WASA is aiming to reduce between 170 to more than 200 management positions. He again noted on Tuesday that the leadership structure is “too large and is impeding the work of the authority.”
So far, nine new managers have been hired at WASA and are expected to begin duties soon while the company looks to employ 34 deputy managers, which Gonzales said will include internal promotions.
An assurance was also given to non-managerial staff that there would be no cuts at the lower level.
In 2022, the Government announced plans to restructure the cash-strapped WASA to make it an efficient and effective state entity.
Gonzales had said then that the executive leadership package would first target 426 managers.
“We are seeking to reduce that by about 50 or 40 per cent. We cannot drive this restructuring straight down to the ground. You need to have leadership in place to filter down because the leadership of that authority would now have to engage in discussions and consultations with the unions.”
The managers to be axed were to have the option of applying for positions advertised by WASA, the minister had said at that time.
In 1999, the Cabinet approved four levels of managerial staff consisting of 172 employees and an organisational structure of 1,723 staff members.
However, WASA’s payroll subsequently increased to 4,828 employees, consisting of 3,043 monthly paid and 1,785 daily paid workers.
This included employees with the designation of manager who supervised no one or just one or two staff members under their control.
The monthly salaries of some managers ranged between $20,000 and $40,000 and the total wage bill for WASA’s 426 managers was $5 million.