Former Public Utilities Minister Marvin Gonzales is alleging that the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) quietly increased fees for inspections and approvals by between 100% and 700%, effective July 1.
Gonzales made the allegation during an Opposition media briefing, where he accused WASA and the Ministry of Public Utilities of failing to properly notify stakeholders about the increases.
He said the fees are associated with services provided by WASA's Infrastructure and Compliance Department, which is responsible for reviewing and inspecting water and wastewater infrastructure connected to new homes, developments and other buildings.
WASA's publicly available information confirms that its Infrastructure & Compliance Department handles building-development applications and that applicants are required to pay design-review and inspection fees.
However, WASA's website currently lists the older fees for sewer connection applications.
According to the website, processing fees are $150 plus VAT for residential applications, $150 per unit plus VAT for multi-unit residential applications, $200 plus VAT per floor for commercial applications, $450 plus VAT per floor for industrial applications, $500 plus VAT for residential swimming pools and $1,000 plus VAT for commercial swimming pools.
Gonzales claims the new fees displayed at WASA's Infrastructure and Compliance Department are substantially higher.
He said the fee for a multi-family residential unit increased from $150 to $1,200, which represents a 700% increase.
The fee for a commercial unit, he said, increased from $200 to $1,500, a 650% increase, while the industrial fee per commercial unit floor moved from $450 to $1,800, representing a 300% increase.
He also claimed the residential swimming pool fee increased from $500 to $1,800, a 260% increase, while the fee for a commercial swimming pool doubled from $1,000 to $2,000, representing a 100% increase.
Gonzales alleged that stakeholders were not consulted or adequately informed of the changes and questioned why the old fees remained on WASA's website.
He called for the resignation of Public Utilities Minister Barry Padarath and the removal of WASA's board and executive management over the alleged increases.
Gonzales said the changes would place an additional burden on people involved in residential and commercial construction, particularly at a time when the cost of construction and other government services is already high.
He also questioned whether the Ministry of Public Utilities was aware of the alleged increases and why there had been no public announcement about them.
He called for the resignation of Public Utilities Minister Barry Padarath and the board of WASA.
Guardian media has reached out to Padarath and WASA for comment.
