A contentious 100% to 700% fee increase for core services at Trinidad and Tobago’s Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) has ignited a fierce political dispute, with the opposition calling for high-level resignations and the governing side defending the move as a long-overdue modernization effort. The revised charges, applied to services delivered by WASA’s Infrastructure and Compliance Department, took effect on July 1, 2024 (corrected from the original 2026 transcript error), bringing long-unupdated rates in line with current operational costs, according to Public Utilities Minister Barry Padarath. These one-time fees cover regulatory inspections, design reviews, and approvals for new residential, commercial, and industrial water and wastewater connections, as well as plumbing and pool infrastructure work, a service area that had not seen rate adjustments since the 1980s, Padarath confirmed.
In a press conference held at the Office of the Opposition Leader in Port of Spain on Tuesday, former Public Utilities Minister and Opposition MP Marvin Gonzales slammed the government for what he called an underhanded, unconsulted rate hike that imposes new financial strain on already burdened Trinbagonian residents. Gonzales, who shared documentation of the new fee structure with reporters, pointed out that while outdated rates are still listed on WASA’s public website, in-person customers are now being charged the dramatically higher rates with no advance warning to consumers, industry stakeholders, or elected opposition representatives. Specific increases range from a 100% jump for commercial/institutional swimming pool connections (rising from TT$1,000 to TT$2,000) to a staggering 700% increase for multi-family residential per-unit connection inspections, from TT$150 to TT$1,200. Other hikes include a 650% increase for commercial unit inspections (TT$200 to TT$1,500), a 300% increase for industrial connections (TT$450 to TT$1,800), and a 260% rise for residential swimming pool connections (TT$500 to TT$1,800).
Gonzales accused the ruling government of “acting in the dark of night”, framing the unannounced fee increase as part of a broader pattern of quiet hikes to government service fees and traffic fines that shift greater cost burdens to households. The opposition has formally called for Padarath’s immediate resignation, alongside the full removal of WASA’s board of directors and executive management team, over the lack of public consultation and transparency around the changes.
Padarath rejected these accusations in comments to the Trinidad Express, denying any secrecy around the adjustment and stressing the new rates have been published on all WASA service forms as of the July 1 effective date. He emphasized that the fees are one-time charges, not recurring costs to customers, and that updating the decades-old fee structure is a critical step to modernize WASA’s overall operations. The revised rates, he argued, will boost operational efficiency in the Infrastructure and Compliance Department and reduce long-term operating expenditures for the state-owned utility. In a sharp counterattack on Gonzales, Padarath dismissed the opposition’s criticism as a distraction from ongoing internal political infighting within the main opposition People’s National Movement (PNM), claiming the former minister was acting as a “bacchanalist” (provocateur) to draw attention away from a contested internal party battle for the San Fernando East constituency seat.