STEPS ARE being taken to privatise certain aspects of the country's water and sewerage systems, Minister Donald Buchnan told the House of Representatives yesterday.
To this end the Ministry, in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), is carrying out research work which will culminate in the drafting of new and comprehensive legislation for the water systems and sewerage service sector.
The NWC Act will also be amended to recognise the OUR as the economic regulator of the sector. This, by removing the power of the Minister to set tariffs and transferring that power to the OUR.
Said Mr. Buchanan: "This legislation will open the doors for new providers of water outside the NWC to participate in the sector under a licensing regime. To make the playing field level, the NWC Act is further being amended to strip it of the power to license other providers as well as all other regulatory powers".
The new Act will entrench an appropriate institutional framework for the sector, with a clear role for the private sector and the Government as planner and regulator. It will also define areas for Government's continued investment.
