Audit and scrap water users associations -PM representative urges

Jun 24, 2018 News

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In 2017 it was reported by the Black Bush Polder Water User’s Association (WUA) when the Agriculture Minister, Noel Holder, and his team were there, that only 20 percent of the landowners were paying their land/water taxes to the association.
It was also pointed out that this reflects the norm of all such associations throughout Guyana. According Gobin Harbhajan, the Prime Minister’s Representative in Region Six (East Berbice), the time is now for audits into the associations. Those audits should go back eight years.
It is also time that these associations be scrapped, he urged.
The outspoken official explained that throughout the country, approximately 130,000 acres of rice lands are cultivated but only about 35 percent of the landowners pay water fees to the WUAs.
“However, many of these land owners would have paid their land taxes to the respective NDCs and to the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission. This points to a duplication of services offered by the WUAs since the NDCs, the RDCs and the NDIA would have been giving subsidies to these associations. It is a fact they have been doing the same work in the areas where these associations exist.”
The works include drainage, irrigation and repairs and maintenance of dams.
“The NDCs, the RDCs as well as the NDIA gave subsidies and also engage in doing the works mentioned. In addition, the NDIA maintain the pumps and free diesel is given by the regional administration.”
Harbhajan, a councilor in Region Six, argued that these associations have actually outlived the purpose for which they were created.
They were formed in 2005 with the intentions to access the millions of dollars in grants from the European Union, under the tenure of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic.
“Since then the WUAs have been acting as independent bodies free from any meaningful external influence from the NDIA, the NDCs or the RDCs. The rationale for the establishment of WUAs is the transfer of irrigation management responsibilities to the users of community-based, collective small-scale irrigation schemes.”
Some of these management responsibilities may include representation of users, operation and maintenance of the system and ownership of the irrigation facilities. The ultimate aim is the sustainability of the small-scale irrigation schemes, which in their turn contribute to rural poverty alleviation.
However, these objectives have not been achieved, Harbhajan insists.
“What should have been done was to create an appropriate legal framework should be established for WUAs which needs to include an enabling law, by-laws and a legal framework for transfer of irrigation system ownership to WUAs. But this was not done.”
The PM representative went further. He made it clear that the current systems of WUAs are not legal so that they can be properly audited. They also cannot institute legal proceedings to collect arrears taxes.
“The so-called ‘audit reports’ are nothing more than quarterly income and expenditure statements which are actually padded financial statements. Proper audits need to be done by certified auditors since the expenditure of hundreds of millions of dollars is done by a management committee with no invitation for tenders. Cronyism is a rampant feature,” Harbhajan said.
He urged that it is time that a proper audit is done which should go back to at least eight years.
“…and I am sure the findings will be an eye opener to what actually transpires within these WUAs. It must be borne in mind that some of these WUAs chairmen feel that these are private entities even though they collect taxpayers’ dollars,” he explained to Kaieteur News.
As it is currently constructed, Harbhajan believes the WUAs are not sustainable since they cannot generate enough funds to operate in a self-sufficient manner and the subsidies given are squandered on the whims and fancies of a few.
“The establishment of WUAs offers scope for empowerment of the users, allowing them to take control of major inputs which affect their livelihoods, such as equity in water distribution, securing access to water by all users, equity and security of access to newly developed land by all users, and in some cases empowerment of the poorer water users, mitigating the impact of local power cliques.”
Unfortunately, the WUAs, today, have created an “elite group of local power cliques” who ensure that their works are paramount to that of the other members.
“Over the years, my office has received complaints from numerous farmers who are not benefitting at all. This Government needs to enhance the legal framework of the WUAs and embark on extensive capacity building.
Initially when the WUAs were formed many training courses were done and the office bearers in those days were competent. However, when the EU funding stops the entire programme began to rapidly deteriorate and the WUAs were neglected.”
The official said that the present crop of office bearers has limited knowledge of the objectives and the policies of the WUAs and have been relegated to do minimal works and have built themselves into an ‘elite power clique’ which removes all semblance of transparency and accountability.
“The NDIA or the Minister of Agriculture needs to establish clear boundaries to delineate the functions of the NDCs, the RDCs and if possible NDIA so that the farmers will know who is responsible for what. Moreover, these WUAs should either be placed under the control of the NDCS or the RDCs so that transparency and accountability can be achieved whilst duplication of services is avoided of wasting of tax dollars. This will cut the wastage of scarce resources. Another option is that they should be dissolved and the works undertaken by the RDCs or the NDCs.”

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