Wednesday, May 07, 2008 Nalzaro: Bad water district? By Bobby Nalzaro Saksi
CEBU City Mayor Tomas Osmeña lashed out at the Metro Cebu Water District (MCWD) for its alleged inefficient service. MCWD, Osmeña said, failed public expectation because it only serves 30 percent of total consumers in its service area.
In his open letter published in this paper over the weekend, the mayor said that because of the water district’s inefficiency, investors shied away from the city resulting in city's poor standing as one of the most livable cities in the country.
He chided General Manager Armando Paredes for failing to implement and institute reforms in MCWD.
But an MCWD insider said the mayor should not only blame Paredes but also the Board of Directors, who are all his (Osmeña’s) appointees. The Board is the policy making body of the water district and sets guidelines and policies. But, the insider said, the present Board lays down policies according to the whims and caprices of the mayor.
The mayor claimed that MCWD is not transparent in its procurement system.
But the Board created the Bids and Awards Committee and every contract passes the Board for approval. In every stage of the bidding process, the Board invites representatives from the Commission on Audit and non-government organizations.
The mayor accused MCWD of not fixing leaks and not replacing old pipes. But the insider thinks the mayor was misinformed. The water district repairs an average of 1,200 leaks a month and spends millions of pesos in rehabilitating old pipes. Thus, its system recovery has improved from 54 percent in 1988 to 72 percent at present.
The mayor said that MCWD is not open to private sector participation. But MCWD now has three private bulk suppliers and would have bid out water sourcing from Carmen that could have provide additional 40,000 cubic meters a day. But the mayor and his associates from the business sector, for reasons only known to them, opposed the plan.
The mayor mentioned the proposal of some entities interested to supply water for MCWD like Johan Holdings, Vivende and Brown and Root. He did not mention Ayala Holdings. The insider said the proposals of these entities were not implemented because of some government prohibitions. The others offered expensive rates.
If the mayor wants to improve the services of MCWD, the insider said, he should stop dictating on his appointees in the Board. If MCWD did fail the expectation of the consuming public, then he and his appointees also failed.
