Former public utilities minister Marvin Gonzales is accusing employees at Trinidad and Tobago’s Water and Sewerage Authority of deliberately depriving communities of pipe-borne water to drive demand for trucking contracts, an allegation that raises the political temperature around a service the government says it is trying to stabilize.
Trinidad and Tobago WASA water trucking allegations
The claim matters because water access is not just a political issue in Trinidad and Tobago — it is an operating cost, a public health concern and a procurement risk. If communities are being pushed into buying trucked water because supply is being interrupted on purpose, that would point to leakage in a state utility already under pressure to improve service and control spending.
Gonzales told Parliament he wants a criminal investigation into what he called a “water trucking racket,” saying some insiders allegedly benefit when valves are turned off and households are forced to request truck deliveries. He said the problem is “bleeding money” from WASA and cited an increase in the utility’s water-trucking allocation to $82.7 million from $52.9 million, a jump of almost $30 million.
He also alleged contractors are being paid twice in some cases — once to deliver water to tank farms and again to haul the same water from those tank farms to homes. Gonzales said he had raised similar concerns earlier, including an alleged multi-million-dollar racket in Morne Diablo, where more than 5,000 residents were reportedly left reliant on private water purchases.
The government pushed back, saying the larger allocation reflects long-running shortages in areas including Penal, Debe, Mayaro, Princes Town and Barrackpore rather than mismanagement. Public Utilities Minister Clyde Elder said the previous administration left WASA with a $78 million water-trucking bill and accused Gonzales’ party of presiding over undersupplied districts and questionable contracts of its own.
For investors, the episode highlights the political and fiscal sensitivity of utility spending in Trinidad and Tobago, where accusations of waste or corruption can quickly become budget issues. It also keeps scrutiny on WASA’s procurement, the reliability of its distribution network and the likelihood of further policy intervention if the allegations draw police attention.
The immediate catalyst now is whether Public Utilities Minister Barry Padarath responds to the accusations and whether law enforcement opens an inquiry. Any formal probe would keep pressure on WASA’s budget, contractor relationships and the government’s broader effort to restore confidence in water delivery.
| Entity | Gains | Losses |
|---|---|---|
| Households reliant on WASA | ▲Potentially better service if probe works | ▼Higher costs and unreliable supply |
| Water truck contractors | ▲Continued demand for deliveries | ▼Risk of probe, contract disruption |
| WASA / government | ▲Chance to clean up procurement | ▼Budget pressure and reputational damage |
| Opposition PNM / Gonzales | ▲Political leverage on corruption claims | ▼Exposure if past contracts are scrutinized |