Municipal Corporations To Get New Water Trucks
JIS NEWS, Montego Bay: Minister of Local Government and Community Development, Hon. Desmond McKenzie, says that municipal corporations will be equipped with new water trucks during financial year 2020/2021.
“We are going to be providing right across the country, in the new financial year coming, at least one water truck for every municipal corporation in Jamaica to assist in the distribution of water to the people who desperately need water,” he said, while addressing the recent opening of a water shop in Top Hill, St. Elizabeth.
Mr. McKenzie said that the trucks will help alleviate water shortages across the island, particularly in parishes such as St. Elizabeth, Manchester, Clarendon and Portland.
He said that the Ministry will also provide minor water systems to communities where such shortages exist.
In the meantime, Minister McKenzie maintained that privately owned water trucks must be sterilised and certified in order to deliver water.
He noted that the Government has to take the health of citizens into consideration, “because you don’t want a truck that is pulling sewage or chemicals to be delivering water for you to drink and to cook with”.
“Private trucks, under the public health law, must meet the requirements. They must be sterilised [and] certified before they can deliver the water. I want to make it clear that no municipal corporation should use any trucks that refuse to get the proper certification to distribute water,” Mr. McKenzie said.
“It is part of the requirement; the law calls for it and we are maintaining that stand,” he added.
