NOT MANY people know that the National Water Commission (NWC) is the beneficiary of special legislation which gives it wide powers to collect rates. For example, the new owner of a house is ipso facto responsible for any unpaid water bills left by the previous owner. Despite these powers, it now transpires that the NWC is owed some three billion dollars. In a desperate bid to collect some of these arrears, the Commission is threatening court action to put the houses of delinquent customers up for sale, the proceeds to be used to liquidate the debt.
Delinquent customers have been identified on three separate lists. List One comprises 44 people who, although sued, have failed to make a court appearance. List Two comprises 16 persons with illegal water connections in a major resort town and includes some of the hotels themselves. A total 66 NWC customers make up List Three, mostly in the downtown Kingston business district, where accounts owing range from $6,000 up to $261,000.
One problem with the proposed foreclosure procedure is that there needs to be a professional valuation of the holding so that the NWC will know what reserve price to set for the public auction. But in some inner-city areas, where the problem is most acute, appraisers would not be welcomed and could face injury and even death trying to perform their duties in hostile territory. We doubt that the problem can be solved by using theoretical valuations from the Land Valuation Department without the backing of an actual physical inspection. The courts take very seriously the house owner's 'equity of redemption' , that is, what is left over from the auction proceeds after the NWC's debt has been satisfied. As another tactic, the NWC is pressing for amendments to the NWC Act to increase fines from $1,000 up to $500,000.
This dilemma is another example of what happens when a nation's morals and economy are in a state of decay. Citizens have a duty to pay their water rates and failure to do so is theft. This deprives the Commission of money necessary to upgrade its systems and to provide better service. The end result is an across the board increase in water rates which is about to be announced; another case of the good having to suffer for the bad.
THE OPINIONS ON THIS PAGE, EXCEPT FOR THE ABOVE, DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEWS OF THE GLEANER.
