LUCIA'S BIGGEST ZOMBE, 2013 BUDGET Pt 7

WASCO - Always begging, but always hustling

WASCO stands on the corner by where I live waiting for me to come home from work.

"Oy. Bredren. Great man. Pass a likkle $20 million on me, uh?"

"Sorry. Don't have $20 million."

"Okay, gimme five."

"I don't...."

"Okay, one, one....just one million. Please, Ras. Just one million I want to take care of operating costs. For true. I'll not spend it on drugs, I swear!"

While that story is not factual, it is true.

WASCO's debt burden was high before Tomas. After Tomas, WASCO was in financial silt up to its neck. Can’t even recover operating costs now. Liabilities are greater than assets. Insolvency opens her thighs ready to swallow WASCO up. 

Government has already pitched in over $106 million. If it was anything less than water, government would have thrown WASCO under the bus, rolled over it, reversed the bus and rolled over it again. To government, WASCO is that zombe cousin who has the skills that help you maintain your home, but is always trying to scam you out of more money.

Government's zombe cousin

Now, they’re talking debt equity swap. Debt forgiveness could amount to over $77m with $26m in interest. Hopefully, this will clear the way for progress. Cure WASCO of the financial leprosy. Hopefully they will attract partners/investors.

Wait. Are we going through all of this to fix WASCO so we can get back on the privatisation train? Oh good God. Which is worse, mashing up WASCO or leaving water to the goddam capitalist free market?

After paying $19m from 2008-12, why would I want to make it attractive to investors. If WASCO gets fixed, sell it Lucians. Policy holders. Customers. Yeah. Let the customers own it. That way, rate hikes would just mean more money in our pockets.

WASCO needs $20m a year more than it makes just to survive. Once that’s fixed, I don’t want any heartless foreign profiteer vulturing and vampiring around the most essential service on the island. 

I could never understand privatisation. Why would we sell a good thing? That would make the government an even bigger zombe than WASCO itself.