September 8, 2024 - Week 33

At 4 pm Friday, the National Water Commission (NWC) sent a worker to my apartment complex to shut off our water - not a drop was allowed to flow through the pipes. The reason? Unpaid water bills cumulating to JMD One Million. That evening, I thought I was dreaming. How is it humane for the NWC to cut off the water supply for 24 units during these extreme weather days when the temperature can feel like 50 deg C?

My forensic brain was turned on and the next day I found the maintenance man to conduct my investigation. He explained that the complex does not have individual unit water meters and instead has one water meter for all 24 units; each month one water bill is sent for the entire complex and paid out of the maintenance funds paid by unit owners. Unfortunately, several unit owners have not been paying their share of maintenance funds over the year, resulting in insufficient funds to pay the water bill. As a result, the Property manager is issuing legal letters requiring these delinquent unit owners to pay off their outstanding dues. Until these bills are cleared, the NWC will not turn back on our water - thus using the tenant's frustration with no water to pressure unit owners to clear the debt.

Thankfully, the complex has two large water tanks (normally for drought usage) that are used to replace the pipe water. However, it is projected the water will run out by Monday. What is frustrating though is that this exact scenario has happened a few years before and the unit owners had voted against installing individual water meters. It is quite obvious some unit owners want to take advantage of the shared burden of the water bill.

After briefing my landlady, she assured me that she had organized a meeting with the CEO of the NWC to discuss the situation. In my curiosity, I decided to google this CEO. Surprise Surprise, there was a negative media hit. The CEO himself has been put on administrative leave following an Integrity Commission investigation questioning his ethical standing due to allegations of misuse of a building permit and conflicts of interest over him allegedly having unpaid water bills...I decided to stop investigating this matter before it got even more dark.

Besides this water fiasco, this week I participated in roasting a Breadfruit i.e. me moving the sticks around for a little bit, and shall leave you with some photos: