With nine days left prior to a potential Cabinet meeting with Leader of the Opposition Jamale Pringle, UPP Chairwoman D Gisele Isaac said the political party was not looking to score cheap political points, but rather achieve meaningful dialogue to address the water woes plaguing the country.
Two weeks ago, the Cabinet issued a formal invitation to the Leader of the Opposition, along with two of his political allies, to meet with APUA officials on October 25, and asked that Pringle submit his questions to the Minister responsible for Public Utilities, Melford Nicholas and the APUA water manager.
Isaac, however, said last week Friday, that the party will be meeting to discuss the plan of action as they were unwilling for the opportunity to be seen as a photo-op.
“His [Opposition Leader] intention was never to go and have a private meeting with Cabinet, what he wants is for the people who run the water system at APUA to come to Parliament and explain to them what is going on and take questions and answers, so that a sub-committee could be formed out of this discourse to look at solutions,” she said.
The supply and distribution of water resources has been a major political issue among the various Parties in the country, especially as the country remains one of the driest in the region.
“You will go to a public meeting, and you hear people almost vying for who is suffering the most in terms of water; somebody will say that ‘we haven’t had water for four days’, and someone else would say ‘that is nothing, we haven’t had for five,’ UPP Chairwoman Isaac explained.
The Leader of the Opposition in September opened the doors for a potential bipartisan approach to the issue which received support from the Prime Minister.