Persons in Tobago who wish to apply to WASA’s New Services Department for plumbing and infrastructure approval can now do so online. On Tuesday, November 15, 2022, the Authority launched its Online Plumbing and Infrastructure Approval System at the Trinidad and Tobago Electricity Commission’s Sports Club in Scarborough.
Minister of Public Utilities, the Hon. Marvin Gonzales, in his address at the event, noted that the new online platform allows for the “digitization of processes that would have previously required applicants to visit WASA’s offices, which would have consumed more time and resources – not just on the part of the applicants themselves, but also on the part of the officers who attended to them”.
Minister Gonzales also highlighted other interventions which have resulted in the overall transformation of the New Services Department. These included, among others, the streamlining of antiquated bureaucratic systems, a renewed focus on providing a better customer experience, and the application of Quality Service Standards. As a result of these and other operational strategies, the New Services Department in Tobago has been able to resolve a backlog of over 4,700 applications while 128 applications are being actively reviewed.
While in Tobago, the Public Utilities Minister commissioned three new booster
stations in Shirvan Road, Buccoo; Golden Lane; and French Fort, Calder Hall. The newly constructed booster stations will provide over 29,000 persons from areas that were previously negatively impacted by the dry season and high elevations with a more reliable water supply.