Water Minister Matthew Samuda has sought to assure that the Government and the National Water Commission (NWC) are very focused on delivering its capital programme. 

Mr. Samuda gave the assurance during the ground-breaking ceremony for the Santa Cruz Bypass Mains Replacement Project in St. Elizabeth today. 

His assurance comes amidst public discussions following an Auditor General report, tabled in Parliament on Tuesday.

It revealed, among other things, that the NWC’s expenditure for capital projects was below planned levels from 2019 to 2024, attributable to limited financial resources.

Over that period, NWC planned to spend $44.92 billion on capital projects.

The report had several recommendations, including that the NWC set an internally-funded budget based on what can be realistically afforded.

Speaking on the matter, Mr. Samuda clarified that the NWC spent 94 % of its capital budget last fiscal year, with the remaining 6% disbursed in April.