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ON Saturday May 8, 2013 I had the opportunity to attend a meeting of the General Assembly of the Charity-Zorg-en-Vlygt Water Users Association (WUA) in the WUA office in the Region Two compound. As a member of this WUA, I was not invited to attend this meeting although I am working next door in the same compound where this WUA office is operating. However, I was advised by the Region 2 Chairman to attend the WUA meeting, so I did attend.
At this meeting, two officials from the Ministry of Agriculture were in attendance and rice farmers within the service area of the WUA where the secretary of the WUA presented a report for proposed works to be carried out by the WUA management board.
After the secretary had finished reading the report, several questions and queries were raised in relation to box kokers blocking up with dry coconut branches, weeds etc, blocking of trenches and works done on access dams, maintenance, labour rates, etc.
What was surprising, when I was allowed to give a brief comment on what the secretary had reported, but before I made my comment, I asked if there was a copy of the delegation agreement and the WUA’s by-laws but only the Chairman and the Vice-Chairman had copies . No other member from the 43 villages that make up the WUA had never seen or read the by-laws since the formation in November, 2006.
I made my comment on malfunctioning of the WUA and for too long the management board has been operating outside WUA by-laws that cause the former secretary to resign since almost every member of WUA is ignorant of the rules and procedures with regard to the management of this WUA, where it is clearly stated in Chapter 111.F Section 9 Election to the General Assembly or the management board where it is mentioned that no one who was convicted of a crime is eligible to be a member of the management board.
Furthermore, according to Section 18 page 18 – D of the Professional Management Board, states that no hired staff member shall be a member of the General Assembly or management board but this WUA has a member who received a monthly salary, a stipend monthly and monthly gas and cell phone bills.
It was recently mentioned by officials who do not want their names to be mentioned that there will be a new General Assembly and management board sometime in September, 2013 which will pave the way for the auditing of this Charity-Zorg-en-Vlygt WUA.
At this meeting, two officials from the Ministry of Agriculture were in attendance and rice farmers within the service area of the WUA where the secretary of the WUA presented a report for proposed works to be carried out by the WUA management board.
After the secretary had finished reading the report, several questions and queries were raised in relation to box kokers blocking up with dry coconut branches, weeds etc, blocking of trenches and works done on access dams, maintenance, labour rates, etc.
What was surprising, when I was allowed to give a brief comment on what the secretary had reported, but before I made my comment, I asked if there was a copy of the delegation agreement and the WUA’s by-laws but only the Chairman and the Vice-Chairman had copies . No other member from the 43 villages that make up the WUA had never seen or read the by-laws since the formation in November, 2006.
I made my comment on malfunctioning of the WUA and for too long the management board has been operating outside WUA by-laws that cause the former secretary to resign since almost every member of WUA is ignorant of the rules and procedures with regard to the management of this WUA, where it is clearly stated in Chapter 111.F Section 9 Election to the General Assembly or the management board where it is mentioned that no one who was convicted of a crime is eligible to be a member of the management board.
Furthermore, according to Section 18 page 18 – D of the Professional Management Board, states that no hired staff member shall be a member of the General Assembly or management board but this WUA has a member who received a monthly salary, a stipend monthly and monthly gas and cell phone bills.
It was recently mentioned by officials who do not want their names to be mentioned that there will be a new General Assembly and management board sometime in September, 2013 which will pave the way for the auditing of this Charity-Zorg-en-Vlygt WUA.
