THE United National Congress (UNC) said it was displaying “typical UNC behaviour” in clamping down on the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) attempt to disconnect customers.

In a media release issued by its public relations officer Kirk Meighoo on Saturday, it said WASA’s disconnection drive was “cruel” during a lockdown and pandemic.

It noted that pressure from its members of parliament and the public forced the authority to discontinue its drive which would have left customers without water in a weekend state curfew.

“If the UNC did not raise its voice, the PNM would have continued its programme of locking families in their homes from 7 pm on Friday, for virtually the entire weekend, without a supply of water.

“These actions by WASA constitute the most inhumane tyranny, and cruelty beyond belief.”

It further claimed that the disconnections were carried out in Chaguanas, San Juan and Barataria, targeted areas represented by the UNC and the PNM continued to ignore their concerns when questioned on several occasions in different spaces about the disconnection drive.

“Minister Marvin Gonzales and WASA’s executive chairman Lennox Sealy saw nothing wrong when objections were made by UNC MPs. They disparaged the MPs’ interventions as “typical UNC behaviour”, and doubled down on WASA’s actions in media interviews.

“There was no indication that they saw any problem, and they continued with their heartless programme. When asked in the Senate, the PNM leader of government business Clarence Rambharat, coldheartedly and flagrantly refused to answer senator Wade Mark’s question on the effect of the WASA disconnections on sanitisation during the pandemic.”

On Thursday, WASA issued a release saying its debt recovery actions began on Wednesday with the disconnection of several customers in Barataria, San Juan and Chaguanas after attempts to encourage errant customers to pay proved futile.

The UNC called the disconnection drive sickening and disgusting and chalked it up as “typical PNM behaviour.”

“Disconnecting families from their water supply, threatening to seize their homes, locking them down for approximately 48 hours from Friday at 7pm to Monday at 5am, not allowing so-called “non-essential” household heads from earning an income to pay water bills (in fact, arresting and imprisoning them if they attempt to do so), all during a pandemic when washing hands and maintaining a clean environment is crucial to saving lives in this country, is typicla PNM Behaviour. Absolutely sickening and disgusting.”

When contacted for comment about the disconnection drive which started on Wednesday Minister of Public Utilities Marvin Gonzales said WASA was back at the drawing board to find new solutions.

He told Newsday in a WhatsApp message that the disconnection drive was stopped and “I instructed the executive director to put all his focus on completing the transformation strategy and new structure for WASA for the government.

“In the meantime, customers can visit any WASA service centre or online to settle their