G2K calls on Government to Remove Tax on Water Efficient Devices

THE YOUNG professional affiliate of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) Generation 2000 has made a call for water-efficient products to receive tax exemption in light of the current water crisis and drought facing the country.

Speaking yesterday at a press conference at the JLP headquarters on Belmont Road, president of the G2K, Matthew Samuda, said that the tax exemption would serve as an incentive for adherence to the national water-conservation policy. He was making the suggestion along with a raft of other

recommendations that he said should be implemented to deal with the water shortage.

Other suggestions made by the young professional affiliate include legislation to govern the mandatory harvesting requirements, minimum standards for water supply devices that include the use of water-conservation equipment, and incentivising adherence to the national water policy.

"No construction project should be approved without an adequate plan for water harvesting for any public or business place, exempt more water-efficient devices, including, but not limited to, water-efficient toilets and urinals, water-harvesting devices and associated materials, water-storage devices, water-reuse and recycling devices. We believe these must be exempt from GCT," he said.

Late payments

He also noted that National Water Commission suppliers are not being paid in a timely manner.

"There are reports reaching us here at Belmont Road of some suppliers, who are third-party contractors, not being paid for a very long time, in some cases from last year," he said.

Samuda decried what he called the absence of Minister of Water and Environment, Robert Pickersgill, and said that the increased water restrictions displays a lack of leadership and planning on the part of the Government given that the drought is a regular occurrence.