Havana/Regarding water supply and management, Cuba is a minefield of problems. Antonio Rodríguez, president of the National Institute of Hydraulic Resources (INRH), knows this well, who appeared on the program Desde la Presidency, broadcast this Friday and presented by Miguel Díaz-Canel, to give an account of the precarious situation of the Island. main problems: fuel shortage, lack of budget to access technologies and – as cannot be missing from official programs – the blocking.
The fourth broadcast of this emulation of the Chavista Hello President began with the listing, by the president, of numerous complaints about leaks, pipes, supply and sanitation in various locations in the country. According to a survey of “more than 7,100 opinions (…) only 10% have a favorable view of the work carried out by the Institute of Hydraulic Resources,” he said, and gave the manager the starting shot.
For his part, Rodríguez did not deny the “opinions of the population” and recognized that many of the problems facing the Institute could be solved “if the fuel improves a little.” “Until the month of September (2023), we had been able to allocate 85% of the fuel from the operational plan, with which we were able to undertake an important group of tasks, although not all of the ones we wanted. In October we could only be given 57% of fuel, in November 32% and in December 59%,” the engineer said.
With the drop in monthly deliveries to the institution, the INRH had to prioritize fuel for water chlorination
With the drop in monthly deliveries to the institution, the INRH had to prioritize fuel for water chlorination and the replacement and repair of equipment, he explains. These activities consume about 36% of the allocation, which in the first quarter of this year did not exceed 41%, so the fuel destined for other efforts, such as supplying tanker trucks, repairing leaks, works in conductors or the sanitation of pits was reduced to a minimum.
Regarding this last service, the numbers offered by Rodríguez are not good either. “In December 2022 we had about 2,500 reported graves. Today we are at about 9,900. In other words, it is real that the population feels that cleaning graves is a problem. In the same year we had only 900 obstructions in the country, which today amount to 2,900,” said the manager who regretted not having “the equipment to deal with both the cleaning of pits and the obstructions.”
Regarding the leaks, he added that the provinces with the worst situation are Havana, Santiago de Cuba and Granma. The number of these reports is 5,300 throughout the Island, more than double that of two years ago, when there were 2,500.
The manager clarified that, although the Institute has a great need for equipment and spare parts, the root of the problem lies in the inability to import the necessary resources. “This year, 1,231 teams have already entered, we haven’t had that for many years, and they have cost the country around 15 million pesos,” he said, and stressed that the Institute’s losses in the last four years were “due to the fault” of the United States embargo amount to 29 million dollars. “If we had those 29 million we would have reserve equipment for maintenance and spare parts,” he highlighted.
Another common complaint of the population, Díaz-Canel recalled, is the lack of coordination that exists between the Electrical Union (UNE) and the Institute, which causes that at the time the supply is scheduled in many communities they cannot receive the service for the blackouts. “With the energy contingency we have had days in which between 70% and 76% of the affected population is affected because there was no power,” said the president.
Rodríguez assured that the institution maintains a close link with the UNE and that at all times the priority is the water service
In relation to this issue, Rodríguez assured that the institution maintains a close link with the UNE and that at all times the priority is the water service, although they also discuss the impact of the pumps, because “it cannot be that they are burning.” the teams”. What happens, he explains, is that many communities do not depend on the INRH driver system, but are connected to other organizations such as Azcuba, which belong to Agriculture.
“Of the 11 million Cubans, the Higher Organization of Business Management (OSDE) for Water and Sanitation serves 8.8 million. Therefore, there are 2.2 million who benefit from
Agriculture and other organizations. According to the manager, this represents a problem, since these entities do not have the equipment, personnel or parts to respond to breaks and failures in the system. However, he made the reservation, there is “a transfer program” through which the INRH has incorporated 470 aqueducts on the Island into its management.
Rodríguez gave an example of the case of the Isla de la Juventud where, he says, several communities are in charge of other organizations that do not have a pumping system. “The priority is to pass that bomb to those communities that are served by other organizations” with the program to change the energy matrix, with which the country has begun to replace equipment that runs on fuel with other electric ones that use photovoltaic energy.
With the first import, 722 pieces of equipment of this type were brought, of which 585 are already in operation and another 100 are being installed and must be available before April 15. “These, along with 144 more pieces of equipment that arrived to us, should improve supply for more than 440,000 people. We still have 170,000 people who have not benefited but, through a loan – of which the State is the guarantor – 365 larger pieces of equipment have arrived that will improve the service for 1.4 million people,” the manager promised.
Rodríguez acknowledged that many towns on the Island receive water through tanker truck service and that supply cycles can take up to 90 days in those communities, but he once again blamed the shortage of fuel and resources to resolve these claims.
Another “reprehensible” issue, as the president described it, is the sale of water pipes “by the drivers,” when that water was intended for other communities. The manager, however, washed his hands of the INRH and alleged that, even when these complaints are made, the population does not provide the registration number of the pipe, so many of these “businesses” go unpunished. “Then you see the piperos selling water from 500 to 2,000 pesos and nothing happens,” said Díaz-Canel.
“Water charging is a decisive issue for us,” Rodríguez added.
“Water charging is a decisive issue for us,” Rodríguez added. “Today only 16% of water bills are charged by Transfermóvil, although last year we were at 8%. We have places like Havana, which amounts to 38%, but we have to increase the use of these channels. Even in the bankization of our workers, in the OSDE we are at 85%, but in Water and Sanitation it does not exceed 40%,” lamented the manager.
Rodríguez made one last mention of the supply crisis in Las Tunas, which has been reported by both the official and independent press. As he explained, several pumping equipment was repaired or imported to be transported to the province, and another 12 that they want to acquire abroad, “the letter of credit could not be opened to be able to bring them,” he acknowledged. The president, for his part, attributed the situation to “the currency liquidity problems” caused by the blocking.
The manager also said he felt “very supported” by the Union of Military Industries, which this year helped in the acquisition of 98,000 meter meters, which will be dedicated to replacing the more than 66,000 that are broken in the country and the rest will be installed in the areas where drought is common and “water cannot be lost.”
For Rodríguez, the problem that suffocates Cubans who expect stability in the water supply is only one: “We have pumping equipment, we have the raw materials, we have the pipes, we have the factory and we have the personnel,” so it is fuel which limits service. For this summer, when the manager already foresees a “situation” with energy, it is likely that the service will be worse.
