The president of the single water authority of Guadeloupe, with notoriously degraded service, announced his resignation on Tuesday for reasons “personal and political” while difficulties with the drinking water and sanitation network continue in the archipelago.
“It was a poisoned chalice”declared Jean-Louis Francisque about his three years spent at the head of the Joint Water and Sanitation Management Union of Guadeloupe (SMGEAG), created in 2021 to try to put an end to decades of failure.
“If we redo history, the union was doomed to failure but we must still note that work was carried out and certain subjects were able to find answers”he continued, recognizing that he remained “still a lot to do”.
Water cuts and shortages
For months, the SMGEAG has been under pressure from the State due to “failures” accountants, according to the prefecture of Guadeloupe. As a result, Paris only paid eight million euros in June, then an additional three at the beginning of October out of the 20 million euros in aid planned for 2024.
Since its creation in 2021 to replace the multiple local water authorities in Guadeloupe, the SMGEAG, which has not been helped by decades of deleterious management and underinvestment, has multiplied the difficulties which regularly lead to cuts and shortages. of water.
According to the Guadeloupean Water Office, more than 60% of the water circulating in the Guadeloupean drinking water network is lost before reaching the taps.
These problems are regularly singled out in Paris: in March, experts mandated by the UN Human Rights Council called on it to guarantee access to drinking water in Guadeloupe, while that associations have contacted the European Committee of Social Rights.
