interior

Water service defended

The Archdiocese of Panama has come to the defense of Priest Pablo Kasuboski, who has been accused of mismanaging a private water system in the community of Tortí.

According to a statement released yesterday by the archdiocese, “Kasuboski has worked for 20 years promoting social works such as construction of roads, housing, water supply systems, health centers, schools and chapels.”

Kasuboski is the director of the Fundación Parque Natural San Francisco, which operates the water system in Tortí, in the district of Chepo. He has been criticized for the way the entity bills its customers and for his involvement in land transactions that have ended up in court.

The archdiocese defended his role in the land dispute, and said that the water system does not charge unreasonable fees. While its rate to install a water meter, $115, is about twice that charged by the government, the archdiocese said that rates are determined by “users who meet in public.”

According to Kasuboski, the foundation needs to collect money to purchase land in the Río Cucuyal basin to ensure that the system has access to clean water.

Critics have complained that the government should be running the water service and have questioned whether health requirements are being met.

Kasuboski's supporters, on the other hand, argue that given the government’s track record of providing services to rural communities, they would probably not have water without the foundation.