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9. Opportunity should be taken of the re-organization of the administration of the Waterworks office to put upon a proper basis the method by which payment is made for water consumed. As from 1st January 1927-the year of the first existing Public Works Loan-the Colony's water should be price costed. A valuation should be put upon the value at that date of the waterworks- reservoirs, machinery, land etc. To the cost of interest and sinking fund charges in respect of the 1927 and subsequent loans for water- works should be added all incidental expenses that are incurred in delivering water to the individual, e.g., salaries, pensions, and passages of staff, maintenance of office buildings, etc., etc. It will then be possible to see exactly how much it costs to produce a gallon of water. This gallon of water should be sold as a commercial article; sufficient being charged to cover its cost of production. As a corollary there will be no water rate,— except for water required for public purposes such as street cleansing,--no free allowance, and the rider main system will have to be abandoned.
10. Before dealing with the remaining sub-departments in detail there are certain general recommendations which concern them all. The first in fact will affect all Govern- ment departments. That is that the financial year be altered from 1st January-31st December to 1st April-31st March. For accounting and ordinary administration purposes the dates are immaterial, but from the engineering standpoint they are most important. The winter months October to March are the dry months and hence the best building months. Whether it is building a new house or re-decorating an old one, building a road or cutting down a hill, the work can best be done when a continuous spell of fine weather can be relied on. In tendering, the contractor takes into his calculation the number of wet days there are likely to be, when no work is being done by his workmen who have to be paid all the same. But a more serious objection is that with the financial year ending on 31st December all maintenance contracts automatically come to an end. Work stops right in the middle of the dry season. If the same contractor gets the contract for the succeed- ing year all is well, but that is by no means the rule-quite rightly. The result is that several valuable days or even weeks are lost. The change over would not be difficult, whereas the saving would be considerable.
11. Another general recommendation is that the system of direct labour and the execution of small works by the various departments of the Public Works Department should be extended. Direct labour is used by the Roads Maintenance, the Waterworks and the Electrical departments, and a commencement has been made with the repairing of Government furniture at the Government store. This system should be extended. Wherever there is a steady demand for a standard article such as a door or a chair, or where there is a continuous stream of minor repairs, whether it be to a grating or to a motor car, it is cheaper to employ direct labour. It is only when there is an intermittent demand that the advantage lies with the "tender" system. A word of warning must how- ever be added. Strict control should be exercised to ensure that under the guise of direct casual labour, there is not included personnel which should appear in and be paid from Personal Emoluments. Another irregular proceeding of a somewhat similar nature is the inclusion in the Estimates under Loan Works of permanent staff engaged on loan works. Such staff should be shown under the Personal Emoluments sub-head of the department to which they belong.
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12. On the subject of tenders and contracts the Commissioners have three recom- mendations to make. The first is that the list of contractors should be kept by the Chairman of the Tender Board, under whose control and custody should also be the tender box (at present it is with the Chief Clerk at the Secretariat); the box to be opened only in his presence and that of one other member of the Board. Secondly, that tenders for large contracts should be called for in three successive issues of the Government Gazette. This will ensure that all who wish to tender will have the opportunity of so doing. Thirdly, that where a penalty is incurred by a contractor the matter should be reported to the Board, which after consideration of the circumstances would make recommendations to the Government. It must be remembered that money due to Government under a penalty is public money and should not be remitted except with the authority of the Governor in Council. It is understood that the system of payment of a bonus to à contractor for work completed in good time has recently been adopted in the Public Works Department. The Commissioners endorse the system.
18. It was said in paragraph 11 that where there is an intermittent demand the "tender" system is more advantageous. This applies equally to personnel. If there is a