Govt commissions $20M water distribution system at St Ignatius

Housing and Water Minister, Collin Croal on Saturday commissioned a $20 million water distribution system at St Ignatius, Lethem, Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo). He was joined by Regional Chairman Brian Allicock, Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) Hinterland Services Director, Ramchand Jailall; Toshao William Laurentino and villagers.
A contract to the tune of $20 million was inked just over a week ago for the upgrading of the water distribution system in the community. The upgrade saw the installation of a four-inch transmission main to provide an adequate volume of water to feed the network and the interconnecting of three wells, which will now serve the entire village.

A total of four kilometres of four-inch PVC transmission mains and 500 metres of two-inch PVC lines were installed, which will now see some 125 residents accessing water for the first time. With the completion of the upgrade, residents have reported that the level of service has since increased drastically.
This major upgrade will ensure residents now receive a minimum of 12 hours of service per day.
On the occasion, Minister Croal lauded the contractor, Romesh Kissoon of R Kissoon Contracting Services for the timely delivery of the project. He noted that this is reflective of how the Government operates in terms of fulfilling its commitment to communities across the country.
“Our future is in the hands of a well-educated generation and whose social well-being is taken care of in every aspect. I’m pleased to see more than 100 families now benefitting from potable water which is a basic necessity,” the Minister stated.
The Minister also announced that to bring better service delivery, as of August 1, 2021, GWI will be paying for the electricity supply for the water system, thus easing the financial burden on the Village Council. This now means the Council can channel its resources to other development projects.
Touching on other development in Region Nine, the Minister spoke of the villages of Toka, Katoonarib, Potarinau, and Parikwarinau which have all benefited from new water distribution systems and the construction of a new $23 million GWI/housing office in Lethem, to ensure improved services.
“We are ensuring that water is delivered to every household as outlined in the Millennium Development Goals. We will continue in our efforts to match hinterland development with those on the coastland.”

The Minister also implored residents to play their part in safeguarding the water infrastructure. He noted that far too often breakage and leakage result in losses and defective services.
He added, “Cabinet recently give it’s no object for a Community Service Officer to be assigned to the water system and oversee its operation in every village”.
Also, Hinterland Service Director Jailall in his comments on the occasion spoke to investments being made in Region Nine to improve the lives of residents.
“This village has grown and over the years the service we offer has improved, and we continue to improve. We want to celebrate the fact that three wells are now interconnected to better supply this community,” said Jailall.
He explained that this new system is so designed to ensure there is little to no disruption in services when there is a need for maintenance. Meanwhile, as promised, when the contract was signed a month ago, the contractor, Romesh Kissoon delivered on his promise and handed over ten electronic tablets to school children and a complete computer system to the Village Council.
Following the commissioning, Regional Chairman Allicock expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the Ministry of Housing and Water and the Guyana Water Inc for the numerous tangible investments in the region over the past few months.
“Our region is leading in terms of development, and this is as a result of a Government that is committed to equal infrastructure development,” said the Regional Chairman.