“Patience is required” – Croal on improving access to treated water countrywide

…access to potable water increased to 97.3% – Rodrigues

Housing and Water Minister Collin Croal is calling on the Guyanese population to have “patience” as Government continues to make the necessary investments in the infrastructure that will improve the country’s access to treated water.
“When we get off of work in the afternoon, we want to be able to turn on the tap on in our yard or at our kitchen sink and must have running water 24 hours – that is what we desire. Your Government is on the path to ensuring that will happen; however, patience is required because we have started the investments already,” Croal said at the Housing Ministry’s closing press conference for 2023 on Wednesday.
Among these investments are the construction of seven new treatment plants that are underway and another five that are being tendered for as well as the upgrading of existing plants and new filter systems.
Moreover, Government has completed seven new wells since 2020 to the tune of $7 million. Additionally, 14 other wells are being drilled on the coastland – a $1.4 billion investment. Another 24 new wells are on the cards for the next year and a half on the coastland.
These interventions, along with other interventions including in the hinterland, will see Guyana achieving 90 per cent access to treated water by 2025. Currently, this figure is at 55 per cent.
The Housing and Water Minister explained that the real progress by the Government will start to be seen in the first half of this year through major upgrades to the water system.
“We’ve only achieved three per cent since we’re in office and that is because the investment that is required. It’s not like you just drill a well, and you see changes. These are huge infrastructures. So, you have seven new treatment plants, for which as I said by the first half of this year you will start seeing those completion. And with each one of those treatment plants, you also have new wells that are drilled to supply those plants.”
“You have five new major treatment plants, as I said that are being tendered now. So, in reality that should be completed by the end of next year, because we’ll be pushing the contractor for the end of 2025…So that’s why I asked for patience by our residents, villagers and homeowners, because we have already set on stream the investment that is required to bring the level of satisfactory service that we all desire,” Croal posited.
Over the past three years, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government has expended over $26 billion in the water sector and while these are aimed at achieving 90 per cent treated water by 2025, it also places the country on track to meet the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6, to ensure access to water and sanitation for all by 2030.
According to Croal, the $26 billion investment since 2020 is a 234 per cent increase over the amount spent over the five years under the coalition Government.

“Total mess”
In fact, Minister within the Housing and Water Ministry, Susan Rodrigues pointed out during the press conference that the Guyana Water Inc (GWI) was in a “total mess” – both infrastructure and finances – when the PPP/C assumed office.
“The company is now, and I am pleased to report, is now in a stable and solid financial position. There is no bank overdraft, there are no outstanding debt to suppliers, we have solid bank accounts, we are constructing a new office, we have invested in the training of our employees, we have increased salaries for technical staff, we have invested in protective gear, in new rigs to drill wells in house which saves us a lot of money, we have been enhancing our capabilities across the sector,” she stated.
According to Rodrigues, Government’s investment in the sector has provided access to water to more than 35,000 citizens across the country within the last three years. She revealed that, “Access to potable water currently stands at 97.3 per cent, that’s nationally, over the last three years.”
Moreover, the Minister noted that more than 435 households along the coast benefited last year from first-time access in Regions Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara), Four (Demerara-Mahaica), Five (Mahaica-Berbice), Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) and Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni).
With regard to the hinterland, access to potable water supply moved from 75 per cent at the end of 2022 to 82 per cent at the end of 2023, with the construction of more than 60 new wells. (G3)