World Bank rep says Guyana meeting targets for pure water supply countrywide
His Excellency President Bharrat Jagdeo, together with Minister of Housing and Water, Irfaan Ali, last Friday unveiled the commemorative plaque to commission the $450M water treatment plant at Lima on the Essequibo coast in Region Two. In an opening delivery at the official commissioning ceremony, Chief Executive of Guyana Water Inc. (GWI), Mr. Nigel Niles, in introducing the members of the head table, made a Freudian slip by introducing President Jagdeo as “His Excellency, Dr. Cheddi..” , which elicited loud, appreciative and prolonged applause.
He said that the Lima Water Treatment Plant will provide over 3,000 residents of neighbouring communities with clean, safe water.  Speaking of the significant investment by the Government of Guyana, Niles stressed that the initiative will further improve the quality of life for the beneficiaries of the facility.
After brief remarks by Regional Chairman, Mr. Ally Baksh, Mr. Ramchand Jailall, Director of Capital Investments and Planning of GWI, outlined the various steps of planning, funding, and implementation of the project, which was brought to a successful completion through the consolidated efforts of all players.
The World Bank co-funded the project in collaboration with the Government of Guyana, at a cost of $450 million, as development partners of this and other related projects and Mr. Paul Dowlin, Operations Analyst at the local World Bank Office, in addressing the gathering, reflected that the dearth of clean, safe water has resulted in the death of millions worldwide. He lauded the Government of Guyana and GWI for providing over 17, 000 residents of the Essequibo with clean, potable water.
He said that these initiatives are reflected in the health of a country’s people
Decrying the lack of safe water and adequate sanitation as being the world’s single largest contributor to diseases that cause millions of annual deaths globally, a story which he noted as being different in Guyana, Dowlin stated that Guyana is meeting its targets of availing its citizens of adequate pure water supply throughout the country.
He noted that 94 percent of Guyana’s population had access to an improved drinking water source – 98 percent in urban areas, and 91 percent in rural areas.
To date, these figures have improved and he quoted statistics and named projects undertaken by government, working in tandem with the World Bank, to effect the eventual realization of a hundred percent access to pure water countrywide, with the collaborative efforts of GOG and the World Bank.  He stated that the commissioning of this landmark facility marks an important achievement for the Government of Guyana and GWI in their efforts to provide potable water to Essequibians.
Dowlin concluded his address with the observation that Guyana is an Amerindian word meaning “Land of Many Waters”, and called on residents to “… give thanks for the many waters today”.
Man of the moment, Housing and Water Minister, Irfaan Ali, professed that the government’s promise to all Guyanese of a brighter future through strategies that will adopt a pro-poor approach to growth and economic development that are projected to eventuate in expanded social infrastructure to achieve the bridging of a development gap all across Guyana, with the equitable distribution of resources to the Guyanese people, are fructifying, as is evident by the commissioning of the Lima Water Treatment Plant, which he said is another step toward the fulfillment of that commitment.
Quantifying the per capita investment by government for each person who will benefit from the facility, Minister Ali estimates that the cost for each beneficiary will approximate $45,000.
He set a five-year target of 65 percent of the population having access to treated water.  He affirmed that on the coastland in Region Two ninety-five percent of the population has access to potable water, with the remaining five percent slated to receive potable water within a two-month period when the Good Hope well is commissioned.  He rated this as excellent, based on the President’s colour code rating in water distribution.
Minister Ali quoted figures and targets in the housing sector, which he also heads, to show the massive transformation in the social sector, which he stressed is attributable only to the strong commitment to people – empowerment by President Jagdeo and the PPP/C government, who and which ensured that the necessary financing was made available to enable these transformative changes in people’s lives.
President Bharrat Jagdeo said in his feature address that there is a new sense of dynamism on the Essequibo Coast because it was evident that people are enjoying a better quality of life.          He recalled days of yore when fetching water for long distances was a daily chore and reflected that, as a people, Guyanese have travelled a long road together, through difficult times.  He stated that, because of the collective effort of every community, people can now look to the future with optimism.
Explaining that Guyana now spends 40 percent of its budget on the social sector, the President stressed that the party to which he belongs ascribes to the philosophy of empowering citizens with the necessary tools for wealth creation.
While acknowledging World Bank reports that indicate Guyana’s great success in achieving pure water supply targets, the Head-of-State asserts that there is yet much more to accomplish and cited as an example a US$12M water facilitation project in Linden, Region Ten.
PPP/C General Secretary and presidential candidate, Donald Ramotar also recalled the hard years, when water had to be fetched from afar for every purpose.
It was the PPP/C government, he stressed, that embarked on a momentum of development that heralded a new and improved way of life for Guyanese citizens.
He listed access to potable water as among the essential contributors to the industrial and related growth that leads to social development.  In Region Two and other farming areas Ramotar cited the development of the processing industries as an example, whereby socio-economic development is largely dependent on a reliable supply of safe water. This, he asserted, in turn leads to persons living longer and healthier lives.  
The newly-commissioned facility has the capacity to provide five million litres of water a day for customers of Walton Hall to Queenstown.