OVER the centuries, the world’s population has been increasing steadily while agriculture and industry have vastly expanded. Consequently, the demand for the most precious commodity – water, has sharply risen and this has put tremendous pressure on governments and agencies with the responsibility of supplying water.
Unfortunately, in many countries, particularly in the poorer countries, large numbers of people still do not have access to potable water and this has compounded social problems because of the fact that the absence of clean and safe water leads to serious hygiene and health problems.
According to UNICEF, almost fifty percent of the developing world’s population – 2.5 billion people – lack improved sanitation facilities, and over 884 million people still use unsafe drinking water sources. Inadequate access to safe water and sanitation services, coupled with poor hygiene practices, kills and sickens thousands of children every day, and leads to impoverishment and diminished opportunities for thousands more.
UNICEF further notes that poor sanitation, water and hygiene have many other serious repercussions. Children and particularly girls – are denied their right to education because their schools lack private and decent sanitation facilities. Women are forced to spend large parts of their day fetching water. Poor farmers and wage earners are less productive due to illness, health systems are overwhelmed and national economies suffer. Without WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene), sustainable development is impossible.
But while in some parts of the world people cannot access potable water, in other parts of the world large amounts of waste water are produced which, if recycled, could result in high levels of conservation and reduced costs of obtaining safe water.
While the world’s population tripled in the 20th century, the use of renewable water resources has grown six-fold. Within the next fifty years, the world population will increase by another 40 to 50%. This population growth – coupled with industrialisation and urbanisation – will result in an increasing demand for water and will have serious consequences on the environment.
Already there is more waste water generated and dispersed today than at any other time in the history of our planet: more than one out of six people lack access to safe drinking water, namely 1.1 billion people, and more than two out of six lack adequate sanitation, namely 2.6 billion people (Estimation for 2002, by the WHO/UNICEF JMP, 2004). 3,900 children die every day from water borne diseases (WHO 2004). One must know that these figures represent only people with very poor conditions. In reality, these figures should be much higher.
Against this background, one of our beverage giants – Banks DIH Ltd, must be commended for their excellent initiative in moving towards the expansion and modernisation of their water treatment system.
As such, the plant, built at a cost of US$900,000, will ensure that Banks DIH Limited, as the local bottler of Coca Cola, is compliant with the global beverage company’s environmental policies governing waste water. The cost of the facility was equally financed between Banks DIH Limited and Coca-Cola Company.
“It is important that we look at how we treat effluents. But also we have to be concerned with a bigger strategy, how we manage sources too,” President Bharrat Jagdeo exhorted when he declared open the new facility last Wednesday.

President Jagdeo correctly lauded Banks DIH Limited and beverage manufacturer Coca Cola for their corporate environmental responsibility in ensuring all waste water from the manufacturer of the iconic drink in Guyana is treated and made safe for disposal into the environment with the commissioning of a waste water treatment plant.

In addition, he called for corporations to partner with government to find environmental solutions in a world that is changing because of the effects of climate change.
Over the yearS the company has demonstrated that it is a responsible corporate citizen as it has sponsored sporting events, donated to the education system including the University of Guyana and has made numerous other contributions to uplift the social landscape of our country.
This is the sort of corporate spirit and commitment that is needed to help our country to accelerate its development programme because it has been evident world-wide that government alone cannot do it. It has to be done through a government/corporate citizen synergy.