THE Guyana Water Inc. (GWI) yesterday announced the appointment of a new Chairman, Board of Directors, and Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
The new GWI Board of Directors consists of the following appointees:

Nigel Hinds                     –      Chairperson
Charles Ceres                    –   Member
Emil McGarrell                   –    Member
David Dewar                       –  Member
Christina Bissessar              – Member
Savitri Singh-Sharma          – Member
Ryan Belgrave                     – Member
Patricia Chase-Green           – Member
Samantha Fedee                  – Member

A GWI release has said that newly-appointed Chairman, Nigel Hinds, CPA, possesses vast experience in Guyana’s financial sector, being the founder and Chief Executive of Nigel Hinds Financial Services.

Dr. Richard Van West-Charles, MD, MPH, former Minister within the Health, Housing, Water and Environment sectors, has been appointed chief executive officer from October 1, 2015.
The release says that Dr. Van West-Charles has wide ranging experience in the area of public health, including being responsible for research and bioethics.  He is the former Academic Dean of St. Helen University Medical School and Health Sciences in St. Lucia; Special Advisor on partnerships with the international financial institutions at the World Health Organization (WHO); Area Manager for information and knowledge management at PAHO/WHO; as well as PAHO/WHO Representative for Jamaica, the Cayman Islands and Bermuda, among other distinguished appointments.

Dr Van West-Charles is a Doctor of Medicine with a Master of Public Health from the University of Michigan and a Certificate in Health Economics from the University of Aberdeen in Scotland.
He also holds a Bachelor of Science Degree from McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, and has other qualifications in Leadership and Social Development.

Addressing the GWI Corporate Management Team on Friday, October 2, the chief executive said that access to safe, potable water is a priority on his list of areas for attention.  “Without a healthy society, we cannot achieve the Guyana we are hoping to build,” he declared. “Paramount to maintaining good public health is access to safe water.  Hence this area, along with water-quality and GWI’s financial viability, are key issues I will be addressing immediately,” he announced.

The Corporate Management Team of GWI congratulated the newly-appointed chief executive and expressed their commitment to providing improved services through GWI.