GUYANA Water Incorporated (GWI) Managing-Director, Dr Richard Van-West Charles, says the recent attack on its disconnection team and the company’s transport vehicle is a “lawless” act which “cannot be accepted.”
The attack occurred on March 15 in Buxton-Friendship and resulted in the destruction of a vehicle transporting six GWI workers by means of arson by an irate resident, whose meter the workers aimed to disconnect.
At a press conference on Friday at the GWI headquarters, it was revealed that the workers, namely Christopher Semple, Lennox Douglas, Claremont Cato, Tevin Howard, Richard Kilkenny and Kevin Blair, were forced to flee the scene in fear for their lives.

A scary experience
According to the managing-director, on the previous day, (March 14), a crew of GWI’s staff was on Company Road, Friendship, East Coast Demerara, carrying out disconnections when an altercation with a resident obstructed the work of the crew members.
The following day (March15), the workers returned, but were approached by the irate resident from the other side of Company Road. The resident then sprayed the interior and exterior of the company’s transport vehicle with gasoline from a soda bottle.
Van-West Charles says the man, Dexroy Todd, who also wielded a cutlass, then lit his cigarette lighter and set the vehicle ablaze, prompting a swift escape from the crew members who were both surprised and shaken.
According to Kevin Blair: “It was something that none of us expected…everybody panicked and ran…we didn’t look back, we just ran.”
The crew workers then went to the Vigilance Police Station, where they reported the matter.
The managing-director says the vehicle had been severely damaged to the point that is has to be “written off.”
“This matter cannot be tolerated by anyone. This level of lawlessness will not and must not intimidate the work of GWI…all of our citizens must stand up against this type of lawlessness in our country.
“GWI in its quest has to continue to disconnect, has to continue to get into the villages to be able to conduct repairs of leaks, etcetera. But, it has to be in partnership with the community,” Van-West Charles said.

GWI under attack
He added that the action of disconnections was not specific to the community of Buxton and the GWI was widely known to conduct disconnections and checks country-wide for the efficiency of the company.
“It is inevitable that one would see this activity across the country in all of the regions, nothing specific to the village of Buxton, nothing specific to any one geographic area, or one ethnic or religious grouping,” he clarified.
Just two months ago, the company engaged in a meeting with the Buxton-Friendship community, which is $34M in debt to the GWI, on matters affecting the community and possible improvements.
However, Van-West Charles did point out that the company had been experiencing a number of repeated attacks, primarily in the East Coast region.
“What is strange is that basically these attacks are on the East Coast. Last year, we had about four of these, but the thing is the attacks are not simple attacks, the attacks are violent attacks.
“Last year one staff member, an engineer, actually withdrew from the service because of the attacks of working with GWI…decided that the risk was too high for him,” he told.

Police Involvement
Currently, the matter is being investigated by the police who are preparing themselves to take the necessary action in accordance with the law, the managing-director updated.
He said too that wherever the company decides that there is a high risk of altercation, the police will be informed through GWI’s security consultants, requesting their presence.
“The police force has committed its support to working with us in this venture and we shall proceed to ensure that we respond to the mission of this organisation in providing a better service for all of our citizens,” he concluded.