THE Guyana Water Inc. (GWI) has granted water concessions to the country’s 17 indigent homes and 22 orphanages.
According to a release from the GWI, during a meeting with representatives from the organisations on Christmas Eve, Managing Director of GWI Dr. Richard Van-West Charles said they will enjoy a 50 per cent rebate on every occupant’s consumption.
He explained that GWI is aware of some of the economic challenges and hardships these homes and orphanages face and following discussions with the Board of Directors and the Public Utilities Commission, GWI took this decision to cushion their operating expenses. “This is part of the quality of life which the President speaks of”, Dr. Van West-Charles noted, adding that utility company is working to ensure potable water access is readily available to all.
According to GWI, the Managing Director assured that the concession is a policy decision that was passed with the blessing of the board and authorisation of the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) and therefore it will be valid under any new management of the utility, unless a move is made to reverse same. Executive Director of Commercial Services and Customer Relations, Marlon Daniels, expressed his delight in the position taken by management to grant the concessions. This, he said, articulates good corporate governance on the part of company. “The decision to grant water supply concessions can be seen in the similar vein as that granted to pensioners and signals the commitment of the water company, as a serious stakeholder within the fabric of society”, Mr. Daniels posited.
GWI said that it has assigned a minimum daily per capita consumption of 220 litres (0.220m3).
It explained that the concession is 50 per cent of the expected daily per capita consumption (110 litres per person per day) to all qualifying institutions. Each institution will be assessed at the applicable residential tariff. The water supply concession rate, GWI said, will be applied retroactively from December 1, 2019. Daniels further explained that there are to pre-conditions to qualify for the concession. Among them is that each organisation must be metered and their occupancy levels must be up-to-date and communicated with GWI at all times.
Based on information received from the regions and database records, there are seventeen (17) orphanages across all regions with a total population of four hundred and sixty-six (466) occupants. Historically, GWI has never placed such institutions in a specifically-defined customer category. Besides the orphanages, there are 22 other indigent homes that care for the elderly. These 22 homes have a total population of 698. The representatives of the homes expressed their gratitude for the gesture taken by GWI, noting that it will benefit them tremendously.
