A TOTAL of 57 servicemen and women from Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) were awarded employment contracts by the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) on Friday, paving the way for them to benefit from fixed salaries, instead of stipends, as they maintain water supply systems in their villages.

The men and women, who were selected by their respective village councils, were at the time attending a training workshop on water supply systems maintenance, hosted by GWI.

With the upgrading of many water systems in the region, the service personnel were required to be more thorough with their maintenance routines, catering to the wells, photovoltaic systems and distribution networks. As a result, GWI thought it best to further train the service staff and offer them contracts.

In his address, GWI Managing-Director Dr Richard Van-West-Charles said there has been an exponential increase in works done from 2015 to date in water and other areas. In the hinterland in 2019 alone, 22 wells were drilled, alleviating the effects experienced during the dry season. It is for this reason that human capital is important to maintain development, he said.

“GWI reviewed the arrangement for the servicemen and realised that more needed to be done to ensure successful outcomes. You will now be paid a monthly salary and be added to GWI’s payroll”, the managing-director said, much to the satisfaction of his newly added staff.

“You now have a responsibility for the health of the people in your village,” he added. The servicemen and women are also being taught to take water samples and the results of tests performed on them will be sent to the Public Utilities Commission (PUC).

Dr Van-West Charles said he looks forward to working with the newly contracted staff and seeing improvements as they relate to water and sanitation in their villages, as directed by the President of Guyana, David Granger.

Executive Director of Hinterland Services, Ramchand Jailal, noted that it is the company’s aim to have systems that can provide easy access to potable water all year long; he added that the service staff will be equipped with the requisite tools to carry out their duties.

Many of the servicemen and women expressed gratitude to GWI for bringing them on board and for the works being done in their villages to enhance their water supply and ensure convenience in access.

During the workshop, the employment contracts were handed over by Executive Director of Human Resources Management and Development, Elvis Jordan. GWI also invited representatives of the National Insurance Scheme (NIS), the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) and the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI) to assist the staff with applying for the requisite documents needed to become employees.