MINISTER of Housing and Water, Collin Croal, on Saturday, commissioned a $20M upgraded water distribution system in St. Ignatius, Lethem, Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) much to the satisfaction of residents who will now receive a minimum of 12 hours of service per day.

He was joined by Regional Chairman, Brian Allicock; Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) Hinterland Services Director, Ramchand Jailall; Toshao, William Laurentino, and other residents.
The upgrade saw the installation of four-inch transmission mains to provide an adequate volume of water to feed the network and the interconnecting of three wells which will now serve the entire village.

A total of 4km of four-inch PVC transmission main and 500 meters of two-inch PVC lines were installed, which will now enable a total of 125 residents to now access water for the first time.
The level of service had since increased threefold at the high points of the network.

During the commissioning ceremony, Minister Croal lauded the contractor, Romesh Kissoon of R. Kissoon Contracting Services, for the timely delivery of the project.
He noted that the timely delivery is reflective of how the government operates in terms of fulfilling its commitment to communities across the country.

“Our future is in the hands of a well-educated generation and whose social well-being is taken care of in every aspect. I’m pleased to see more than 100 families now benefitting from potable water which is a basic necessity,” Minister Croal added.

Meanwhile, according to Croal, from August 1, 2021, GWI will be paying for the electricity supply of the water system, thus easing the financial burden on the village council.
This now means that the council can channel its resources to another development project. Touching on other development in Region Nine, the Housing Minister spoke of the villages of Toka, Katoonarib, Potarinau, and Parikwarinau, which have all benefited from new water distribution systems and the construction of a new $23M GWI/ housing office in Lethem, which will ensure improved services.

“We are ensuring that water is delivered to every household as outline in the Millennium Development Goals, we will continue in our effort to match hinterland development with those on the coastland,” Minister Croal added.

He implored residents to play their part in safeguarding the water infrastructure, noting that far too often breakages and leakages result in losses and defective services.
Also, the Hinterland Service Director, Jailall, spoke about investments being made in Region Nine to improve the lives of residents.

“This village has grown and, over the years, the service we offer has improved, and we continue to improve. We want to celebrate the fact that three wells are now interconnected to better supply this community,” he said.

Jailall explained that this new system is also designed to ensure there is little to no disruption in services when there is a need for maintenance.
Meanwhile, as the contractor, Romesh Kissoon, promised a month ago, he handed over ten electronic tablets to school children and a complete computer system to the village council.