PRESIDENT, Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali recently commissioned a new water distribution system at Lusignan, East Coast Demerara. The well will provide thousands of people on the East Coast of Demerara with clean, safe and a reliable supply of potable water. Some 22, 000 residents of the Lusignan and Annandale communities stand to benefit from the facility which was constructed at a cost of $141M.

Speaking at the commissioning ceremony, President Ali said that the supply of potable water to the Guyanese people is high on the government’s social agenda, and that some $11 billion has been earmarked for the water sector over the next two years. This expenditure, the President said, will ensure that the entire cohort of the population on the coast and hinterland communities will have access to potable water by 2025 and 100 per cent of coastal communities having access to treated water.

In all of this, the hinterland communities are not being left behind. According to Minister of Housing and Water Colin Croal, 30 new wells will be drilled in the hinterland regions across the country this year. Since assuming office, the minister said nearly $1 billion has already been spent on hinterland wells and another $394.5 million allocated in the 2022 Budget under the Hinterland Water Supply System (HWSS). Only recently a new well was commissioned at Jawalla Region Seven, another in Kamarang and three in Region Nine in Aranaputa, Wowetta and Rupertee.

This is indeed a commendable intervention by the PPP/C Administration, especially when seen against the background of the debilitating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent flood situation which took a severe toll on the physical and social infrastructure of the country. And, as if those were not enough, the war in the Ukraine has pushed the cost of fuel and food items much higher.

Despite rising fuel prices on the international market, the President has given a commitment that water tariffs would remain the same and there would be no increases to water charges despite the recent steep increase in fuel acquisition costs. The government had previously removed value-added taxes on water and reinstated subsidies to pensioners. It will be recalled that these were removed by the previous APNU+AFC regime but was promptly reinstated by the PPP/C Administration when it assumed power on August 2020.

Globally, billions of people around the world do not have access to water, sanitation and hygiene, according to a report by the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF). And even though there has been some progress worldwide in the supply of water, the quality of that water in many cases leaves much to be desired. This is why the emphasis by the PPP/C Administration is not simply one of providing water, but ensuring that the water supplied is compliant with standards established by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Guyana has come a far way since the days when the water-distribution almost collapsed under the PNC regime. The IDB, in its 1993 Report, said that access to clean water under the then administration was severely lacking. Water service, according to the report, was erratic in the Georgetown and absent in most parts of the country.

Those who lived through that period can still relate to the days when water had to be fetched over long distances as most of the wells were dysfunctional and could not send water to individual homes.

The PPP/C has done an extraordinary job in correcting past deficiencies in the water distribution system not only on the coastal regions but in the country as a whole. Much of that success in the country’s water infrastructure is attributable to President Ali during his tenure as Minister of Housing and Water. Indeed, both housing and water can be regarded as success stories of the PPP/C Administration and is a direct result of the pro-people approach to development. The supply of potable water impact directly on the quality of life of people and in the words of President Ali, “We are going to deliver this without a single cent increase on the water tariff you are going to pay.”

These are indeed the characteristics of a caring President and administration. Development means little if it does not impact on the quality of life of the Guyanese people. And this is exactly what the economic and social agenda of the government is all about — putting people at the centre of its developmental agenda.

As more revenues are generated from our oil and gas resources in the coming period ahead, Guyanese can look forward to further improvements to their quality of life as the PPP embarks on its people-oriented approach to development.