Dear Editor,

The People of Guyana should refuse to pay the new increases in water rates imposed by the Guyana Water Inc. It is not fair for people to continue to pay for inefficiencies and poor management at the water entity. If GWI is in need of cash, defaulters owe it huge sums which are yet to be collected.

If GWI can improve its management cutting out wastage and collecting its rates in a timely manner it can make a surplus every year after covering its expenses. There are a number of problems facing the entity which have been rolling over year after year. Leakage is rampant. A simple leak takes over three weeks to repair after countless calls to GWI. A caller would get no answer on the leak, only that the message will be passed on.

GWI cannot get its billing system correct, unlike GT&T. One month a consumer would pay eight thousand dollars on his bill, and using the same amount of water another bill would be for forty or fifty thousand dollars. Previous bill amounts are added on, despite being paid.

Then pumps break down frequently and parts have to come from overseas, so water is not flowing for months with no explanation from management.

Every year the Government of Guyana pumps billions of dollars into GWI so that there can be a good supply of water, better treated water and the service can be taken to new areas. But the government is only concerned with the amount of money poured into GWI with no result. The entity’s poor operation continues without government seeking to get an explanation.

Once management performance and efficiency are not improved at GWI, Guyanese will continue to be saddled with regular increases in the water rate to cover GWI’s poor operations. Government continues to waste taxpayers’ monies on GWI.

Yours faithfully,
Baldeo Persaud