-challenges him to present a single case

Minister of Housing and Water Irfaan Ali on Friday declared that government has not discriminated against any community on the East Coast Demerara with respect to the provision of water supply and house lot distribution.

The minister was denying a charge levelled by PNCR Leader Robert Corbin during the television programme ‘Facing the Nation’ on Channel Six, in which he stated that the Bare Root, Paradise and Victoria communities on the East Coast Demerara have been discriminated against in relation to house lot distribution and services.

The minister said he did not have a problem if the Leader of the Opposition raised concerns about the levels of distribution in the areas, but since he claimed that it was a discriminatory practice then the issue was of serious concern, the Government Information Agency (GINA) reported.

And it quoted Ali as saying, “If we are serious as politicians then we will have to address issues on their merit. We have made it very clear that our policies at GWI and the Ministry of Housing and the government in general have nothing to do with discrimination. We believe in equitable development across the board.”

The minister further contended that Corbin went to Paradise, Victoria and Bare Root and raised concerns about discrimination in water supply to these areas, but the fact is that there is a comprehensive document and analysis of every single village in this country as it relates to the level of services received from GWI.

Ali said his ministry was not satisfied with the level of services supplied to the area but asserted that it was not discrimination.

“We have just concluded the review of the Paradise network and we are trying to source $35 million to upgrade the distribution system and service network to improve the delivery of water in Bare Root… Mr Corbin may be aware of this… In another week we are spending $31 million in Bare Root to upgrade the distribution network to bring a better quality and level of service to the people. So in a week’s time that contract would be signed,” the minister stated.

Moreover, he said, his ministry is currently spending $4.6 million on service connections and upgrades to improve the efficiency and delivery of water supply to the Victoria area.

“In these three villages alone we are spending approximately $40 million and we have a projected $20 million in addition to spend at Paradise that will see the higher levels of service delivery in these areas… It upsets me when the Leader of the Opposition would try to create an impression that the way we are administering is a discriminatory method,” the housing minister said.

Meanwhile, Ali challenged Corbin to present one case to his ministry where an individual had been discriminated against as it related to house lot distribution.

“We have a mechanism, if he is convinced that this is the scenario, he has the ability and the necessary clout to bring those cases to the ministry for us to deal with but do not sit on national television and mislead people by making a political statement just to frustrate the system… We have budgeted resources to upgrade the system in those areas and some of the work has already started and contracts are signed for next week. Work in Bare Root should commence by the end of next week,” Ali said.

In addition, he said that work conducted by the Guyana Water Inc and his ministry was not based on political, religious, or ethnic background but on decisions based on policy, principle, equity and transparency.