Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) yesterday launched a countrywide “Stamp out Tampering” campaign that will see it offer financial rewards for reports about tampering with service equipment such as water meters or illegal connections.
The campaign will reward customers with $1000 per report, which will go towards their GWI account. Customers can also make as many reports as possible to the GWI customer service hotline.
Speaking at the press conference held yesterday by the company, Director of Customer Service and Commercial Relations Earle Aaron said that customers are invited to participate in the campaign, and they would not be required to give a name or any form of identification except their GWI account number when reporting illegal connections or tampering. Each call, according to Aaron, is treated with the strictest confidentiality and once the illegal connection report is verified, the customer’s account would be credited with the reward.
Aaron also stated that the company is more concerned about the risks that illegal connections pose to the health of customers rather than the significant amount of revenue lost. He said “in excess of 30,000 customers on our database have been disconnected for non-payment but have never visited an office to have their service reconnected.” Aaron added, “we are losing valuable revenue since these customers have illegally reconnected their service.” Illegal connections can cause safe water to be contaminated, thereby affecting the health of the delinquent customer and all customers served by the network, he further noted.
Reconnection fees for domestic customers who are disconnected start at $25,000, while business customers will have to pay a fee of $50,000. Chief Executive and Director of Corporate Services Nigel Niles, in his address at the press conference, appealed to customers to make contact with GWI to report persons who are engaged in illegal activities.
Meanwhile, GWI’s Manager of Scientific Services Donna Canterbury reiterated that customers with illegal connections must be cognisant that they are putting their health as well as the health of others at risk of contracting diseases by their actions, according to a press release issued by GWI.
GWI customers can report tampering and illegal service connections on telephone numbers 227-8701/03/04.
