Minister within the Ministry of Housing and Water Susan Rodrigues and a team from the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) yesterday met with residents of Lust-en-Rust, West Bank Demerara, over complaints about the inadequate supply of water in the area and the lack of access by some.
Delissa Neblett, a resident of the community, said the limited access to water has made living in the area a struggle.
She explained that residents living around her would usually have to fetch water from a stand pipe located two streets away from them.
She said some residents usually fill barrels to get water in order to cook and bathe.
The mother of two, who shared her frustration, recalled her days fetching water while pregnant.
GWI’s Executive Director of Operations Dwayne Shako said that there are two wells that are supposed to supply several areas, including Lust-en-Rust. However, one is not in operation and the utility company is working to rectify the situation in order to increase the service level in the Lust-en-Rust community.
Shako disclosed that the company was hopeful of rectifying the situation by Saturday. He said the GWI team will be working around the clock to clean the well and get it back into operation.
Neblett also informed this newspaper that the road is in need of work, and shared the troubles residents and taxi drivers face as a result, as well as the improper disposal of garbage in the community, which has caused garbage to pile up in the area.
She also voiced her concerns about persons not clearing their lands, which results in the harbouring of snakes. “There is a lot of snakes around. Up to this morning, we killed a big snake in our yard,” she said.
Neblett said, too, that when persons leave their land unoccupied and neglect to weed, the bushes that grow are being used as cover by thieves. “Sometimes we weed it but we cannot continue to do so every time,” she added.
Rodrigues noted that the roads were indeed in a deplorable state as well as those unoccupied house lots that saw the area becoming overgrown with vegetation.
Rodrigues stated that the plan is to go back to the drawing board and try to see as soon as possible what plans can be made to develop the entire scheme.
She did pledge better coordination between GWI and the Central Housing and Planning Authority to ensure that all works are going on simultaneously, leaving no agencies to play catch up.
Rodrigues assured that going forward where house lots will be allocated, the ministry will ensure that the roads are done and that GWI ensures water is distributed to all residents. “Because we don’t want residents to complain about favouritism and so on. So we don’t want any discrimination in the service that is provided to the citizens,” she said.
She noted that she was happy that she visited as it provided a better picture of the needs of the residents in the scheme. She also made a commitment to the residents to ensure that they have access to some services as soon as possible
