Residents of De Willem Housing Scheme, West Coast Demerara, are now able to access treated potable water, and electricity after the intervention of the Minister within the Ministry of Housing and Water.
During a visit to the community on Wednesday, Minister Susan Rodrigues stated that the temporary fix involved getting an intermediate feed of treated water from the Zeeburg water distribution network, which is in turn being sourced from the Uitvlugt treatment water plant. She added that a more permanent solution is to have a direct connection to the Uitvlugt water treatment plant, which she revealed, will come in a few months’ time.
Additionally, the community will now be connected to the Guyana Power and Light’s (GPL) main lines, and the next step is for residents to apply for home connections. The housing scheme’s population is estimated at over 260 residents. However, because the utilities were lacking not everyone chose to reside in the area; also for land owners who are yet to construct their homes, a similar reason was offered for their reluctance. Rodrigues said that it is hoped that now residents can take advantage of the changes and begin their construction. The minister and her team also visited residents of Golden Grove, East Coast Demerara and neighbouring villages; a meeting was held at the community centre which allowed residents to share their concerns. This meeting was initiated after an earlier visit by President Irfaan Ali and Rodrigues.
The minister’s meeting with the community dealt with issues pertaining to outstanding housing applications and water issues. Rodrigues, on addressing the issue of water, stated that what was being delivered to the community was not only untreated, it also had a high iron content. The minister explained that as a temporary fix, officials will implement flushing of the lines on a regular basis in order to keep the lines clear. She also stated that the issue of leaks is currently being addressed. Once the network is fixed the level of service will improve as well as the quality of the water, Rodrigues added.
Regarding house lot applications, Rodrigues disclosed that the Ministry is presently engaged in sorting applications in the system and at the same time conducting a cleansing of the list to arrive at a true figure of the total number of applicants. She further explained that they are working to address issues such as migrants who would have applied but now reside abroad, applicants who are now deceased and individuals who would have applied while single but are now married. As of last year, a total of 3,600 allocations were made from over 70,000 applications.
Rodrigues also made a donation of sports equipment to a young villager who had previously engaged the president on the matter.
