De Willem Housing Scheme gets potable water, electricity

Residents of the De Williem Housing Scheme, West Coast Demerara (WCD), can now breathe a sigh of relief as they now have access to potable water and electricity.

The realization of this new water network and electricity comes following an intervention by the Minister within the Ministry of Housing and Water, Susan Rodrigues. Residents had complained of not being able to access electricity and potable water.

“I was shocked when I discovered that the housing scheme still did not have access to water or electricity even though it has been in existence for several years now,” Minister Rodrigues said.

She added, “The good thing is that I found that the distribution network for both the electricity as well as water was present. So, it was a matter of GPL power the line and that GWI got access so that the residents can have their individual connection.”

As it relates to the water in the community, Minister Rodrigues noted that her Ministry has already made a temporary fix to provide residents with treated water from the Zeeburg Distributing Network.

The permanent solution the Minister said is “having a direct connection to the Uitvlugt Water Treatment Plant – that would come in a few months, but as of now, they do have access to running water,” the Housing and Water Minister shared.

To benefit from the water supply, residents are required to apply for their individual service connections, upon which time the installation will occur.

Meanwhile, more than 260 house lots were allocated in the scheme, but Minister Rodrigues revealed that many persons have not started occupying these lots due to the lack of these essential utilities.

“The scheme is allocated already, but people have not taken up their house lots because they didn’t have utilities, they didn’t have access to water and electricity.”

Since these utilities are now in place, Minister Rodrigues made a special plea for allottees to begin construction and occupy their house lots.

Meanwhile, over at Golden Grove residents raised several issues spanning from pending house lot applications and the untreated water provided by the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI).

While there, residents raised several issues spanning from pending house lot applications and the untreated water provided by the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI). Minister Rodrigues told residents that an assessment done by GWI revealed that the water the community received was not treated and that there are many leaks in the distribution system.

“The ultimate solution is to have a filter to ensure that the water is treated, but the more temporary solution and something I have already implemented is flushing of the lines,” the Housing and Water Minister said.

She continued, “We have to keep flushing the lines, and we have to do it on a regular basis so that the lines can stay clear. Also, there were a lot of leaks reported, and they have already been fixed as we speak.”

Meanwhile, President Irfaan Ali has fulfilled a promise he made to youth from the Golden Grove community over the weekend.

During a ministerial outreach over the weekend, the young man made a special appeal to President Ali for sports gear. A follow-up visit was done to Golden Grove on Tuesday by the Minister within the Ministry of Housing and Water, Susan Rodrigues, who presented the gears to the young man. “He said he was promised by the former Director of Sports Christopher Jones and that he never came back to deliver the equipment and the President made a commitment that on my return, I will deliver it on his behalf,” Minister Rodrigues said.