OCTOBER 2015www.endeavourmagazine.com

GUYANA WATER INCORPORATED

Reducing Poverty Amongst Guyanans

INSPIRED BY YOUR SUCCESS

Speaking with Nigel Niles, acting CEO of Guyana Water Incorporated, it is made clear, very quickly, that the main driver for improving the water sector in Guyana is the reduction of poverty amongst the population of the country.

WRITTEN BY JACK SLATER

REDUCING POVERTY AMONGST GUYANANS

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“We employ over 500 workers and supply 300 million litres of water every day,” Niles points out, “We operate 24 sewage pumping stations in Georgetown

and have water treatment plans at Mon Repos, Pourdroyen, Fellowship, Golden Grove, Queenstown, Cotton Tree, Lima, Vergenoegen, Better Hope, Covent Garden, Eccles, Bartica, Sophia, Central Ruimvedlt and Number 56 Village,”

Not only is GWI one of the primary forces in the water industry across the country, but it is also one of the oldest companies and has its roots in two different businesses.

The Georgetown Sewerage and Water Commission was established on the 23rd March 1929 to provide for the completion of the sewerage works of Georgetown with the objectives of establishing a body of commissioners to control, maintain and manage the sewerage system and waterworks of Georgetown and to provide for the maintenance thereof. GS&WC was responsible for Central Georgetown. The Georgetown Sewerage and Water Amendment Act Number 4 of 1994 made the GS&WC an autonomous public sector institution under the control of the Minister of Works and Communications.

This set the grounding roots for the Guyana Water Authority (GUYWA), which was then established under the Guyana Water Authority Act Chapter 55:01 of 1972.

“Its main activities included the construction, operation and maintenance of water distribution systems in order to supply potable water to the public,” Niles reflects, “Prior to the establishment of the Authority, responsibility for the water sector was that of the Pure Water Supply Division of the Ministry of Works.”

The Guyana Water Authority was responsible for delivering water to the suburban, rural and the Hinterland regions, excluding Linden and those areas supplied by the Sugar Industry Labour Welfare Fund Committee.

Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) was established, resulting from the merger of the Guyana Water Authority (Guywa) and the Georgetown Sewerage and Water Commissioners (GS&WC), on May 30, 2002. Thus, GWI is now responsible for the previously divided responsibilities of GUYWA and GS&WC.

Niles reveals that the Infrastructure, Planning and Implementation Department (IPID) is responsible for the conceptualizsion and implementation of all capital investment works in accordance with the company’s strategic plan, “As our name suggests,” he continues, “We quite literally develop and improve existing capital infrastructural assets, such as pipe networks and production plants, so that our operations department can deliver improved levels of service to our valued customers.”

Currently this department comprises of three units charged with the delivery of projects funded by the Government of Guyana, (GOG), who pay into annual capital developmental works along the coast and at Linden; the Inter American Development Bank, (IDB) who deal with the rehabilitation of the Water and Sewerage Networks within Georgetown and the World Bank Water Sector Consolidation Project, which involves the construction of three new water treatment plants.

“The IPID is responsible for all stages of project development,” Niles tells us, “Managing and evaluating all capital-intensive projects within GWI large and small.”

GUYANA WATER INCORPORATED

GWI provides water to some 145,000 homes, offices and schools across Guyana and it also provides water to Amerindian communities in the Hinterland where the company aims to supply water facilities to 80% of the Hinterland settlements.

He adds that the Team also liaises with other organisational entities who are undertaking water-related projects, with the primary activities being project management and geographic-information management.

Niles reveals that the Guyana Water Incorporated is in collaboration with several international organisations, among them the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID), World Bank and the Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA).

“These agencies have assisted GWI in developing several new water treatment plants,” he explains, “Among them are plants in Rosignol and Corriverton Berbice covering from Number 51 village to Molsen Creek. Also, Lima and Vergenoegen on the Essequibo Coast, which are now almost ten years old,”

Among other works is the ongoing rehabilitation of pumping stations and the construction of raw water mains and distribution lines.

The long history of collaboration with these international partners, such as the World Bank resulted in the provision of funding for essential water treatment plants in Anna Regina on the Essequibo Coast and Parika on the East Bank of Essequibo.

Recently, senior officials from Creditinfo Guyana and the Guyana Water Inc. shook hands to mark the implementation of a historic partnership, driven by their shared concerns and mutual support for the financial development of Guyanese and the economy of Guyana.

Through the Creditinfo Partnerships Initiative, GWI collaborated with the credit bureau to help consumers when they approach banks, microfinance institutions and other lenders for loans and other forms of credit. Information on the payment patterns of individuals from the utility was not available to third parties until the Creditinfo Partnership between GWI and Creditinfo. This information can be a very useful tool to help in determining the character and credibility of a potential borrower. The information is included in the various credit reports that are now used by banks throughout the sector as an indicator of eligibility for funds. Further, lower rates of interest on loans and faster approvals are also now possible, making the whole application process with lenders faster and easier approvals more likely.

Creditinfo Guyana declared that they were both pleased and proud to publicly acknowledge Guyana Water Inc.’s outstanding leadership, corporate responsibility and incredible efforts on behalf of their customers, as demonstrated by their unstinting support for the credit bureau programme.

“Throughout the world, studies have shown that the presence of a credit bureau in the market is always followed by a vastly improved climate for lending and credit access for consumers,” Niles says, “It is exciting news that this is now available in Guyana, for Guyanese.”

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