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Community rangers to help address tampering in sewerage system

Dec 23, 2009 News

“Scrap Iron Dealers have been stealing important assets and converting them to their own use,” said Minister of Housing and Water Irfaan Ali when he commented on the challenges faced in the quest to improve the sewerage system.
According to Ali, these persons have been making a handsome profit from the items that are crucial to the upkeep of the system. And it has been observed that the theft has been widening in its scope, he added.
“We have written on this matter extensively but it is widening…They are stealing our galvanised pipes that protect the connections in the distribution network and they are now stealing air valves.”
“We can’t put a security at every air valve but these are important components to keep the system working.”
According to the Minister, the misuse of the system because restaurants are not implementing grease traps, the abuse of citizens who dump of garbage into manholes are all challenges that are faced by the water sector.
Efforts will be made to have regulations in force to ensure that they are enforced in the coming year.
But in order for any preventative plan to work Ali said that the involvement of the citizens is very essential as they would be instrumental in reporting any illegal acts.
“People need to protect these assets that are there for the benefit of the communities.” And to boost the anticipated citizens’ cooperation, the Minister disclosed that plans are afoot to battle the challenge with even more vigilance on the ground.
He said that next year the Guyana Water Incorporated a pilot plan that will see the formulation of a Community Rangers Programme, which will be streamed through the various Neighbourhood Democratic Councils.
The programme he said is geared at addressing issues of tampering, theft, wastage of water among other issues that have plagued the sector over the past year.
Minister Ali had said that failure to adhere to the GWI call for the use of grease traps is likely to see at least five major businesses in the city being taken before the courts.
An additional 20 medium to small-scale businesses could experience a similar fate, he had disclosed.
The move to the courts, he said, comes as part of the water company’s enforcement efforts to ensure that restaurants and other similar businesses in the quest to preserve the sewerage system in the city use grease traps.
A number of defaulting businesses were identified earlier this year and warned about their failure to use grease traps, according to the Minister, a development, which had prompted a public awareness education programme.
Following the public awareness period, Ali disclosed that letters were sent to businesses that continued to default. “Among the number of defaulting businesses that we found a number had taken corrective action…but there are others that haven’t taken heed.”
As a result, he noted that measures have already been put in place to deal with those businesses that have not taken corrective action.

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