GWI Launches new jingle to promote water conservation

Sep 07, 2010 News

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GWI (Guyana Water Incorporated) and PAHO (Pan American Health Organisation) officially launched a public awareness radio jingle “Save the Water” at the Company’s Corporate Complex, Vlissengen Road, yesterday.
“Save the water” was composed by veteran songwriter and producer, Burchmore Simon, of Kross Kolor Records. While the R&B and chutney sounds are courtesy of popular singer Jomo Primo of x2 and Tassa veteran Rajesh Dubraj.
According to Chief Executive of GWI, Yuri Chandisingh, there is need to sensitize consumers in certain key services that GWI provides, in which water conservation is very high on the agenda.
Chandisingh said that Guyana’s most precious resource has to be acknowledged by children, and as such there is the schools education programme and the H2O Kids in action, “which will help the young people to better educate themselves and through them they can educate the elders.”
Adding that the jingle will be catchy, and the end result will be the promoting of water conservation, Chandisingh said, Adrianus Vlugman on his new appointment as Environmental Health Advisor, visited GWI and volunteered to fund the jingle that would promote public education and conservation of water in the further development of the country.
According to Vice-Chairman of GWI’s Board of Directors, Ramesh Dookhoo, GWI has an expanded mandate which is being executed from the platform of a company incorporated in Guyana. And in collaboration with PAHO, GWI is encouraging and educating citizens in Guyana to acknowledge the prudent use of water.
Dookhoo said that the cost of water is driven heavily by wastage, and the board has addressed the issue of cost with some success. However, there is no cost recovery price for water, since if the company was to price water at its real price consumers could not afford it.
Adding that much of the difference in the cost of water and the price paid by consumers is covered by a subsidy by the government, Dookhoo said that over the next few months GWI would be engaged in several initiatives to enhance services as to bring the cost of production and delivery down, “including treatment plants in Lima, Vergenoegen, Cotton Tree and Queenstown on the Corentyne.
“New wells are to be commissioned at Cummings Lodge and Manchester in the Corentyne. Amelia’s Ward well was just commissioned and the company’s has just completed its five-year programme.”
“….The assets of GWI stand at $24 billion. These assets would take a lot to be maintained over the next few years and there needs to be a paradigm shift when the company puts all these infrastructure and assets….and a shift needs to be done to maintain these assets and replacing these assets….we need to beef up on our company’s services.”
Dookhoo also noted that there needs to be conservation of water and to reduce wastage.
The storage and distribution of water needs to be addressed in keeping with the mind set of society to conservation.
Environmental Health Advisor of PAHO, Adrianus Vlugman, said that GWI is an important partner in public health and water is an essential component to a healthy life, and as such PAHO/WHO collaborates with the GWI, the Ministry of Health and other stakeholders in the water steering committee.
“PAHO works closely with the public and environmental health units of the Ministry of Health in supporting their mandate of water quality surveillance and we provided field-testing equipment to analyze for turbidity, Iron, Chloride and microbiological contamination… More than 95 per cent of the supplied water is being used as a media to transport waste out of the home. It is used for washing, flushing, scrubbing. This is often overdone; a lot of water is wasted for this purpose.”
Vlugman added that consumers need to become “Water Wise” and stop wasting water: Use a hard broom to clean the yard or drive way instead of hosing the dirt down; do not use power jet sprays; use a bowl of water for doing the dishes instead of letting the tap run; take short showers; fix leaking pipes around the home and fix leaking taps.
“The jingle developed by Burchmore Simon, Jomo Primo and Rajesh Dubraj is fresh, catchy, perky and it hits the right tone to draw the attention of the youth.” Vlugman noted.
The PAHO advisor further said that schools are strategic entry points for behavioral change. Behaviour changes are formed earlier in life and it is not only for water, but also for a healthy lives. And there is a need to integrate these issues into the schools’ curriculum so unhealthy lifestyles that are adopted in life such as wastage is not practised. (Rabindra Rooplall)

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