Corentyne residents protest new water rates

Jan 15, 2019 News

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Close to a hundred persons yesterday morning picketed the Chesney, Corentyne office of the Guyana Water Inc. over bills they claimed had extreme charges for 2019. Many complained that although they cleared what they owed to GWI for 2018 by paying at the office, they were still sent bills for December racking up to more than $10,000 for the first half of the month.
Rohini Manna said she paid the $3,500 she owed to GWI in the last quarter of last year from October to November. However, she received a bill stating that for the November-December period she owed $23,500. She is questioning the reason behind such an exorbitant charge.
“Me want to know what me go do with all that water. When I went in to query it, they told me that I have to pay it and wait until the next bill comes out.
“I had a meter for 10 years and has never paid so much, first time. I am a widow and I have a paralyzed 38-year-old son to see about.”
She is appealing to GWI workers to check her meter or remove it “because I think I have some problem there”.
Pitamdai Tamradwhah of Belvedere Village, whose bill is in someone else’s name, had her water cut off on December 24, 2018 since on the bill it showed she owed $3,500.
According to her, she paid a reconnection fee of $7500 along with the $3500 and her water was reconnected on December31, but it was while she was at GWI paying the bill that she was told by a staff that she has an outstanding bill of $5400.
“When this bill come again it seh I still have an outstanding $5400 and me bill come $3500. Now me got to pay $9100. I am a widow. Me bill average is $1500.
“Another thing is you can’t come give me my bill today and then tomorrow you go come and tell me you have to do your job and cut the water. But me tell dem that I have to query this bill and they tell me dem na got chance for that, we have to cut,” Tamradwhah said.

Another frustrated Berbician, Omesh Swamba, of Lot 70 Area ‘R’ Ankerville, Port Mourant related that in October a bill was delivered to his house with charges of $2700 owed. To make it easier on himself, he said he ventured to GWI office and paid $6000 instead, with the extra as an advance for the next month.
“I went in to GWI and pay $6000 which means I paid in advance for the next month which was November. They sent me a bill for $1300 in November. I did not pay that bill because I said I have excess money there. They sent me December bill here; they sent me a bill that I owe them $2800 and my December bill is $10,155.
“I don’t know, I am not surprised with this because if the government don’t know what Mathematics is I can’t expect GWI to know Mathematics,” Swamba argued.
The Port Mourant resident also complained about the quality of water offered by the water company.
Look at the quality of water that GWI is supplying us with. They owe me $4,000 but they did not put it here. Dem add more.
“My family is sick right now; My wife is sick; she is in bed. I take her to Port Mourant Hospital but they sending you to Pharmacy to buy drugs. I can’t afford this. The reason why I can’t afford it is because since 2014 we did not have a raise.
“I am working at GUYSUCO. Now everything is going up. The water bill according to this, I will have to pay close to $25,000 per month because if you add, I have to buy two bottle of water per week for my children dem; that is 500 each.
“What are we doing in this country? We are getting frustrated and this is getting beyond our reach. We can’t accept this. This is high class robbery”.
Many residents brought out bottles of water to show the quality they consume and use for daily chores. They stressed that the charges placed on the bills are too much for such “terrible water”.
When reporters ventured into the compound of the GWI Chesney Branch, they were immediately stopped by the guard who asked if they were reporters. After telling the guard who they were, she said, “You have to wait outside. The manager said he is not meeting with anyone and if you are a reporter you cannot go in there.”
The reporters who were adamant on speaking with the branch manager, told the guard to inquire once again. She subsequently returned and said, “You will have to leave all your recording equipment, the manager said, before you go in.” The reporters did not comply and decided to leave.
In a release sent out by GWI, the company stated that in response to the statements by protestors regarding the company’s billing system, “GWI wishes to categorically state that Region Six boasts 97% bill delivery efficiency and recorded 100% bill distribution in December, 2018.

“GWI also wishes to take this opportunity to highlight that its harmonisation of rates is an incremental one which took effect on October 1, 2018 and was approved by the Public Utilities Commission. This was done following three public hearings which saw members of the public being given the opportunity to raise their concerns.”
According to the utility company, they have made special provision for pensioners in its harmonisation of rates, with that category of persons being exempted from paying the new fixed monthly charge of $250.
Metered pensioners now pay a charge of $74 per cubic meter (m3) for the first 10m3 and $86 for each m3 used thereafter. Unmetered pensioners pay a rate of $740 per month, GWI said.
In relation to complaints by the protesters that the water is of poor quality, GWI said, “Water quality at the utility’s facilities is continuously monitored to ensure that customers receive the best quality of water possible.
“More specifically, monitoring of the #63 and #69 pump stations, which serve Number 61-74 villages, has over the past two months shown that the water quality is within the World Health Organisation parameters.
“Iron, which may be aesthetically displeasing, is not harmful to health and the two pump stations have over the past two months recorded low iron content. Every effort is made to flush the pipelines on a weekly basis, so as to preserve water quality”.

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