In yet another display of ineptitude, Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) has found itself forced to defend its failing water supply services after being caught ignoring legitimate concerns from customers. This time, the company is scrambling to respond to the ongoing water supply crisis in the Grand Sandroad community in Soesdyke, a situation that highlights its glaring neglect of customer needs and a lack of accountability in delivering basic services.
In a defensive press statement, GWI attempted to downplay the issues raised by the Alliance for Change (AFC), dismissing the party’s claims about the lack of water supply in the community as “misleading” and “deliberate attempts to mislead the public.” However, the more pressing reality is that GWI has once again failed to provide a reliable, quality water supply, leaving residents frustrated and dissatisfied.000000.
The situation in Grand Sandroad has become a textbook example of GWI’s failure to prioritise the needs of its customers. While the company claims that it has made efforts to address the water supply issue by installing a 4-inch transmission main and recording 39 “legal customers” in the system, it’s clear that these actions are grossly insufficient.
The community, with over 100 households, has long suffered from inadequate water access, exacerbated by illegal connections that the company has been unable, or unwilling, to address. GWI’s failure to resolve these issues not only burdens the existing infrastructure but also demonstrates a lack of proactive engagement with the residents.
Rather than taking responsibility for its failures, GWI blames the community for unauthorised connections, but this is nothing more than an attempt to shift blame. The company has consistently failed to expand its services or offer adequate solutions to communities in need, leaving residents to fend for themselves. GWI’s empty promises of future expansion efforts, based on an ongoing “feasibility study,” ring hollow in the face of immediate customer dissatisfaction.
In the Lima Sands, Essequibo Coast, GWI continues to struggle with the basic task of providing clean water. Residents have repeatedly raised concerns over discolored water, and yet GWI’s response has been tepid at best. In a twist of irony, it took businessman Azruddin Mohamed—a recent foe of the PPP/C government—visiting Lima Sands over the weekend for residents to voice their dissatisfaction about the poor water quality directly to him. This may have prompted GWI to finally take action, as the company scrambled to address complaints it had previously ignored.
While GWI insists that the water is safe to drink despite its unsightly appearance, the fact remains that the company has done little to resolve the issue in a timely manner. A vague promise of installing a filtration system by August 2025 does nothing to address the urgent needs of residents, who are left with discolored and potentially unsafe water in the meantime.
