Country background
- Key issues in the water and sanitation sector in Guyana are poor service quality, low levels of cost recovery and access.
Policies and strategies
- One main pillar of Guyana's Poverty Reduction Strategy [1] (2001) rests on investment in physical capital, with emphasis on better and broader provision of safe water and sanitation services.
- In 2002, the Water and Sewerage Act [2] was passed. The act provides for the ownership, management, control, protection and conservation of water resources, as well as for safe water, sewerage and advisory services.
- In terms of securing health and a healthy environment, the National Health Sector Strategy 2008-12 [3] (2008) sets targets for access to improved water sources and sanitation. The strategy is expected to result in better collaboration between the health and the water and sanitation sector.
- Guyana's Ministry of Housing and Water has recently developed a 10-year strategy to increase access to safe water for 90% of the country's population. The strategy, which is expected to strengthen the water and sewerage sectors, will be implemented in the coming months.
Institutions
- Responsibility for sector policy rests in the Ministry of Housing and Water.
- The Public Utilities Commission (PUC), a multi-sectoral regulatory body, is in charge of reviewing water and sewer tariffs.
- In 2008, a National Water Council was launched to facilitate the promotion of an integrated water resource management approach in Guyana. The council will serve as an advisory forum to the Minister of Housing and Water in implementing, developing and amending the national water policy.
- Water service provision in the entire country and sewerage service provision in the capital city Georgetown are responsibilities of Guyana Water Incorporated [4] (GWI), a commercial public enterprise replacing the two former utilities: the Guyana Sewerage and Water Commission (GS&WC) and the Guyana Water Authority (GUYWA). The Government approved a Turnaround Plan (2008-2010) for the GWI, focusing on improving water quality and reducing non-revenue water.
- The Ministry of Health [5] monitors water quality and has the responsibility for sewerage and sanitation activities. Health education and promotion of good hygiene practices fall to the Health Education Department [6] within the Ministry of Health.
- Municipalities are in charge of construction, operation, and maintenance of urban drainage systems.
- The Environmental Protection Agency [7] (EPA) in collaboration with the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) is responsible for developing guidelines and standards on environmental protection. The Agency permits and monitors the construction of sanitation works.
- Coordination: In order to maximize health benefits of improvements in water supply and to make concurrent improvements in sanitation and hygiene, an intersectoral Sanitation and Hygiene Working Group was established.