Government Working to End Water Woes in East End/Long Look

~~Adz:Right~~TORTOLA, B.V.I- Government is working steadfastly to resolve the water situation in East End/Long Look.This assurance was provided by Premier Honourable Ralph T O’Neal, OBE, as he addressed the Tenth Sitting of the First Session of the First House of Assembly of the Virgin Islands held on Tuesday.

The Premier revealed that a cabinet committee has now been set up to negotiate with Ocean Conversion Limited for the supply of potable water for that community.

According to the Premier, the East End/Long Look community, the second largest settlement outside of Road Town, has been plagued by the absence of a “reliable and dependable source of potable water for several years.” The demand for water in the area has consistently exceeded the supply.

Hon. O’Neal acknowledged that although previous attempts have been made to address the problem, the availability of a continuous supply of potable water in East End/Long Look remains a problem.

The recently established cabinet committee comprises the Premier, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health and Social Development Honourable Dancia Penn, OBE, QC and Minister for Education and Culture Honourable Andrew Fahie.

The committee is expected to submit a report to cabinet by the end of this month and to this end, it has already initiated contact with the Director of Ocean Conversion, explaining the urgency of the matter.    
          
The Premier said “It is expected that the discussions will be free and fair and with mutual respect for both sides and possibly keep the purpose of the negotiations always in mind, that of getting a dependable supply of potable water for East End/ Long Look at a satisfactory price both to consumer and supplier.”

The Ministry of Communications and Works has been engaged in discussions with Ocean Conversion to reach a new agreement for the supply of water to the East End/Long Look communities, but to date, those discussions have not been fruitful.

The establishment of the cabinet committee is expected to take the discussions to a higher level and it is envisaged that the committee will succeed in securing for the people of East End/Long Look a dependable supply of potable water.

It is the commitment of Government to provide for the people of the Territory, an adequate water supply system in keeping with its overall mission to provide public utilities as part and parcel of thrusts to ensure development.