35 days waiting for water, minister

THE EDITOR: Open letter to Public Utilities Minister Marvin Gonzales in response to his article in the March 11 Newsday, headed "Major $30m pipeline project under way, MP."

You have completely failed to grasp the harsh reality faced by the people of Oropouche West. Dismissing a March 10 letter ("Stop using water as political weapon") from MP Dave Tancoo that highlights the severity of our water crisis as mere “mischief” is not only irresponsible, but deeply insulting to the countless families struggling without a basic necessity.

Contrary to your claim that we receive water every seven to nine days, the truth is far worse. Our most recent supply came after 35 days of waiting. Thirty-five days without water. Would you go over a month without water and still expect be receptive to hollow assurances about a government’s supposed efforts to fix this issue?

This is not an isolated incident; it is a decade-long crisis. For ten years residents have endured geographic discrimination, as accurately described by Tancoo. We spend our hard-earned money on water because the free truck-borne supply you boast about never arrives.

We are forced to ration water for cooking, cleaning, and daily survival, while you sit in comfort, dismissing our suffering as political manoeuvring.

Minister Gonzales, instead of deflecting and trying to score political points, why don’t you fix the problem? Is your list of so-called achievements which have failed us for an entire decade more important than the very real and continuous suffering of the people of Oropouche West?

Try stepping down from your high horse and living as we do. Then, and only then, will you truly understand the urgency of this crisis.

KEITH ROLAND

via e-mail