The Tribune

By RIEL MAJOR

THE Water and Sewage Corporation held a commissioning ceremony yesterday for the opening of a new San Salvador branch and the completion of the Water Supply Improvement Project on the island which gives more residents access to fresh, potable water.

Adrian Gibson, Long Island MP and executive chairman of WSC, said this project in San Salvador was an investment of $1.7 million and has been successfully completed.

Mr Gibson said: “In order to complement the system upgrades, a new Water and Sewerage Corporation office has been opened to improve the service to the residents of San Salvador. This new office will facilitate customers and residents being able to have easy access to the corporation. Now customers can address their concerns and pay their bills, and I emphasise pay their bills… no more payment of bills deep in the bush behind the airport.”

Mr Gibson spoke about his life growing up on Long Island without basic utilities.

“I didn’t see light into the ‘90s and water was only something I saw when I went to Nassau because we had our well, we had our pumps and you know with all that salt, every three or six months you have to change that pump, your fixtures always had to change and so even now in Long Island where my grandparents lived I’m still changing fixtures, but I’m working on that,” the chairman said.

He continued: “The corporation is executing the Caribbean Development Bank’s Water Supply Improvement Project funded by a $28.33 million loan from that bank and $13.3 million in counterpart funding from the government of the Bahamas.

“This project includes two projects in New Providence and six on different islands. We are reviewing various parts of that project and rolling out portions of it, allocating portions of it as we speak. When you are looking around you can now see that works are complete on San Salvador and we are approaching substantial completion in South Andros and the South Andros (project) cost us $5.5 million.”

Official Opposition leader and MP for Cat Island, Rum Cay, San Salvador Phillip “Brave” Davis attended the ceremony yesterday where he expressed his appreciation for Mr Gibson’s “political maturity.”

Mr Davis said: “I’d like to acknowledge the executive chairman of the Water and Sewerage Corporation, Mr Adrian Gibson, the MP for Long Island. Just let me express my appreciation for the political maturity that you have shown and are showing because many don’t. There are some amongst us that still have that political immaturity. I say that to you because I want you to also appreciate and I hope that other members of the government take a page out of your book because at the end of the day we are still all one.

“There are many islands that make up the Bahamas, each has its distinctive features, but at the end of the day we are still one Bahamas. We all have to adhere to ensuring that the common good is promoted . . .rather (than) those things we can dwell upon that keeps us divided. I take my hat off to you, Mr Gibson, for the demonstration of maturity.”

Dynell Williams, an island resident, expressed thanks for the water supply project, saying it will make life on San Salvador easier.

“I stand as a proud and thankful recipient of the water supply commissioning here today,” the resident said. “As a resident of Hall’s Landing we no longer have to wait for the power to come on to take a bath. Amen…we no longer have to worry about our pumps being burned up or when the power cuts back on go and prime (the pump.) We no longer need to purchase fluorine tablets for our wells.

“We are indeed grateful and today I can truly say that better days are not on the way for the residents of San Salvador, but better days are here right now. Today we have clean, fresh salt-free water and on behalf of the island’s administrator and the residents of Hall’s Landing, Long Bay, Sugar Loaf, Sandy Point and the entire community of San Salvador, we say a big great thank you the Hon. Phillip “Brave” Davis, our MP, and to the water corporation family.”

Jermaine Johnson, from the Ministry of Tourism, said from the tourism perspective he is excited about the project and it would be appreciated by visitors and second home owners looking to build or buy homes on San Salvador.

The ceremony concluded with Mr Gibson thanking Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis and Minister of Works Desmond Bannister for their unwavering support for WSC and Mr Davis for what he has contributed to the execution of this project.