#MontegoBay, December 29, 2023 – Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Senator the Hon. Matthew Samuda, says Jamaica remains on course to fulfil its 2030 goal of providing sanitation and potable water to all its citizens.

Senator Samuda, who toured the rural districts of Lime Bottom, Shaw Park Road, Marl Road as well as nearby environs in St. Ann North Eastern on December 22, said it is against this background why the Government is spending billions of dollars targeting thousands of households, ensuring that water distribution is done in a regularised manner.

“Residents of Lime Bottom, Shaw Park Heights, Marl Road and nearby communities will benefit from the new formal National Water Commission (NWC) water system,” Mr. Samuda said.

“The Government has invested roughly $24 million in this water distribution line to serve over 800 people, who have never had access to any formal water system. We are pleased to see the joy on the faces of each resident we greeted because of this project,” he added.

Senator Samuda noted that the project is part of the NWC’s thrust to extend its network and to bring more reliable water supplies to several areas that historically had no formal water supply.

He pointed out that prior to the implementation of the project, residents on several roads opted to install informal connections at numerous points of the NWC mains.

These individual lines, the Minister said, extended several hundred feet to various houses, adding that with the installation of new mains, the NWC can supply customers via a designated pipeline while minimising leaks and the potential for wastage.

In the meantime, Senator Samuda said the Government spent some $4 billion on water projects in the last fiscal year to benefit 200,000 people, noting that “this year we are midway a $4 billion investment.”

“We would have had some delay because of slowness in the importation of pipes. That was made even more difficult as there were some international disruptions coming out of China and some of the factories out of France. But the pipes are here now, so we are playing a bit of catching up to ensure that we meet our end of fiscal year targets. So, expect to see that $4 billion being deployed in those products, which would see another 150,000 people benefiting,” the Minister said.

Senator Samuda said the Government is happy that the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 6) is now being given the attention it deserves, adding that human health and dignity are the foundations for every society and require access to clean drinking water and sanitation.

“Indeed, without this access, our collective ability to achieve the 2030 Agenda is undermined,” the Minister argued.

Contact: Garwin Davis

Release: JIS