The complaint regarding the “poor quality” of water was also reported to PURA, who then summoned a meeting on the matter.
Sulayman Bojang, in an interview with The Point said the community of Gunjur has for the past five years lacked the enjoyment of clean and safe standard water provided by NAWEC. He added that the community has for many years complained about the constant supply of the “unsafe drinking water” by NAWEC and therefore, it’s now time that NAWEC needs to pay compensation on all the previous and coming water bills.
“I personally have to report the matter to the social media and more especially the Gunjur online media which is not being followed by the company.”
“So what we are demanding as a community is for the company to compensate all the past water bills paid by people and as well freeze all the current charges on water as an reimbursement of five-year consumption of unsafe drinking water supplied by the NAWEC,” he urged.
In a written statement published on the Gunjur Online Website, NAWEC has been asked to compensate all those who have been paying water bills for about five years until safe and clean drinking water is provided to the people.
“The company should compensate all those who have been using the unsafe drinking water and equally paying their water bills to the company. They must be ordered to compensate the people of Gunjur for this as their lives were put at risk for years,” it mentioned.
Pierre Sylva, the public relations officer of the company, in response to the allegations, said NAWEC has never supplied unsafe drinking water to the people, adding that in order to avoid unnecessary complaints from the community, the company has decided to take another water supply diversion from a tank in Nyofelleh village.
“Those who are telling you that we have supplied the community of Gunjur with unsafe drinking water for the past five years are not telling the truth. All our supplied water passes through a treatment plant before it is used,” he explained.
“And I can inform you that a diversion water pipe to supply the community from a different tank has already been finalised and the reason we did this is to avoid unnecessary complaints from the community.”
“So the water they are complaining of being sub-standard is from a different borehole which has now been condemned,” he said.
