Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Hon. Desmond McKenzie, has commended Rural Water Supply Limited (RWSL) for their rainwater-harvesting project, which was recently implemented at the Springfield Primary and Infant School in St. Elizabeth.

After a tour of the institution recently, Mr. McKenzie told journalists that “water harvesting has been a feature of the Ministry since 2016 and RWSL coming into the Ministry has strengthened the capacity of the Ministry to deliver”.

“They are a bunch of professionals, seasoned professionals, who have brought a level of performance to the Ministry of Local Government. They have lifted the standard in terms of service delivery, and I am looking forward to working with them right across Jamaica to take projects such as this and many more to communities across the country that are in need of water,” he said.

Mr. McKenzie further noted that RWSL is an important component of the Government’s response to communities across Jamaica with limited access to adequate potable water.

The Minister stated that the water harvesting project at the school will ensure that students attend more consistently.

“We are not just working in communities but we are in schools, and it is good to know that the introduction of water harvesting in this school will allow a consistent stream of attendance by the students,” he said.

The project, which was undertaken last year by the RWSL, includes the installation of five tanks at Springfield Primary, two 1,000-gallon tanks, two 800-gallon tanks and one 15,000-gallon concrete tank.

Mr. McKenzie said there is no doubt that the investment will be protected, as the school is in great condition.

For his part, Mayor of Black River, Councillor Derrick Sangster, thanked the Ministry and RWSL for the project’s implementation.

“What the RWSL has done is to make it possible that this institution will always have available to them a collection of clean potable water, so that the health of the children here can be protected, and they will all be able to exist in a clean and healthy environment,” Councillor Sangster said.

Managing Director of RWSL, Audley Thompson, noted that “it is a pleasure for RWSL to have participated in something like this”.

“This is something that we do all over the island. To date, we have placed about 60 of these [projects] all over the island,” he noted.

Principal of Springfield Primary and Infant School, Winsome Coke, said she is “elated” with the project, and thanked RWSL for their execution of the project at the school.

The initiative will benefit some 162 students and staff at the institution.

-JIS News