OPINION: Paying a Water Bill and Buying Bottled Water: The Paradox of GWI’s New Venture

Last Updated on Saturday, 8 August 2026, 13:08 by Denis Chabrol

By Surendra Dhanpaul

I recently found myself discussing the proposed bottled water initiative by GWI with my better half, and she posed a question that stopped me in my tracks: “GWI already has a responsibility to provide drinking water. Why should I pay for bottled water from them if I’m already paying a water bill?” It is a simple question, but a profound one—because it forces us to examine not just the project, but the underlying logic and history that led us here.

Anyone who has read Walter Rodney’s How Europe Underdeveloped Africa understands how development models can be shaped by external dependency. Bottled water production is a perfect example. To produce a single bottle, Guyana must import PET preforms, caps, and often the raw materials for labels. The only truly local input is the water itself—ironically, the cheapest component in the entire process. Add to that the cost of electricity, labour, distribution, equipment maintenance, and the picture becomes clear: bottled water is not a local product in any meaningful sense. It is an imported industry built on imported materials.

This raises another concern. Guyana already struggles with waste management. Plastic pollution is a national problem, and we do not have a recycling plant. Meanwhile, developed countries are aggressively reducing plastic consumption, encouraging refillable flasks, and promoting tap‑water safety as a public good. When we travel, we do not buy bottled water—we carry a flask and refill it. Yet here at home, the government is preparing to expand plastic production through bottled water.

The justification offered is that Guyana imports too much bottled water. But bottled water only became a “breadbasket item” because GWI failed, over decades, to provide safe drinking water. In other words, the government is now trying to “solve” a problem that exists because GWI has not fulfilled its core mandate. Instead of fixing the system, we are creating a parallel product to compensate for its shortcomings.

If the goal is truly national development, then the strategy must be different. I therefore recommend the following:

Short Term: Collaborate with the private sector if the immediate objective is simply to reduce imports. Private companies already have the infrastructure and experience; government intervention should support, not duplicate, their efforts.

Medium Term: Install refill stations at pump sites across the country using reverse osmosis technology. This reduces plastic waste, lowers consumer cost, and builds public trust in GWI’s water quality.

Long Term: Implement a smart‑city water infrastructure upgrade—modern sensors, real‑time monitoring, automated treatment systems, and improved distribution—to ensure that every household receives safe drinking water directly from the tap, as is standard in developed nations.

And so the question returns, sharper than before: Why should citizens pay for bottled water from GWI when they are already paying a water bill? Until GWI can guarantee safe, reliable tap water, bottled water—whether imported or locally produced—remains a symptom, not a solution.