Minister of Public Utilities, Deodat Indar, met with representatives of the Private Sector Commission (PSC) and key stakeholders in Guyana’s bottled water industry over the Government’s planned entry into the bottled water business.

During the meeting, private sector representatives and representatives of some of the companies involved in the bottled water industry raised a number of questions and expressed their concern about the government opting to compete with them.

Minister Indar, according to a statement on his social media pages, assured the private sector that Government proposed initiative is not intended to compete with existing businesses. He said the Government will not be producing water to compete with the businesses.

News Source understands that many of the company representatives who attended the meeting did not leave the meeting convinced of the Minister’s assurances.

Earlier this week, the Guyana Manufacturers and Services Association raised its concerns about the Government’s move, explaining that during a meeting with Government officials earlier this year, the Government committed to tackling the importation of bottled water, but never indicated its plan to enter the bottled water business.

The Government has approved almost half a billion dollars to set up a bottled water plant.

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