Dato Sri Dr Stephen Rundi Utom
KUCHING (Apr 24): The Ministry of Utilities is not spared by the impact brought upon by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Its Electrical Supply Division including contractors and its agency Sarawak Energy Bhd (SEB) have registered 77 positive Covid-19 cases, while its Water Supply Division has reported 36 cases.
In term of person-under-investigation (PUI) cases, the ministry’s Electrical Supply Division recorded 2,024 cases and 29 recoveries, while its Water Supply Division recorded 28 PUIs and two recoveries.
“Another case from the Water Supply Division is still being observed, but is on the way to recovery,” said Minister Dato Sri Dr Stephen Rundi Utom in a press statement issued yesterday.
He expressed confidence that his ministry would remain steadfast and committed to its mission of providing reliable and affordable supply of power, clean water and gas to the residents of Sarawak through various operations and projects, amidst all the challenges brought about by the pandemic.
“As providers of essential services, we want to ensure that our personnel and the communities that we serve are as safe as possible.
“We are working to accelerate the vaccination of those in the utilities sector but in the meantime, our personnel remain at high risk for potential transmission due to the nature of their duties. To date, a total of 113 staff members from the respective agencies under the purview of my ministry have tested positive for Covid-19 since the Movement Control Order (MCO) took force in March 2020,” said Dr Rundi, adding that he was thankful that the majority of them had recovered, with some still under quarantine and medical care.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with them and with all who have been affected.
“While this trend is concerning, please be assured that we are managing the Covid-19 transmission risks with great care and diligence, to mitigate the impact on our projects and operations while prioritising the safety of all our personnel, contractor workers and the general public whom we serve,” he stressed.
In compliance with directives issued by the State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC), and other set Covid-19 standard operating procedures (SOP), all of the ministry’s electricity, water and gas agencies’ offices, operation plants and project sites must have in place stringent in-house SOP with highly prudent precautionary measures, he pointed out.
Any Covid-19 related decision would be made in compliance with all the directives and guidelines issued by the authorities, he added.
“The movement restrictions implemented to break the transmission of the virus have impeded the works and may lead to a delay in some of the ministry’s project delivery timelines.
“Nevertheless, the ministry is confident that it would overcome these setbacks through the emergency response and recovery plans that it has in place to deliver its main objective – to ensure adequate, reliable, quality, efficient, affordable, and safe water, energy and gas supply for industrial, commercial and domestic needs,” assured Dr Rundi.
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