By Michael Spence
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| Michael Spence |
More rain, still no water in the pipes, and now NWC wants a 51% increase, backed by the minister. It should not be granted by the OUR.
BOJ inflation is about 7.5%. NWC wants seven times that. If granted, my water bill will be higher than my JPS light bill.
That would be disgracefully wicked for lower and middle-class Jamaicans already facing hardships. Water is more than fuel; it is like the blood supply for the national body.
NWC told Parliament it filed on October 16 for a 51% tariff over five years to move revenue from $40B to $60B.
It admitted Non-Revenue Water (NRW), water lost to leaks and theft, is 70-73%, and it owes $21B in GCT. Customers must not be scammed into paying for water the NWC loses.
The real reason we have no water when it rains is silt. Dams should be desilted every 10-15 years. Depending on rainfall, siltation can be up to 30% in that period. Mona Dam was built in 1944 to hold 808 million gallons. It was desilted only once, in 1976. From 1976 to 2026 is 50 years. Today Mona has more silt/dirt than water, perhaps 75%. Even at full capacity, it may have no more than 200 million gallons of usable water. NWC reported Mona at only 33.9% last month. Paying for storage that does not exist is real scamming and deserves an arrest warrant.
The OUR must reject the 51%. Any increase must be at or below inflation, with a lifeline lowered concessionary for the poor, disabled, NIS pensioners and be made conditional on:
- A public audit of silt in Mona and Hermitage, and a desilting schedule,
- A binding targeted strategy to cut NRW from 70% to 50%,
- Audited accounts.
- The JPSCo, Toll Roads, et al. should be added to the foregoing recommendations. Congrats, JUTC is doing it.
Rain falls, dirt stays, pipes dry, bill goes up. That is not water security.
Michael Spence
Michael Spence is a graduate of Cornwall College and the University of the West Indies. He is a trained teacher, a sociologist, and a writer for Bark Di Trute.
Micspen2@hotmail.com
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NWC now certified scammers of the Jamaican people.
ReplyDeleteMinister Samuda and other goverent members do not support that 51% increase 7 times inflation is a disaster waiting to happen..
People put on your zinc and gutters,build tanks get your drums ready for what I now understand is
WATER HARVESTING.
Ketch up yuh water
Poor water management
ReplyDelete