By: Nyima Sillah
Pierre Sylva the Public Relation Officer of the National Water and Electricity Company Public (NAWEC) has divulged that the company’s tariffs on their product still remain the same despite limited water supply to the consumers.
The PRO made this remark Wednesday when contacted by this reporter over the complaint from general public, especially consumers from Banjul, Greater Banjul Area and West Coast Region, that NAWEC is issuing exorbitant water bills to consumers every month. What they alleged as high tariff of water bill is causing some imbroglio in some houses taking into consideration the inadequate supply of water in some of the communities, as complaint.
In his explanation to the question before him, PRO Sylva said there is token rental fees attached to each meter either you use the water or not but at the end of the month this token is always added to your bill. But quickly noted that consumers, if not satisfy with the bills issuing to them do visit NAWEC office to complain. And they always rectify it where necessary.
He noted that NAWEC officials usually do meter reading every month, as meter readers go to customers’ premises to read meters and from there reading to the billing department.
He noted that it is a rights of any consumer to go to NAWEC with their previous bill and the one not satisfied with to make a complain if noticed or thought that the bill received is exorbitant compare to what has been consumed, therefore they “can check the system and advise them accordingly.”
He went on to give situations that might warrant such saying “maybe the meter is not properly read, as it can be lapses from meter readers, as they can just read from the average rate of consumption customer pays every month.”
If that happens, he said “NAWEC can always rectify that by recalculating such Bill and give the correct amount.”
Among other situations, he said sometimes some houses can also have internal water linkage and they consumer might not know that everything that passes through the meter is rated.
This is because “NAWEC has the responsibility from the main pipe to where the meter is connected but anything that enters the internal connection or any internal problem that is not our responsibility. In that case NAWEC do sympathise such situation when realize that the internal problem is on for quite a long time and that makes the bill high. Therefore we will wave 50% and you pay the other 50%”