Khaled Al-Solaiman
The recent statement of Deputy Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, second deputy premier and minister of defense, on high water tariffs proved the veracity of public criticisms against the Ministry of Water and Electricity, which has totally ignored the low income consumers while fixing the new tariff.
I do not know now what would be the reactions of people who have defended the new tariffs. They did not only support the ministry in its decision to hike the water tariff but made the consumer responsible for the inflated bill.
I wrote previously calling for temporarily freezing the new tariff until the issues that led to its increase are thoroughly studied and its negative effects on society assessed.
I called for reviewing the new water tariff and its implications on consumers, especially the low or middle-income people.
I said clearly that the implementation of the new tariff should be postponed until the electronic water meters are installed to avoid any human error while reading the meter.
I also called for introducing a mechanism to deal with the complaints of consumers. This mechanism should be neutral and impartial because the ministry cannot be the judge and the defendant at the same time.
Nobody denies the need to amend the water tariff, but not to this exaggerated level. However, we hope that the largest segment of consumers, who include the low and middle-income people, would be exempted from paying a high price for water.
We expected the new system to take into consideration the financial abilities of the weaker sections of society. The new system should instead target the rationalization of consumption.
Prince Muhammad Bin Salman’s statement comes as a rectification of what has been ignored. It is a step in the right direction.
