25% hike in tap water tariffs under attack
25% hike in tap water tariffs under attack
JAKARTA (JP): An executive of the Indonesian Consumers
Foundation has criticized city-owned water company PDAM's
decision to raise tap water prices by an average of 25 percent
from this month.
Zumrotin KS said yesterday the rise was not fair and that the
company had several other options it could have employed to rid
itself of internal problems.
She said the price increase victimized the public, making
customers pay more to cover the firm's losses.
"The price rise is not right. I think that such a method is a
typical solution made by ailing or mismanaged state-run companies
to rid themselves of their problems without really solving them,"
Zumrotin told The Jakarta Post.
She said PDAM had not adequately addressed its real problems,
but had instead tried to employ shortcut measures.
"PDAM has always said that it suffers financial losses because
of huge leakage problems with its pipes. Why don't they fix that
problem first rather than charging customers higher prices?" she
asked.
PDAM announced Friday its decision to apply new tariffs from
April 1 despite the absence of official approval letters from
Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso.
The increase affects luxury apartment owners and affluent
households the most, with tariff increases of up to 65.71 percent
for customers in those categories.
An employee at the Ascot apartment complex on Jl. Kebon Kacang
in Central Jakarta complained that PDAM had established the new
tariffs without any official notice beforehand. He also argued
that the legality of the new tariffs was questionable.
"I read in the newspaper that the new tariffs have not
actually been approved or signed by the governor. If that's true,
then how could PDAM say that the new tariffs are effective as of
April 1?" said the employee, who asked for anonymity.
He said he was personally against the tariff adjustment
because it meant more trouble for the apartment's management.
He said apartments and hotels were among the biggest consumers
of water, with the Ascot consuming a total of 10,720 cubic meters
last month.
"That's because we can't prohibit our tenants from using the
water whenever they like. We certainly can't, for example, stop
our tap water during particular hours just because we want to cut
our expenses and save some money," he said.
A employee at the Griya Prapanca apartment complex in Kemang,
South Jakarta, also said that the rise was another burden to his
building's management.
The employee, who asked for anonymity, said the management had
started measures to save on electricity, telephone and water
costs.
"We're trying to eliminate the unnecessary use of electricity,
telephones and tap water because the three have always topped our
monthly expenses," he said.
"You can imagine what kind of trouble we're facing now with
all the tariffs being increased, while on the other hand, our
income is falling as our occupancy rate plunges," he said without
elaborating.
Kie Kin, an affluent housewife in Sunter, North Jakarta, said
she had started to remind her husband, three children, two nieces
and three servants to conserve water.
The family pays Rp 125,000 in tap water bills monthly.
She said that although the price increase did not
significantly affect her family budget, she felt that the family
should reduce its water consumption.
"I don't want to sound snobbish here, but the main reason why
I urged my family to conserve water was not only to cut our
expenses but more to teach them to appreciate natural resources,"
Kie said. (cst)