Council upset by water company

Council upset by water company

MEDAN, North Sumatra: All factions of North Sumatra's
legislative council expressed disappointment Saturday over the
poor performance of the province's water company PDAM Tirtanadi.

"Tirtanadi recently raised its prices more than 200 percent
despite strong criticism from its customers, but we are surprised
that the hike is not reflected at all in the company's revenue,"
said councilor Djalil Siregar during a council plenary session.

Siregar, from the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) faction,
said the company failed to improve its customer service.

Meanwhile Wahab Nasution from the dominant Golkar faction
complained that small customers in fact had subsidized big scale
industries because households had to pay more than big
industries.

"The council must be fully involved in determining water
prices," said Nurhayati Lubis from the United Development Party
(PPP). (prb)