13% water tariffs hike irks Lilongwe residents

Consumers in Lilongwe are seething with rage after the government approved a 13 percent hike in water charges for the Lilongwe Water Board.

The Lilongwe Water Board, just like its counterpart Blantyre Water Board has been giving water consumers a raw deal as residents in some of the townships in the capital such as Area 21, Area 15, Chilinde and Area 22 have consistently been subjected to sporadic water supply.

As if to demonstrate just how inefficient the parastatal is, some of the mentioned localities such as Areas 21 and 15 had no running water over the weekend when news of the increase in tariffs was revealed.

The minimum charge for water for domestic purpose in the Capital City is now 440 Kwacha, while government buildings, schools, hospitals and colleges will have to cough 209 Kwacha per Cubic Metre of water supplied.

Just last week in Blantyre, residents of areas such as Chigumula, Newlands and Mpingwe were contemplating marching to Blantyre Water Board offices to demand some answers after receiving exorbitant water bills, despite having had no running water for several weeks.

The water authorities are yet to come up with a plausible explanation for the sporadic water supply, which has posed a great inconvenience to a lot of people.