AMMAN — The
Ministry of Water and Irrigation’s recent decision to issue water bills at the
end of each month, instead of the current quarterly billing system, raised
eyebrows as consumers suspect the move is a prelude for raising water prices.
اضافة اعلان
The suspicion is
not completely baseless. Many Jordanians still remember the words of Water
Minister Mohamad Al-Najjar, who said in media statements four months ago that
no increase is expected in water prices this year, but that “prices may rise
slightly at the end of 2023”.
Najjar, however,
told
Jordan News that issuing water bills on a monthly basis “aims is to
relieve consumers and reduce losses as there are some people who have a high
bill that accumulates over a period of three months, and cannot pay it all at
once”.
He said that it
will also “enable consumers to know if there is a water leakage by having their
water meter read at the end of each month”.
Former Water
Minister
Motasem Saidan told
Jordan News that this issue was debated
earlier, but “did not come up with any positive results”.
He explained that
it will “not have a positive impact on water conservation, but with this
decision, the ministry is likely to incur extra financial costs.”
An official
source, who insisted on not being identified further for the sensitivity of the
matter, told
Jordan News that the decision will cost the ministry extra
expenses. The official said that includes hiring additional staff to help with
meter readings each month, in addition to staff transportation costs, which
will triple.
Despite the
government’s denial, citizens suspect that there is a tendency to raise water
prices will rise likelyhood following this decision.
Medyan Ali, a
civil servant, told
Jordan News that he stands against this decision.
“I’m afraid that there’s a plan to raise water prices,” he said.
Nemer Al-Momani,
32, who lives in a leased apartment, told
Jordan News that the decision
coincided with a period of frequent water cuts over the past summer. He said
that “prompted many consumers to use water tanks, at their own expense”.
“I think there
will be a rise in water prices,” he sighed.
According to
official statements, the summer of 2022 witnessed a significant shortage of
drinking water, especially with the arrival of about 3 million visitors to the
Kingdom from the beginning of May until the end of September.
The pressure and the
severe shortage of
water has been dealt with on a timely basis, whereas the
ministry is working to secure new sources of water to meet the needs of the
coming years until the completion of the national carrier project.
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