The Editor, Sir:

The current rate system of the state mono-poly "National Water Commission" is in my view unfair and irrational. Firstly, the rate system does not take into account the cost of transportation of water from point of catchment to point of use. In other words, if a person lives 500 metres from the catchment or 20 kilometres from the catchment, the rate per litre of water remains the same. In practice this means that those who live in areas, such as Mona or Stony Hill subsidise the usage of piped water by residents of communities such as Ziadie Gardens or Belgrade Heights. The cost of this type of subsidy runs into millions of dollars annually.

Secondly, while the National Water Commission rate structure does include the cost of energy used to process and deliver piped water, one finds that NWC forces residents of both the Kingston and the southerly regions of St. Catherine to carry part of the energy charges of residents of the more northerly and mountainous regions of both Kingston and St. Catherine. What this in actual fact means, is that a person who lives anywhere off Old Hope Road or Hope Road, or anywhere in Portmore is being forced monthly to pay part of both the transportation costs and energy charges of others. Added to this, they are also forced to pay for the "social water" usage of the vast inner-city network of communities in Kingston and St. Andrew and the squatter communities of St. Catherine.

The National Water Commission's failure to work with organisations such as the National Housing Trust in the designing of new communities, has meant that space was created for the coming into being of new ways of getting piped water without payment. In many of the new housing developments of St. Catherine, there are premises where the National Water Commission has no access to its meters. In some cases these meters are deliberately covered over by paved or concreted driveways, in other cases they are locked behind grills and or high fences. It is less than wise for an agency such as the National Water Commission to believe that developers such as the National Housing Thrust have a duty to take into account unexpressed interests in its design processes.

The failure of the National Water Commission to identify and work with its strategic stakeholders in community design and development, its failure to address in a honest manner the question of "social water" and its discriminatory billing practices has forced it in a position where it has no other recourse but to overcharge those who are willing to pay and harass and plague with weekly disconnections those communities which have a good history of paying their bills.

I am, etc,.

BASIL FLETCHER

Donovanfletcher@hotmail.com

Greater Portmore, St. Catherine

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