The Lesotho Water and Electricity Authority has approved the Water and Sewerage Company’s (Wasco) application to hike tariffs. The new tariffs come into operation today.
Yes, the self-same Wasco that has consistently come in for tough criticism in the past few years over the nuisance of continually broken water pipes, which results in loss of valuable water. People blame Wasco itself for unnecessary losses of water. This, they feel, is unfair on consumers as Wasco wants to use them to recoup losses which they say are a result of the company’s own carelessness.
This after the water utility shifted from the traditional steel to the uPVC (a type of plastic) piping just over eight years ago. However, poor workmanship has seen the fragile uPVC pipes suffer recurrent breakages, leading to constant leakages.
However, Wasco has previously justified the shift to uPVC by stating that steel piping does corrode with time, and that the World Health Organisation Guidelines for Drinking-Water Quality promote the protection of public health by advocating for the development of locally relevant standards and regulations (health-based targets).
According to some water users, the uPVC pipes get damaged frequently under the slightest pressure and after a short period of time, but Wasco always fails to act promptly.
They say this affects them negatively as some households actually go for days without water supply, until such time that the water utility responds to the problem.
While an increase is unavoidable, Wasco must come to the party by ensuring that it improves its services to consumers.
