While federal cabinet was busy finding ways to curb spiralling inflation and to tackle increases in prices of food products and consumer items; Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority (Sewa) has sneakily introduced "service charges" that will increase the financial burden of utilities bill by an average of 20 per cent on every household in the emirate.
The hike is not a marginal increase that deserves no explanation from Sewa officials - as they might believe - it is a considerable increase that many residents were left to wonder where from to allocate the new expense. Annually, every family who lives in Sharjah will have to pay an extra Dh 840 per annum to Sewa! What for? No one seems to know.
The additional fees were introduced without a prior notice! Sewa included an additional Dh70 payment on its March bill that was distributed to residents of the emirate early this month.
The fees were listed in the bill under a new category of "service charges". The charges were detailed as Dh30 on top of electricity consumption per month, Dh20 on water runs through home taps, and Dh20 on cooking gas consumption. The fees of municipality services, which was introduced by the civic body to the utility bill some 10 years ago, was left unchanged and hopefully not forgotten
The above structure of the new charges, mean that even if the total consumption of the household on electricity, water and natural gas was nil, the household will have to pay a total of Dh70 for the "unidentified" services.
Rationalise
The new charges came along with another hike in utility fees in form of slabs that meant to rationalise the consumption of water and electricity in the emirate. The slab system came few days after Dubai Water and Electricity Authority, (Dewa) introduced a similar utility slab system.
The introduction of the new fees caught residents by surprise and left them with no option but to pay what has been requested from them or face discontinuation of utility supplies to their homes. The new charges are not nominal for many households in Sharjah as it represents a hefty burden for many families in Sharjah and an additional cut from their stagnant income.
In my opinion, both federal and local governments should have abstained from introducing any changes in price structure of utilities and services because governments should never contribute to the inflation while simultaneously fighting it. Even if there is a justification for price increases, the authorities should wait until inflation is brought under control.
Unjustified
Sewa is not an importer of a special brand of rice, who decides to increase the price of food items he deals with without proper justification. It is not a bank that has introduced unjustifiable fees on a type of transaction that was not chargeable in the past. It is a government department that should abide by the federal Ministry of Economy that been warning merchants and importers not to increase prices of basic food items.
What is more basic for the residents than water and electricity in this country? And even if we have to accept the rationalisation slabs, why should a public department like Sewa makes it mandatory for its subscribers to pay more for an unspecified service that they have no option to abandon, and have no choice to choose someone else to buy from?
What the Ministry of Economy could tell a merchant who increase the prices of food he imports when he justifies the increase with compensating the increase of utility bills of his employees?
Lastly, where could someone complain about the increase in utility bills; if he or she felt that the Sewa charges were unwarranted and that the authority has no right to introduce them?
Sewa's recent move is not an isolated incident. It is just a blunt example of how some government departments are contributing to the inflation in the country.
The Cabinet must take a note about similar moves in the future and tackle them accordingly. No one should be allowed to add an extra burden on the cost of living. More so, an authority who has a monopoly on the service provided to the residents, who have no options available to them.
