Mrs Bhoop Chand could not hold back her tears today when she was informed that her unpaid water bills would be cleared by government.
The Suva resident is only one of the 100 thousand Fijians across the country whose water debts were today cleared by government as part of its efforts to support families facing severe financial difficulties.
Mrs Chand who had her water connection cut off due to non-payment of bills, said her family would have really struggled to pay of her $1,052 water bill. The Chand family, together with her husband, her elderly father, two sons, the daughter-in-law and a toddler, had their water reconnection documentation signed by Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama. Both her sons are unemployed but one of them has employment on a casual basis and the family is struggling to make ends meet as it is, so this assistance from Government has given them a boost.
“We did not have such high bills before until recently and when I enquired about it at the Water Authority office, they told me that there must be a leak,” the emotional Suva resident said.
“When we checked, sure enough we had a leak in the pipe and the water had been flowing uselessly.”
“We want to thank government for helping us out and looking after me and my family”, Mrs Chand said.
These three waivers were the ceremonial start to one of Government’s drive to assist people in helping them reduce their cost of living as alluded to by Prime Minister Bainimarama when he made the announcement today.
The Prime Minister visited families around Suva today including the Ballantine Memorial School to personally deliver the letters of waiver. He highlighted government’s commitment towards assisting families around the country in managing financial obligations.
“Nothing is more important to my Government than helping ordinary Fijians provide for themselves and their families. And one of the best ways we can do that is to relieve the cost of living pressures on ordinary people. We will never forget that it is the families of Fiji who come first”, Prime Minister Bainimarama said.
There are four criteria’s that have to be met to get the waiver and after this initiative the families are expected to pay their bills on time.
The Attorney-General and Minister for Public Enterprise, Mr Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, said while Government was reaching out to assist those in need, they must understand that this is a one-off payment.
“So these families need to get their water meters or the pipes checked, which may have been the cause of the sudden increase in the bills, get this in order because this assistance is a once-off,” he said.
“Obviously it’s a good opportunity for these families to start on a clean slate but at the same time it is their responsibility to ensure that their pipes are not leaking.”
More than 25-thousand Fijian households, businesses, schools and places of worship today benefitted from this decision to waive the debts they owe to the Water Authority of Fiji for years of unpaid water and sewerage bills.
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