Only 11 cities are supplied with drinking water 24 hours a day! The price increase and purchase of drinking water are costs paid by consumers.
Author: Ina Allkanjari
Although the water comes on schedule and is not consumed for drinking by many families in the city of Vlora, the price of the bill will still increase. While it is expected that February 1st will be accompanied by higher billing of the price of water which will weigh on the pockets of the citizens, the latter oppose this decision.
Dissatisfied with the quality of water and its duration, one of the residents of this city, 55-year-old SH raises concerns that this increase does not reflect the service received.
As she shows that near the house, she and her husband cultivate products for personal consumption, the water supply with a limited schedule has forced them to build a well, although the cost was high.
"The arrival of water on schedule penalizes us, especially those of us who have gardens. My husband and I grow everything for family consumption ourselves, starting with potatoes, tomatoes, onions, salads, everything. Lack of water, I say lack of water because in Vlora during the summer, in addition to having limited water schedules, we also often have a lack of water for days at a time. The water that comes with a limited schedule has forced us to open a well which has cost us about 800 thousand lek, but it is not that there is no cost because we use an electric pump to get the water out of the well. In other words, the cost comes from the electricity bill even though we have a well".
The 55-year-old woman says that this problem has also affected many other residents, who have found the same solution, the construction of a well.
The residents of Vlora have also found alternative solutions in terms of drinking water. Although in the UK bill the water that supplies these families is considered potable, many of them are forced to buy it. They point out that this is an extra cost which is practically paid twice.
"The water comes about 3 or 4 hours a day and we don't use it to drink, we don't want to risk it because we don't know how the pipes are, chlorine these things. On average, we buy 1000 lek of water per month", says SH while emphasizing that despite this every month they pay approximately another 10 old lek for the water bill.
Regarding the improvement of the service, the 55-year-old woman says that her family continues to face the same problems every year in terms of the quality of water and sewage.
"A year ago the new clocks were put in, that's all. Again, a year ago, they started laying the pipes for the sewerage of sewage, but only for some families it was installed, not for all. We are surrounded by sewers here and every year when it rains they get blocked but we haven't seen any of the sewers come", says the 55-year-old.
The same problem occurs in the capital, where many families, despite the price of water billing, which has increased over the years, the quality and schedule of supply continue to be associated with problems.
Vjollca, a lady from Tirana, resident in the "Community of Paris", says that apart from the high price of water, she has to buy drinking and cooking water every month.
"There are 6 of us, I also have small children in the family, I can't use the tap water for drinking or cooking, it has a lot of chlorine and it looks very dirty. Every month, my water bill comes to 45-50 thousand old lek. In the water bill it is shown that some taxes are included such as cleaning fee, building fee, temporary tax for educational infrastructure. Add to this the water we buy, which costs about 60 old lek per month. I don't know if the day will ever come when tap water can be used for drinking", says Vjolla.
In the capital, the fees for water supply are higher, where currently the family consumer pays 65 Lek per cubic meter.
Asked if the price increase over the years has reflected an improvement in the quality of drinking water and the duration of water supply in Albania, the expert in economics, at the same time Dean of the Faculty of Business and Law at Tirana Business University, Prof.Dr. Elvin Meka says that "in certain cases this has been accompanied by an increase in the amount of supply, but not necessarily and everywhere with an increase in the quality of drinking water, on the contrary, many Albanian citizens still continue to buy water to drink, at a time when the water had to go in every family with the quality 'Drinkable'."
Water price, duration and quality
With the completion of the reform in the water supply sector, the revision of the rates that subscribers pay for water also began. The first is the water supply of Vlora, where household consumers will pay 1 lek more per cubic meter of water from February 15.
After the request of Vlorë Water and Sewerage for the increase in the fees for the water supply and waste water removal service, Regulatory Entity approved this request.
Specifically, household consumers will be charged 45 lek per cubic meter from 60 lek per cubic meter. While for business, the price of water is expected to increase by about 20%.
The increase aims to improve the service quality of the water and sewerage company and aim to extend the range of drinking water supply hours. Several other cities are waiting to apply price increases for subscribers, whose requests are being reviewed by the water regulatory body.
Economic expert Elvin Meka tells Sinjalizo that such a decision was expected, according to him, due to the continued mismanagement of the water sector, almost throughout the territory, with few exceptions in some cities.
"Such decisions are typical that reveal not only the economic mismanagement practices of these enterprises, but also the high level of abuse and corruption, which at the end of the day produce costs that must be borne, either from the budget of these enterprises (and indirectly from the budget allocated by and for the local government), or by the citizen. The simplest way is always to charge the final consumer, i.e. the citizen, who is forced to bear not only the real cost of water and service, but also the respective maladministration, abuse and corruption.", says the economy expert.
The UK "swells" with workers, the burden remains with the citizens
The Water Regulatory Body has continuously requested to analyze in detail the number of employees and the positions in the organizational chart at the Water and Sewerage companies, the job descriptions and the real workload for each job position, especially in cases where the companies apply for a new tariff level, but the sector continues to be overloaded with unjustified staff.
in performance report for the Water and Sewerage Companies of 2022, the Water Regulatory Body stops precisely at the efficiency of the staff.
"Staff efficiency means that companies do not have people in their organization who do not justify the position of the work they are supposed to perform. Although for the year 2021 the sector has operated with 101 fewer employees, again the sector is overloaded with unjustified staff that in many cases are employed without the relevant education and qualifications and based on party criteria", the report states, emphasizing that for the year In 2022, the sector developed its activity with a staff of 7815 employees.
This report shows that labor costs currently account for 43% of the company's O&M costs. The staffing efficiency indicator at the level of 4.73 employees per 1000 UK connections shows that there is plenty of room for reduction from excessive staffing in numbers and unjustified positions, according to ERRU.
When asked about the costs that come from employment, the economic expert Elvin Meka emphasizes that it is essential to keep personnel expenses under control by removing unsuitable and unqualified persons.
"Here it must be understood that these are economic enterprises and must function on pure principles and logic of economic and financial efficiency. In the long run, an inflated staff and out of technical capacity costs both financially and professionally, as the service offered is poor and abuse and corruption will increase.", says the expert.
Duration of water supply
The duration of water supply remains one of the most important indicators in the water sector, where consumers are also more sensitive. In the ERRU performance report, it is emphasized that the objective set by ERRU of 18 hours/day is still far from being achieved by many companies in the country. While it shows that some societies can be taken as success cases due to uninterrupted water supply.
"Companies provide water supply ranging from 2-24 hours/day. The companies that provide uninterrupted water supply are 11 companies such as UK Korçë, UK Lezhë, UK Librazhd, UK Mirditë, UK Devoll, U Gramsh, UK Bulqizë, UK Përmet, UK Poliçan, UK Fushë Arrëz, UK Pustec. Companies with good performance or that have reached acceptable levels in the FU schedules show that this indicator does not depend only on investments, but also on the good management of the company", the report states.
The report shows that some of the water supply companies manage to supply water to consumers for a maximum of 10 hours a day. The least water supply for 2022 is Kurbini with only 2 hours of water per day, followed by Kamza with 4 hours of water per day, Roskoveci with 5 hours of water per day, Dropulli and Selenica with 7 hours of water supply per day.
Asked what are the possible economic consequences of water crises, the economic expert says that Albania experiences a paradox that is not encountered in other countries, since according to him our country has enough water resources, but at the same time, we do not have water 24 hours a day and often the water that comes is not drinkable.
"This is entirely due to wrong policies over the years, which have abused the sector for narrow political and electoral motives and interests, illegal and abusive benefits. If there will ever be a "crisis" in the water sector in Albania, it will not be caused by nature, but by man, specifically by the Albanian politician, who over the years abuses and misadministers the sector, both at the central, local and national levels. micro to enterprise level!", says expert Elvin Meka.
He emphasizes that a problematic water sector will have a great impact not only on the quality of life of the citizen, but also on the economy, which would directly suffer the consequences not only in agriculture but everywhere.
This article was created based on input provided by individuals who have chosen to speak up. Share your story, empower others and be an agent for change. Visit the website: www.acqj.al/sinjalizo-dhe-ti/
