Consumers Association of Malawi (Cama) has threatened to sue government if it approves water tariff hike of more than 20 percent.
Addressing journalists this morning in Blantyre, Cama executive director John Kapito said while raising the tarrifs will have implications on the cost of living and production, the water boards have failed to implement main key performance indicators including improving efficiencies and debt collection from government agencies.
He said: “What we are saying is that we understand that water boards need more revenues but if they raise the tariffs by over 20 percent, we will take legal action once they gazette the new tariffs.”
The country’s five water boards have proposed a new tariff increase in the 2023/24 financial year with struggling Blantyre Water Board (BWB) bidding for the highest rate at 90 percent.
The water boards justified the proposed adjustments owing to the May 2022 devaluation of the kwacha by 25 percent and government’s delay to implement proposed tariff increases in the current financial year despite Cabinet’s approval.
