Water and power piracy

The startling disclosure by Water Supply Minister Mahinda Amaraweera that 52 per cent of the country 's pipe borne water supply has not been paid for by consumers should jolt the authorities out of their collective slumber.

According to the Minister, the water which had gone down the drain in this fashion has cost the State over Rs. 40 million. If not for the Minister's chance perusal of the COPE report where this matter was highlighted we doubt if the waste would have been detected. What is more this may be but a sample of the colossal waste that has characterised our state institutions.

It may be the tip of the iceberg of the massive profligacy that is being continuing in utility bodies such as the Ceylon Electricity Board which is currently in the red.

Only last week we editorially commented on the need to plug the massive waste that go on in State institutions at a time when the Government is battling to make ends meet following body blows dealt to the economy by the rise in world oil prices and other global implications. We have stress on the need to rein in profligacy and the milking of State resources with impunity.

However, the Government should also pay attention to the blissful waste and impunity that goes on in the public domain and apply the brakes to this development. We frequently read accounts of raiding missions by the CEB Flying Squad teams to trap electricity pirates where colossal sums have been recovered by way of fines.

The most interesting part of this episode is that despite the publicity given to such raids the practice continues on the same large scale going on to prove that the law has not acted as a deterrent to halt power piracy.

The complicity of certain CEB officials has only exacerbated the problem. That the offenders are big businesses such as star class hotels and respectable looking enterprises only underscore the seriousness of the issue and the ingenious way some of the meters have been rigged as reported is a sure indicator of the wide scale connivance by CEB officials in the racket.

The authorities should probe if there is a nexus between elements in the CEB and big businesses engaged in power piracy and deal with the matter with a firm hand.

The revelation is also a reflection of the extent of the moral degeneration and the culture of impunity where the state has become a milch cow to unscrupulous elements who care nothing of the consequence of their deeds on the country's economy.

Time was when water was a resource taken for granted and people received their daily supply of pipe borne water for gratis while well water was the mainstay. However, as with other things in a liberalised economy the water too was subjected to a 'tax" and this once precious commodity is now being sold to the community at a price where this too has impacted on the cost of living.

While the Minister should be thanked for giving an assurance not to increase water bills he should devise means to reduces the current water rates which are almost competing with huge electricity bills, lest the public be subjected to a double shock.

This could be done by a campaign to educate the public to use water sparingly and other means by which water could be conserved. With the country's huge reliance on hydro power to augment the national grid it is vital that steps be taken to protect the country's water resources.

This is also most vital in the light of research carried out by scientists which predict the depletion of the world water resources in the not too distant future.

Above all steps are need to instill a sense of civic consciousness among the public to arrest the trend of impunity.