Beware! Dear Valued Customers 

Dear editor,

Recently I was particularly moved when I saw a senior citizen with her hands extended in the classic posture of supplication, almost begging the Customer Care Representative at the office of a utility provider located in the Portmore Mall, for mercy:

“Ah only me an mi husband at di house.  We don’t use much water and we see the bill getting bigger and bigger…”

As Jamaicans we must ask ourselves:

• Who will stand up for the vulnerable and be a voice for the voiceless among us?
• Who will protect us from the “progress” that is being thrust upon us?
•  Why is the nation being saddled with the cost of replacing perfectly functional analogue meters with digital ones? Is this a national priority since hydrology reports state that potable water is not scarce in Jamaica?
• Could the answer be about the control that any digital device gives to those controlling the system?  Are power and control the real objective? As such meters can be remotely turned off effectively disconnecting any designated premises, like the way the digital electricity meters are reported to work.

How long can a household last without water? This is a very valid question indeed since my water supply was disconnected for about 100 consecutive days and then reconnected on day 101 without the payment of any money to the utility company.  

You may ask, “How is such a thing possible?”
But it was never about the contrived unpaid balance of more than $16, 000, but it was really an attempt to extract payment for what was not owed by depriving me of this vital commodity. 

Does that sound like attempted extortion?  It certainly felt that way to me.

Also, after the re-connection, more $20, 000 in credit was made to the account due to breach of some of their Guaranteed Standards.  But so far, no attempt has been made to compensate me for either the wrongful disconnection or for the period when I was deprived of this service.

Hosannah!  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD.

I am,

Vivienne Edwards