Maputo Water: Bills ‘quadrupled’ since the start of the state of emergency – Carta

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Maputo Water: Bills ‘quadrupled’ since the start of the state of emergency – Carta

3:39 CAT | 20 Jul 2020

File photo: O País

Customers of Águas da Região de Maputo (Waters of the Maputo Region) have gone public on AdeM bills which they maintain have skyrocketed since the beginning of the State of Emergency.

According to customers who spoke to ‘Carta de Moçambique’, AdeM has since April been charging customers in KaMubukwana, in the capital of the country, between 1,500 Mts and 3,200 Mts per month, against the 250 Mts to 350 Mts that were previously billed.

Beatriz Bila, a resident of the Inhagoia “A” neighbourhood, told ‘Carta’ that the company had said the bills were estimated calculations, which, in her view, was facilitating speculation. Beatriz said it was impossible that she owed more than 500 Mts per month, as there had been no change in her consumption of water, nor had she ever been in arrears.

Adérito Borges, who lives in the Bagamoyo neighbourhood, says that, in the last three months, AdeM had only issued estimated invoices, in amounts far higher than he ever paid before. He said he did not understand how the invoiced amounts had been arrived at, but notes that they were accepted by some of the neighbourhood residents.

Maria Silvestre, a resident of the 25 de Junho neighbourhood, while still demanding an explanation for the astronomical bills, conceded that consumption might have increased because of Covid-19 and the need for greater personal and collective hygiene care, but doubted that water consumption had “quadrupled”.

Sixty-five-year-old Maria said that she had never paid more than 350 Mts, and that her water consumption had not changed, even with Covid-19.

Carta’ contacted AdeM last Thursday for an explanation of all the estimated invoices. The company promised to comment on Friday, but nothing was forthcoming.

Source: Carta de Moçambique