ELECTRICITY costs from a water pump used to supply water to about 10 households is becoming a huge burden for residents of Tabataba Village.
Tabataba villager Laiseana Nasiga said villagers had to pay more than $200 in electricity bills every month to ensure homes were supplied with water.
“We are FEA customers so we use our own power supply to operate the water pump,” she said.
“My home is closest to the water pump so we have it operating from our power supply.
“That bill comes to us and even though we all pitch in to pay for the bill, it is too much for every home.
“Sometimes I would get frustrated and ask someone else to use their power.
“We can’t be sacrificing so much of our resources for something that we need every day.
“It’s better for us to live without electricity, with water we need it to survive.”
Fellow villager Ulamila Matalau said a few homes did not have water pipes connected to their homes.
“They have to fill buckets then carry it back to their homes,” she said. “Some of them have to make four or five trips to the nearest tap. “It’s a very hard life.”
Questions sent to Minister for Infrastructure Jone Usamate and the Water Authority of Fiji last Thursday, Friday and Saturday remain unanswered.
