NEWS | Wednesday, 28 January 2009

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Raphael Vassallo
Uncertainty surrounding the revised utility tariffs has literally come as a cold shower for the residents of the Marsa Open Centre, who this week complained that their supply of hot water supply is often interrupted for hours on end.
Oliver Gatt, general manager of the Fondazzjoni Suret il-Bniedem, at first hotly denied that there was any “rationing” of utilities at the facility administered by his NGO.
But he later conceded that a cost-cutting exercise was in fact under way, and attributed the measure to concerns with the rising cost of water and electricity.
“Last week, we introduced cost-cutting measures, which were long overdue, whereby all geysers at the centre were fixed with automatic timers,” he said yesterday. “The management has the responsibility and mandate to manage the resources of the centre efficiently, and to ensure that public funds are spent within budgetary constraints.”
Gatt also admitted that the Marsa Open Centre had not received a water and electricity bill in over six months, and that he was worried about the next one on account of the newly revised tariffs.
“What am I expected to do, if my water and electricity bills suddenly double?” he asked.
According to the management, water heaters are currently in operation for 13 hours out of 24 – from 3am to 10am, and from 4pm to 10pm.
“Apart from this, we are reducing our energy consumption in an effort to reduce our carbon footprint,” Gatt added.
“In fact, it is not only the geysers which have been automatically timed, but the old inefficient lighting system is also being replaced with the new energy saving bulbs and equipment. Our target is to switch to solar powered heating in a short time.”
But residents paint a somewhat different picture of daily life at the Marsa Open Centre. This public-funded facility is currently home to over 400 persons, most of whom are irregular immigrants who have already gone through a period of mandatory detention in one of Malta’s closed detention centres.
Out of eight residents interviewed last Monday – none of whom wanted to be identified in the article – six claimed that hot water had been lacking for “as long as three weeks”. The other two said that hot water “came and went” sporadically throughout the day. With recent temperatures dipping below 10ºC, any restriction of hot water can pose a hygiene and health hazard: a situation most keenly felt by those who do manual labour such as garbage collection or construction work, as well as those whose jobs entail unpredictable working hours.
Besides, the timing of the newly introduced “cost-cutting” measures appears to coincide with an increase in public funding specifically to be channelled into immigration-related initiatives.
As can be seen from the Budget Estimates for 2009, the amount of funding allotted specifically to facilities for immigrants has substantially increased over last year. But Suret il-Bniedem’s contract with the Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs predates these arrangements, and while its general manager awaits the new utility bills with trepidation, it seems the Marsa Open Centre residents will be paying the highest price for their water and electricity this year.

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