No democratic mandate for water charges
Written by Gary Mulcahy, We Won't Pay Campaign Wednesday, 01 July 2009 00:12
The anti-water charges We Won’t Pay Campaign has responded to speculation that water charges may be introduced next year by warning the Northern Ireland Executive that they “will be met with mass civil disobedience if water charges are imposed on people.”
Gary Mulcahy, spokesperson for the anti-water charges campaign added “There is no mandate to introduce water charges. It would be totally undemocratic to impose this tap tax on households. At the last Assembly elections the politicians were left in no doubt that people are strongly opposed to water charges.
“The Executive is paying millions of taxpayers money to private companies which have taken over important parts of the water service. This supply should be cut off and the creeping privatisation of the service should be reversed by terminating the Alpha and Omega PPP contracts. This would save millions and could be invested into the service instead of benefiting big business.
“People are already struggling to pay existing bills without having to worry about a new water bill. It is completely unacceptable for the Executive to impose this additional charge on people, especially since we already pay for water.
“If the Executive announces that water charges are to be introduced, we will determinedly campaign in the communities to build an organised ‘We Won’t Pay’ boycott of these charges.”
