Water Bills Set to Rise as World Bank Pushes Kenya for More Levies, Regulatory Charges

PAY ATTENTION: Help us change more lives, join TUKO.co.kes Patreon programme Kenyans are set to pay more for water bills after the World Bank pushed for the introduction of more levies and regulatory charges.

  • World Bank wants water service providers to cover 70% of the Water Resource Authority’s (WRA) budget from the current 30%
  • This means additional costs would be added to Kenyans at a time when the cost of living has skyrocketed due to the introduction of new taxes by the Finance Act, 2021
  • Other items whose prices have increased are airtime, data and cooking gas

PAY ATTENTION: Help us change more lives, join TUKO.co.ke’s Patreon programme

Kenyans are set to pay more for water bills after the World Bank pushed for the introduction of more levies and regulatory charges.

The global financial institution wants water service providers to cover 70% of the Water Resource Authority’s (WRA) budget from the current 30%.

This means additional costs would be added to Kenyans at a time when the cost of living has skyrocketed due to the introduction of new taxes by the Finance Act, 2021.

Read also

University of Nairobi Doubles Tuition Fees for Postgraduate, Parallel Degrees to Ease Cashflow Struggles

"To enhance access to water and sanitation services, and improve the management and conservation of water resources… implements new water abstraction charges and water conservation levies,” the international lender said as reported by Business Daily.

PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Kenya’s #1 news app

The proposal, if implemented, would affect water companies that draw water from rivers.

World Bank loan

The new advisory by World Bank came after it approved a KSh 80 billion loan to Kenya to help address debt vulnerabilities and fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

Increase in access to water

According to the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), 59% of people in Kenya have access to safe drinking water, while 29% have access to improved sanitation facilities.

According to UNICEF, access to safe drinking water has increased by 12% since 2000.

Other items whose prices have increased

Read also

KRA Announces Plan to Auction Kenya Power Transformers over Unpaid Taxes

Prices of various items have skyrocketed after the government moved to implement the Finance Act, 2021, which has come into force after President Uhuru Kenyatta signed the Finance Bill into law.

Voice calls, data and SMS

The price of voice calls, data, short message service (SMS) and home fibre has increased after the excise duty was increased from 15% to 20%.

Cooking gas

Households are now paying at least KSh 350 more for the 13kg cooking gas, which retails at KSh 2,600 on average, a price level last seen in March 2015.

This was after the National Treasury reintroduced a 16% VAT on liquefied petroleum gas.

Do you have a groundbreaking story you would like us to publish? Please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690. Contact Tuko.co.ke instantly.

Source: TUKO.co.ke

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tcHKqGWcp16gsnCAkHFtaWtdrK61sdFmmaKknKh6tLHTZqmiq5VixLC%2By51km5meoHqxwdKhnKxlm5q7uq2MpqarnV2hsre1xKxkq52XqrmiwM6rsGabmJa%2FqLHSZ5%2BtpZw%3D

 Share!