The Mohamed Muizzu administration has conceded that it did not fulfil its promise to provide discounts on electricity and water bills during the fasting month of Ramadan. This acknowledgment comes days after state-owned utility companies and government officials asserted that the discounts had been applied as promised.
Heena Waleed, the Chief Spokesperson at the President’s Office, made a public post acknowledging the government’s failure and its commitment to rectify the situation. This admission validated the public’s concerns that the government had previously misled them by assuring that discounts had been applied to utility bills for Ramadan.
Waleed stated in her post, “As President Muizzu requested [utility companies], we noticed that easements were not provided.” She further added that the utility companies have been instructed once again to rectify the situation and apply the promised discounts on the utility bills for the month of Ramadan.
Before Waleed’s public admission, utility companies had announced that they were initiating measures to rectify the situation and ensure that discounts were applied to electricity and water usage during the fasting month of Ramadan.
However, following the issuance of utility bills for Ramadan, customers expressed their disappointment on social media over the increased charges, starkly contrasting President Muizzu’s promise. Some social media users even claimed the supposedly discounted bills were higher than regular months.
In response to public outcry and demands for an explanation, the government initially defended the bills by asserting that the promised discounts had been provided to customers. On Sunday, the managing directors of State Electric Company Ltd. (STELCO) and FENAKA Corporation held a press conference where they categorically stated that discounts had been provided to customers as promised by the president.
The managing directors of the utility companies also attributed the rise in utility bills during Ramadan to the current surge in global temperatures, which were at record levels during March and April.
