BERA kickstarts public hearings on BPC tariffs
Friday, July 10, 2020
Going up: Consumers believe the BPC is unilaterally and even secretly increasing tariffs
On social media and other platforms, consumers have vented their anger over BERA’s decision to award the Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) a tariff increase in March, at a time when the economy and households were facing a mounting crisis from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Consumers have even accused the BPC of secretly tampering with the prepaid meters to increase the rate of consumption. The BPC has instead said higher consumption rates are associated with winter demand, the tariff increase and the fact that more people are working from home due to COVID-19 restrictions.
The statement, whilst some may say, comes a little bit too late, is timely as gender-based violence (GBV) continues to haunt the country. A week hardly passes without reports of a wife, a girlfriend or boyfriend being killed by their intimate partners. Just recently, a high-ranking officer stationed at Glen Valley Barracks reportedly murdered his wife and has so far managed to evade arrest. It is also alleged that another soldier murdered his...