Chongjin residents are expressing displeasure with the government’s compulsory collection of fees for electricity and water, despite their failure to properly provide either service, Daily NK has learned.
“Chongjinites have recently been experiencing daily inconveniences due to frequent power and water outages,” a source in North Hamgyong Province told Daily NK last Thursday, speaking on condition of anonymity. “Nonetheless, neighborhood watch unitNeighborhood watch units (inminban, people's units) are Nort... More leaders or the heads of sanitation teams regularly go around to collect electricity and water fees from households.”
According to the source, the government has never done a good job of supplying electricity or water in the past, but the situation grew even worse in June. He said power is either out the entire day or comes for just 20 or 30 minutes, while water is supplied just once every 10 days.
Nevertheless, the authorities are squeezing people for electricity and water fees.
In fact, in one neighborhood watch unitNeighborhood watch units (inminban, people's units) are Nort... More in Chongjin’s Chongam District, the head of the unit went around to each household to collect fees for electricity on June 24 even thought electricity had barely been supplied to the area.
Faced with having to pay for electricity he had not received, one person complained: “How the heck can you collect fees for just a few minutes of electricity? I’ll accept it if you provide electric lighting for more than half the month, at least. Since I don’t have money to pay, go and report me.”
In the case of water fees, the authorities pass down the expenses of drawing water, which has also led to public discontent, the source said.
North Korea uses gravity fed water systems that draw water into water tanks at higher elevations and let gravity supply the water to households. However, the country’s poor electricity supplies mean that the authorities are charging locals for the oil needed to run the water pumps used to draw the water.
Even though people suffer great inconveniences from poor infrastructure and chronic supply shortages, the government is absorbed in collecting fees rather than solving actual problems, the source claimed.
“People have to do everything on their own, including acquiring rice, electricity, and water,” he said. “Public discontent will only grow if the government goes on collecting fees for services it doesn’t provide.”
Translated by David Black. Edited by Robert Lauler.
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