States with no plans to increase water tariffs must submit mechanisms to ministry, says Xavier

Sunday, 05 Jan 2020


KLANG (Bernama): States that have no plans to increase the water tariff have been asked to submit their respective mechanisms to provide clean water supply to the people to the Water, Land and Natural Resources Ministry.
Minister Datuk Dr Xavier Jayakumar (pic) said this was because the cost of preparing and managing treated water was high and remedial action had to be taken to address the water crisis in the states.
"Everybody needs to understand that the water industry requires a huge budget so we can ensure that people receive a supply of clean water 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
"Once we have the budget then we can provide the infrastructure to manage water operations besides addressing the shortage of water supply, so the states with no plans to increase their water tariff need to show that they have workable mechanisms and present it to the ministry, ” he told reporters here after launching the Restoration, Reclamation and Rehabilitation through tree planting programme at the Botanical Garden here Sunday (Jan 5).
He said this when asked to comment on the Negri Sembilan government’s stance Saturday (Jan 4) that it would not increase its water tariff.
Negri Sembilan Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun said this was in line with the Pakatan Harapan government’s manifesto in the 14th General Election (GE14), stating there would be no increase in water tariff in five years.
Dr Xavier said several states had agreed with the ministry’s proposal to increase the tariffs and the matter would be brought to Cabinet for approval before it was announced in the near future.
"If we don’t start now (raising the water tariff), we will face water problems in the next five years, ” he said.
Meanwhile, commenting on the tree-planting programme, he said the ministry had targeted 100 million trees to be planted nationwide in five years, to show Malaysia’s commitment to conserving natural resources and the environment.
"This programme was created in conjunction with the International Day of Forests and we have identified an area of ​​4,750 hectares to be rehabilitated.
"Through the tree-planting exercise, we will concentrate on the planting of iconic jungle trees including Merbau (Intsia palembanica), ” he said. - Bernama



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Gold Bars Fight Covid Kits for Space on the Plane

Image
Before the health crisis, gold typically traveled around the world on commercial flights. Swiss refiner Valcambi SA tried for five straight days last month to move a shipment of gold out of Hong Kong. Twice the metal was packed carefully onto a plane, only to be offloaded again. After daily attempts and numerous arguments, the gold suddenly arrived in Switzerland without warning, said Chief Executive Officer Michael Mesaric. “We had not even asked for a slot.” The coronavirus crisis has shone a light on a corner of precious metals markets that usually draws little attention: the logistics of transporting gold, silver and other metals across the world. The business is dominated by companies including Brink’s Co., G4S Plc, Loomis AB and Malca-Amit, which link miners and refiners with gold trading and consumption hubs around the world. In normal times, gold bars worth millions of dollars travel the world in the cargo holds of commercial planes, just a few meters from
Read more

US on track to unseat Saudi Arabia as #2 oil producer in the world

Image
© Jim Urquhart / Reuters New forecasts from the International Energy Agency say the United States is on track to overtake Saudi Arabia as the second-largest oil producer in the world, just behind Russia, according to the organization’s report on Friday. "This year promises to be a record-setting one for the US,"  the IEA wrote in its monthly market report.  "Relentless growth should see the US hit historic highs above 10 million barrels per day, overtaking Saudi Arabia and rivaling Russia during the course of 2018 – provided OPEC/non-OPEC restraints remain in place.” OPEC players have been wary of the strength of the American shale market as the nation’s products reach new countries every month. "US growth in 2017 beat all expectations ... as the shale industry bounced back, profiting from cost cuts, (and) stepped up drilling activity,"  the IEA added.  "Explosive growth in the US and substantial gains in Canada and Brazil will far outweigh pot
Read more

Can Anything Stop The Shale Surge?

Image
By  Tom Kool  - Jan 19, 2018, 2:00 PM CST Higher oil prices may lead to huge growth in U.S. shale production, according to revised predictions from both OPEC and the IEA. Friday, January 19, 2018 Oil prices fell back a bit at the end of this week. EIA data shows a rise in U.S. production, but also another strong decline in inventories. Brent is struggling to hold above $70, and benchmark prices await some direction. IEA: Explosive growth in U.S. shale will test oil prices.  The IEA’s latest Oil Market Report paints a mixed picture for prices. Clearly, the market is tightening, the IEA says, but it also says that shale growth will be “explosive” this year. The agency revised up its forecasts growth for U.S production from 870,000 bpd to 1.1 mb/d in 2018. That, combined with gains from other non-OPEC countries, could end the price rally, although the IEA says a lot of uncertainty remains.  Venezuelan oil production plunges by over 200,000 bpd . Venezuela’s Decemb
Read more