The Water Authority should modernise its management practice. I was moving house and needed to establish a new account with the utilities. Hongkong Telecom, Towngas and Hongkong Electric managed to open an account for me over the telephone and committed to starting services at my new flat on an agreed date. This was all done over the telephone within five minutes. No deposit was required.
The Water Authority is a totally different matter. I was asked to go to a Water Authority office to get a proper form which must be completed by the old and new account holders first. Then the form must be sent to the Water Authority for processing. When the authority official was asked why the authority could not provide services over the telephone like other utility companies, her answer was that they were private companies and the Water Authority was part of the Government.
While we claim Hong Kong is one of the most efficient economies in the world, we cannot allow the Water Authority to live in the Dark Ages. It is time for it to shape up or be privatised.
NAME AND ADDRESS SUPPLIED
