Utilities Problem on small island
Utilities — water, electricity, gas. These are constant problems when living in a country like this.
I’m fortunate that I don’t have water-cut issues, mainly because some government officials live near me. He seems to have enough influence to ensure the water department doesn’t cut the supply during the dry season. During that period, the general public isn’t allowed to wash their cars or fill their swimming pools, and some people go days without running water.
However, yesterday I had a major problem with the outdoor tap. After washing the cat’s bowl, I turned off the tap and it broke into two pieces. The entire tap came off. It’s made of metal, but clearly very poor-quality metal. I’ve only lived here for two years, and when I checked the other outdoor tap, I realized that one was new while the broken one was second-hand or used for years. The people here are really hellish. I paid full price for everything, yet they gave me rubbish. When I asked the plumber to come fix it, he tried to push the job onto someone else. I’m not even sure if he will come. I tried finding another plumber, but they’re reluctant to take small jobs. And I’m the one who suffers.
Power cuts are another big problem here. The hotter the weather gets, the more electricity people use, and the electric company simply cuts the power without warning. The government encourages people to use solar power, but the installation cost is insanely expensive — ordinary people can’t afford it. I bought a small generator when I moved here, but the workers here are thieves. They stole it when I wasn’t paying attention.
Gas is probably the least problematic for me. But since I can’t drive and don’t have a car, I rely on Christophe. When I run out of gas or I’m about to, I ask him to take me to the gas station to buy one or two containers. Gas itself is cheap here, but the deposit for the container is another story. People steal gas containers here — whether they contain gas or not. Again, the quality of the people is so poor. I’m still learning how to live among them.