Ministry of Housing and Communal Services: $1 increase is nothing!

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Two-room flat bills will increase by 8 thousands on September 1.

Cold water will cost 35% more. Using the list – 20% more. Servicing of blocks of flats will become 10% more expensive. Alena Dudzinskaya, head of the economy department of the Ministry of Housing and Communal Services, says that the increase is the same as nothing at all:
“The bills you pay for a two-room flat where three people live will increase by 7.9 thousands in the period when the central heating is turned on. It will be less in summer. It’s just peanuts.  The $1 increase is nothing”.

Belarusians will pay for 18% of the housing and communal services after the increase not counting the electricity bills. “This is not even a 1% increase”, - says Alena Dudzinskaya:

“The population pays for a very little part of it! The payment has not even increased by 1% - only by 0.6%. But for the increase, we would be getting 17.4% a year. And we will get 18% now. However, the level was a bit higher in August – 20.6% without electricity bills”.

Let us remind you that, according to the Belarusian government’s anti-crisis plan, Belarusians will have to pay for 30% of the housing and communal services cost by the end of 2011 and 60% - by 2016.

Specialists from “Minsk City Housing and Communal Services” have complained to Euroradio that the situation is very difficult now:

 “We can hardly survive… Our people’s wages are just terrible. If you increase the cost of waste collection by 500 roubels it will result in a scandal. But it is cheaper than a fare! We need to explain how difficult the situation is. The situation is bad and it will become even worse”.