First, you pay and pay. Then, they teach you how to save.
Water tariffs go up?
Not to worry, the National Environment Agency launches an aggressive campaign to encourage Singaporeans to reduce their electricity consumption.
There’s an Energy-Saving Challenge that runs on traditional and digital platforms and reaches out to the community through activities at libraries and shopping malls.
A cartoonist is even engaged to make the whole thing lively and fun.
So clever, right?
They help you to feel better that you are doing your part to save energy – but at the end of the day, you still have to pay more because the tariffs go up.
It’s the same with water.
After water tariffs go up, the PUB leverages on social media platforms such as Facebook and YouTube, and takes up expensive TV advertising slots to give water conservation tips.
You are bombarded with the message that water is such a precious resource and every drop you save counts.
So you do your part to cut down on water usage, but at the end of the day your water bill still goes up.
It’s the same with GST and Service and Conservancy Charges (S&CC).
No problem, they will help people cope by giving out GST vouchers and S&CC rebates.
The strategy is simple: first you have to be prepared to fork out more, but then you are so fortunate (don’t you think?) because they are helpful and considerate enough to teach you good habits so you can be conscientious Singaporeans.
So let’s go back to where we started: First you pay and pay, then they teach you how to save.
