Beyond One’s Power :: Charter'97 :: News

Recently we received a letter from 140 residents of the villages Matuty, Starinka and Komarovichi of Goretsky district, who pose us one question: how can a person survive on an average pension of 70thsd rubles and salary of 100thsd rubles, when he needs to pay more than 100thsd a month for apartment’s maintenance? And then there came another upsetting news. On January 15 the Ministry of economy ruled to raise tariffs on central heating and hot water by 15%. Expectedly this decision will come into effect as soon as the Justice Ministry registers them – somewhere in early February. In the near future we will pay for a single-room apartment 44thsd a month, double – 66thsd, three-room – 91thsd. And this isn’t a limit, by the way.

A year ago the heads of the Ministry of economy and Ministry of housing told us that payments for public utilities don’t cover even 20% of real expenditures on their production. And so, under the law on budget, the financial burden, laid on tenants’ shoulders, was supposed to grow twice. “SB” correspondent was told in the Ministry of economy and Ministry of housing that the law on budget has been observed now. However, the real figures are fluctuating. They calculated inflation for the year 2002 – 34,8%, that is prices in average rose by slightly more than one third. A situation is totally different with the public utilities tariffs. Heating and gas became 3,5 times costlier, electricity – 2,5 times, elevators’ use – 8 times, apartment rent – 5,7 times. None of the above-mentioned price-increases, even for radio use, met the average inflation rate growth statistics.