My Water Saga
June, 2002
When I got to Taabo last August, I went to the water company (Sodeci) and paid my 40 dollar deposit. Unfortunately, since I was new in Cote d’Ivoire, I was not aware of the high level of theft here. I did not know to demand a receipt showing payment of my deposit (in cash).
That probably sounds stupid to you. Even in the US I would know to expect a receipt (or I would have a cashed check to show my payment). But remember… my French was terrible and I was thrilled with just having gotten through the ordeal of setting up a water account in my own name. And, the men at the water company told me that the last volunteer had disconnected her own water, breaking a part of the meter in the process, so I had the extra problem of finding a plumber to repair the meter before they would hook up my water. I suspect this was untrue, but what choice did I have?
Fortunately, I had to borrow the money for the deposit from my mentor, since I hadn’t been given my relocation allowance yet. That fact will become important later.
Water billing is done every two months. When the bill arrived in October, the last volunteer’s name was still on the account. That tipped off the water company to the fact that I had not paid a deposit. They came over to my house to cut off the water. Fortunately, my neighbors were outside and assured them I had paid a deposit and would not let them cut off my water. The next day, I went over to the water company to inquire.
Well, the man who had collected my deposit and filled out the paperwork had been transferred to another office in Yamassoukro, about 100 km north of here. The new guy could not find any trace of my paperwork or of my deposit. We filled out new paperwork, but I refused to pay the deposit again. He said he would contact the last employee to find out where the money was.
December came, and the bill was still in the last volunteer’s name. The last volunteer was getting anxious to receive her deposit back since she will be leaving the country in August. She called to find out what was going on. Unfortunately, the new employee in the Taabo office had become ill and was put on disability leave. There was no salaried employee at Sodeci who could help her. Marianne dropped the subject for the holidays and decided to follow up after the new year.
February’s bill came, still with Marianne’s name on it. By this time, we had our second new employee in the Taabo Sodeci office. (There are two other employees, but they seem to be repairmen, not people who do accounts and payments.) The new employee decided to investigate. He came to my house with the records showing the meter number I had been assigned, and found it did not match the meter that was installed. Certainly, I was stealing water, and to correct that, he was going to remove the meter and turn my water off. Again, my neighbors stopped him from cutting off my water, telling him I would come to the office to discuss the issue.
I was out of town a lot in February, so my mentor’s wife went over to talk to Sodeci. She explained the situation and brought the new guy up to date on all that had been happening. The new employee said he would look into it and get back to her.
April’s bill came, still in the name of the last volunteer. Can you believe it? Me either. This spurred the new employee into action, since he had forgotten to work on the issue in February and March. He says he searched the entire office (two rooms) and could not find either set of the paperwork I filled out, or the deposit. (As if a little stack of money is going to be sitting in the corner of the office just waiting for someone to come upon it? Whatever.) Since he could not find the paperwork or the deposit, I must not have paid the deposit.
My neighbor and I marched over to the water company together. She explained the entire situation again to the employee. The repairmen were called into the office to see if they remembered seeing me pay my deposit. If I hadn’t paid, did they remember why my water had been turned on without the deposit? They remembered nothing except that Marianne had broken the water meter when she removed it.
Since there was no evidence of my paperwork or the deposit, the new employee completed new paperwork (my third set of paperwork). Then he asked me to pay a deposit. Hello? I thought the reason we were here was that my deposit was already paid and was "lost" (stolen). Well, the employee explained, he had to turn in cash with the paperwork for Sodeci to put the account in my name. Either I had to pay the money again, or I had to find the original deposit. I lost my temper. I told him that I had come to his country to help the develop, and that I had given up two years of my life with my family and friends in the US just to help Ivorians. I told him that the repayment I get for this sacrifice is that people look at my white skin and think I’m rich, so they steal from me. (I’ve given the same speech several times, so I’m getting pretty good at it.)
My neighbor was very embarrassed that I would speak to the Sodeci agent in such a disrespectful tone. She said she would handle the situation from here on out. She got the Taabo Sodeci office to call the Yamassoukro office and talk to the old employee. At first he claimed he didn’t remember me paying. But my neighbor reminded him of the circumstances (they had seen the original Sodeci employee driving past in a car and had handed him the money). With that, the old employee admitted that he had stolen my deposit! His wife had been sick and his mother had just died, so he needed the money to help pay for the funeral and hospital expenses. Unfortunately, he said, he did not have the means to repay the money. I should just pay the deposit again.
If you wonder what it is like to be a Westerner in this culture, that pretty well explains it. I am white and American. Of course I have the money to pay the deposit again. He is poor and African. Even though he is employed, he says he cannot repay the money. He assumes that people will side with him because everyone knows how rich Americans are.
When I heard that the man had admitted to taking the money, I marched right back to Sodeci with my neighbor. She brought him up to speed on the situation, and I demanded that either the man’s wages be garnisheed or that he be terminated from Sodeci. The new employee was shocked at these suggestions. And, he replied, both were impossible. I told both of them that my next step would be to call the police and have the man arrested. She told me that was too aggressive!!
Last week, my neighbor actually went up to Yamassoukro to confront the man face to face. He again admitted he stole the money, but that he could not pay it back. My neighbor talked to a manager who was able to ensure the money would be taken out of the man’s next paycheck. Now all that is left is to match up the money with the form that I have filled out three times, and have the account switched over to my name. Then Marianne can have her deposit back, and I will get a water bill for my usage from last August until now. Fortunately, through all this, they have had no problem accurately maintaining the records showing how much water I have used so they can properly bill me.
The man at the Taabo Sodeci office tells me that sometime in July that paperwork will be done, and I can stop by their office for my official copy of the paperwork that shows I have paid my deposit.
Can you even believe it?