RNU Discover Functioning Water Meter in Belfast

Stephen McCourt with a piece on the discovery of a water meter in Belfast. Stephen McCourt is an activist in Republican Network for Unity. His piece first appeared on the RNU website on 24 October 2014.


This week RNU activists in West Belfast were contacted by a resident living in Upper Suffolk concerned about the work NI Water had recently carried out on his premises. He told RNU activists that a few days ago he seen NI Water contractors poking around his Boundary box (that they installed) and after they left, he decided to investigate what they workers had been doing.


He immediately called local RNU activists who helped him carry out an investigation of the work. Not surprised, the RNU activists discovered that the NI Water contractors had in fact been attaching a meter clock to the Boundary Box. This is now a fully functioning water meter, contrary to NI Waters claim that they weren’t installing water meters.

In previous months RNU exposed the disingenuous nature of NI Water who denied the installation of Boundary boxes until pressure was asserted on them via various media outlets by RNU activists. We also claimed that after installing components that can house a water meter, the meter clocks wouldn’t be too far behind – Our analysis has been proved to be correct.

It was no coincidence that NI Water were installing Boundary boxes at every home 18 months before water charges are debated at Stormont. Water meters and their subsequent charges are a reactionary and profit driven initiative carried out at the behest of profiteer Sarah Venning. It is also a violation of the right to water; this is a basic human right.

The lies of NI Water is blatant and obvious, it was only six months ago they proclaimed they weren’t installing Boundary boxes whatsoever, now they have admitted to installing them and furthermore we have discovered meters at certain properties. This is testament to the hard work of our activists who refused to let NI Water pull the wool over the eyes of the working class.

Questions must be asked of the Andersonstown News editor who embarrassingly asserted that NI Water were telling the truth about water meters because ‘businesses can’t lie in 2014’. As weak as it is pathetic.


Sinn Fein must also explain the reasoning behind their attempt to deceive the people of West Belfast. One of their activists took to Facebook via the Beechmount Sinn Fein page to label those who claimed water meters were being installed as ‘scabs’, insulting the intelligence of the people in West Belfast who recognised Boundary boxes for what they were. We are curious as to Sinn Feins motive behind what has now been exposed as a blatant lie. Do they have undeclared interests in NI Water and their anti-working class measures?



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