The Assembly Executive is set to impose water charges in April 2009. Householders will face water bills of up to £775 next year rising to £950 the year after. That is even higher than what direct rule Ministers were looking for!

In yet another humiliating climbdown, the NI Government has had to abandon plans to introduce water charges via the rates. They were convinced that a campaign of mass non-payment of the charges could be avoided if they included the tap tax as part of the rates, but their plans now lie in ruins.

The Socialist Party and the We Won’t Pay Campaign were the only ones who pointed out the complex legal and logistical obstacles to this approach. It has now been proven that it is not within the remit of the Land & Property Services to collect revenue on behalf of Northern Ireland Water via the rates. The water company can only be financed by it’s own independent charging mechanism. This means that separate water bills will be sent to every household across Northern Ireland next April.

It is now blindingly obvious that the parties in the Executive were lying when they claimed to oppose water charges during the Assembly election campaign last year. They are now attempting to re-write history by claiming that they did not claim to oppose water charges.

Raymond McCartney of Sinn Fein has claimed that "We said no to double charging, that there should be an end to the direct rule regime and that there should be an open, transparent debate on how we move forwar". But why does he not remind us that Sinn Fein’s election manifesto also stated "Oppose the imposition of water charges’"? The reality is that all the political parties now sharing power in the Executive loudly claimed to oppose water charges before the election, but they also stated in the small print they were prepared to introduce some form of water charges.

With gas prices having increased by 28%, oil prices reaching dizzying new heights, electricity prices set to increase by 30% this year, not to mention soaring food prices, tens of thousands of households will find it impossible to pay water charges. Non-payment is unavoidable.

The We Won’t Pay Campaign is determined to build on the support which has been built over the past five years in local communities across the North and defeat these scandalous charges. It is essential that We Won’t Pay groups are organised in every local area in anticipation of bills being delivered next April. Remember it is not a criminal offence to refuse to pay water charges. If everybody stands together and collectively boycotts water charges, the Assembly will be forced to scrap them.

To join the campaign contact 90311778 or visit www.wewontpaycampaign.com.