Maravi

WASCO blocks Lusaka Water tariff increase

WASCO blocks Lusaka Water tariff increase
By By Ndinawe Simpelwe
Sat 08 Jan. 2011, 04:01 CAT

NATIONAL Water and Sanitation Council has barred the Lusaka Water and Sewerage Company from increasing tariffs due to poor services to its customers. In an interview, council director Kelvin Chitumbo said the embargo on the water utility would not be lifted until service delivery was improved.

“Lusaka Water and Sewerage Company has failed to fulfil guaranteed services to its customers. They will not be allowed to increase tariffs until we see them improve,” Chitumbo said.

He said the water utility was supposed to provide services for at least 12 hours a day but had failed.
“The required period for service varies depending on the area. The guaranteed hours in Chelstone and Avondale are supposed to be 12 hours per day but they have failed to provide that service to the two areas,” he said.

Chitumbo said NWASCO would not allow water utilities to increase tariffs and continue providing poor services to the customers.

“We are monitoring the utilities and we want to see an improvement in terms of services after we allowed them to increase tariffs,” Chitumbo said.

He urged customers to continue demanding better services from water utilities.

NWASCO last year approved tariff raises for four commercial utility companies to be implemented in the next three years.

Eastern, Mulonga, Luapula, and Western Water and Sewerage companies were given an approval to increase their water tariffs by between
eight and 50 per cent.

And Chitumbo said NWASCO needed infrastructure to harvest rainwater and make it useful to the community.

He said the harvest of rainwater would help reduce the floods that were experienced in different parts of the country.

“We need to work closely with the planning authority to see how best we can utilise rainwater,” he said.

However, Chitumbo said it would be a big challenge to successfully harvest rainwater because places that were earmarked for such had been developed and people were living there.

Labels: LUSAKA, WATER

posted by MrK @ 1:40 PM