BWB fights for turnaround

Blantyre Water Board (BWB) has disclosed that it is working on a three-year turnaround strategy to move from a loss making parastatal to break even, and all things being equal, start making profits.

The oldest water utility, established in 1927, squarely blames past regimes politicking for its nonperformance.

For the past successive five years, the board has been registering losses while accumulating huge unsettled electricity bills of up to K5 billion, with about 70 percent of its monthly revenue going towards energy bills.

BWB management and its board of directors, in an engagement with editors from media houses in Blantyre on Wednesday, disclosed that their ambitious three-year strategy is to ensure distribution of quality water that meets Malawi Bureau of Standards and World Health Organisations requirements.

Asked what stopped the board from adjusting tariffs when they knew they were making losses,  board chairperson Joe Ching’ani, said all the past regimes are guilty of interfering with operations of the BWB.

“You know, to make an adjustment, you have to present a request to government and it happened that the requests coincided with elections. The parties [in government] thought it was politically insensitive to do that.

“As a result, we have carried on like that and we have found ourselves in the position we are today. At least the current request to make tariff adjustments has been approved,” he said.

BWB, amid disapproval from some civil society groups, made a tariff adjustment of 40 percent last month and they anticipate making another adjustment by the last quarter of this year, according to the board.

Chipped in BWB chief executive officer Robert Hanjahanja; “we have been selling our water at a loss. We would have loved to increase our tariffs up to 90 percent, not even to break even, but at least to operate at cost. We are sensitive and considerate.”

The CEO explained that from K1.9 billion monthly revenues, K1.3 billion goes to Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (Escom) for water they pump at Walkers Ferry.

From the remainder, he said, the board is required to buy chemicals for water treatment, spend on operational costs and pay salaries for its 742 workforce.

He said the turnaround strategies include investing in a water bottling plant, expanding a water intake at Likhubula in Mulanje by constructing a dam, fix prepaid metering in State institutions and go solar to create their own power.

In his presentation on the turnaround strategy, BWB director of finance Paul Chiumia, said aged network infrastructure, illegal water connections, meter tampering and prepaid meter challenges contributed to the underperformance.

“Our key strategic objectives include reducing short term liabilities by 20 percent, from K39.1 billion, improve sales volumes by 46 percent, reduce operational costs by 70 percent and increase customer base by 24 000,” he said, adding current connections stand at 76 000.