Irregularities in WUA services exposed
For eight months, residents of Lunzu Township in Blantyre and the surrounding villages have been buying water from kiosks managed by Water Users Association (WUA) at a higher price.
This was revealed on Friday during an interface meeting organised by Water for People, an organisation working in improving access to clean and safe water in the country.
The meeting whose objective was to discuss how the service is going on in Lunzu’s Pasani WUA, brought together water users, Blantyre Water Board (BWB), Consumers Association of Malawi (Cama) and leaders of various WUAs from Blantyre.
During the discussion, water users said they buy water at a higher price compared to what some subscribers of BWB who resell their water offer.
They said they are paying K15 instead of K12 for every 20 litres of water.
Pasani WUA chairperson MacJones Somba expressed surprise at this revelation, saying they are supposed to operate in uniformity in terms of water prices.
“We will investigate this and I will summon the girls who sell our water to explain why this is happening,” said Somba.
BWB public affairs officer Priscilla Mateyu advised WUAs to stick to the agreement, saying they sell them water at very cheap price so they can sell it to the poorest at affordable prices.
She also asked the buyers to report to the board if they find people selling water in their homes at a cost lower than that offered at kiosks, warning that such people are some of the culprits who tamper with BWB metres.
