Public institutions paralyse CRWB
Government institutions owe Central Region Water Board (CRWB) K4 billion, causing the board to struggle to meet its obligations such as paying taxes, pension contributions and servicing other debts.
Speaking yesterday when the water board appeared before the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament to update the committee on the status of the board’s taxes, pension arrears and other issues, CRWB chief executive officer John Makwenda told the committee that CRWB paid any outstanding taxes and pensions that a 2020 audit established, but that taxes have accumulated again due to defaulting of water bills payments by customers, especially public institutions.
An audit of the institution in 2020 established that CRWB had not remitted Pay as You Earn (Paye) tax amounting to K675.5 million, withholding tax amounting to K24.68 million, value added tax of K1.1 billion and pension amounting to K323.4 million.
CRWB cleared the amounts after engaging Treasury to pay bills that public institutions were owing it.
However, Makwenda lamented that public institutions are posing a challenge on the board’s operations and its commitments to pay taxes and pension contributions.
He said: “It is unfortunate that the tax arrears have also accumulated due to continued default by customers, especially the public institutions.”
Currently, Makwenda said the board is owed over K4 billion by public institutions, K3.4 billion of which is owed by the Malawi Defence Forces (MDF).
The CRWB CEO said the board is also forced to pay penalties for taxes it fails to remit on time, yet institutions continue to default.
“The board is also failing to pay back a loan of K947 million that it got from OFID for the construction of a water scheme in Kasungu. The loan has now accumulated to K2.4 billion,” he said.
However, he stated that the board has embarked on an exercise to put prepaid meters in public institutions, including the MDF institutions so that it is able to collect revenue.
Makwenda asked the committee to help CRWB lobby for funding from government so that it is able to embark on various water projects.
PAC chairperson for the meeting with CRWB Nicholas Dausi said PAC will engage relevant authorities to help address the issue of water bills defaulting.
He also called on the board to be innovative and engage donors to get funding for projects so that more people have access to clean water.
“You have to emulate what Northern Region Water Board [NRWB] has done. It has embarked on many projects in almost all the districts to ensure that people have access to potable water,” said Dausi.
CRWB is not the first institution to complain about public institutions defaulting payment of water bills. NRWB also recently complained that public institutions are owing K2.9 billion.
