Water boards bleeding, tariff hike key—minister

Minister of Information and Digitisation Moses Kunkuyu says the country’s five water boards are under pressure to supply adequate water because they are operating at a loss and are owed billions of kwacha in unpaid bills.

The minister said this in Blantyre on Saturday during a meeting with civil society organisations, chiefs and other stakeholders to discuss how the water utilities are operating in view of the situation and the expected water tariff hike.

The meeting comes weeks after economists, social commentators and health experts backed government’s decision to raise water tariffs, saying the hike will enable the water utilities to operate efficiently.

Last year, Northern Region Water Board proposed a 55 percent tarrif increase while Southern Region Water Board (SRWB) and Central Region Water Board asked for a 50 percent hike each and Lilongwe Water Board proposed a maximum hike of 35 percent.

Speaking during the meeting, Kunkuyu said: “We have been asking water boards to give us reasons why they fail to provide water sustainably to all. The answer is that they work at a loss.”

He said the stakeholders have understood why water boards are operating at a loss and failing to respond when need arises, as such, there is need to raise the tariffs to improve service delivery.

On her part, Deputy Minister of Water and Sanitation Liana Kakhobwe Chapota said in line with Water Works Act, water boards are mandated to provide water to the people, adding that in view of this, government directed water boards to take over all water kiosks.

Blantyre Water Board chief executive officer Robert Hanjahanja said when the water tariff is raised, the utility will be able to sort out most of the challenges they face and provide adequate water to its supply areas.

Senior Chief Kuntaja of Blantyre agreed that adjusting water tariffs could be one of the solutions to the challenges utilities are facing.