By LEWIS CHANGWE –
LUAPULA Water and Sewerage Company (LWASCO) has proposed to increase water tariffs in the province in order to improve service delivery to its customers.
The company is proposing a 10 per cent increase for domestic customers and 20 per cent hike for commercial customers and institutions.
Speaking during a stakeholders meeting held at Nsakaluba primary school in Mwense district, LWASCO support service officer Chisala Chipunka said the water utility company was currently experiencing a number of challenges.
Mr Chipunka cited lack of infrastructure, lack of equipment, limited revenue base, low voltage levels, high maintenance and operation costs among others.
He said the proposed increase would help the company address most of the challenges being experienced and improve service delivery to its customers.
“If our proposed increment is accepted, we can assure you we will be able to address some of the challenges and increase water supply from the current 40 per cent to at least 60 per cent,” Mr Chipunka explained.
He said the cost of production has gone up while the collections were very low, making it difficult for the water utility company to operate effectively.
“The collections are too low to match the production and operation costs. There is need for us to connect more customers so that we can have enough revenue base.”
Meanwhile, stakeholders, who expressed different opinions over the proposed increment, appealed to LWASCO to quickly address its challenges and improve service delivery.
They said it was sad that the company was proposing increasing water tariffs at a time when some customers in the district were not supplied with the commodity for over three weeks.
They advised the water utility company to consider tapping water from the Luapula River as a long term solution to the current water shortage challenges the company was experiencing.-ZANIS