BWB cleared on water loss,pension query remains

The Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has cleared the Blantyre Water Board (BWB) on an audit query relating to high non‑revenue water after verifying measures the utility implemented to reduce losses.

However, the committee maintained an outstanding audit query over unremitted pension contributions, saying the board has not yet remitted pension funds deducted from employees.

Speaking on Friday after touring the board’s headquarters, Chileka Water Treatment Plant and Walkers Ferry Pumping Station, PAC chairperson Steven Baba Malondera said the visit was intended to verify progress on issues raised in the Auditor‑General’s report for the 2022 financial year.

The Auditor‑General’s report for the year ended 30 June 2022 queried BWB’s non‑revenue water, which stood at about 54 percent, more than double the sector’s recommended benchmark of 25 percent.

Chihana(L) shows PAC chair Malondera (C) a new plant

at Chileka Station. I Kondwani Nyondo

Non‑revenue water refers to treated water that does not generate income because of leakages, illegal connections, faulty metering and unbilled consumption.

Malondera said BWB had earlier presented a number of interventions to Parliament aimed at reducing non‑revenue water, prompting the committee to conduct a physical inspection to verify implementation.

He said PAC was satisfied that the board had implemented the measures, including procuring and installing six pumps under the World Bank‑funded Malawi Water and Sanitation Project.

“What we have found confirms their presentation and we will clear this audit query because they have demonstrated progress in addressing non‑revenue water,” Malondera said.

During the tour, the committee inspected rehabilitation works and newly installed pumping equipment, which BWB says have improved water production and distribution.

Malondera, however, said the committee was not satisfied with the board’s response to an audit query on unremitted pension contributions.

“They are deducting pension contributions from employees, but the funds have not been remitted. Those audit queries will remain outstanding until the arrears are cleared,” he said.

In an interview after the tour, BWB board chairperson Stanley Chirwa, who declined to comment on reported wrangles between the board and management, said the board had taken several steps to address the audit findings.

He said the board sanctioned a forensic audit to establish facts surrounding some of the issues raised by the Auditor‑General and had invested in infrastructure through the Malawi Water and Sanitation Project to reduce non‑revenue water and improve service delivery.

“We are happy that we have been cleared on non‑revenue water. In response to the audit queries, the board sanctioned a forensic audit to address some of the issues that were raised. At the same time, we have invested in infrastructure through the Malawi Water and Sanitation Project, which is helping us tackle non‑revenue water and improve service delivery,” Chirwa said.

The committee also used the tour to address the reported fallout between the board and management. Malondera said the wrangles were diverting attention from the board’s mandate of providing reliable water services and improving revenue collection.

“While we were engaging, the committee also noted that there was a lot of antagonism between the board and management. We requested them to resolve the issues because Malawians are not looking forward to listening to their fighting. Infighting shall not deliver clean and potable water to the people,” he said.

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