KARACHI, July 27: Describing the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board as a typical bureaucratic government entity, a Japan International Cooperation Agency team preparing the city’s water and sanitation master plan has observed in its progress report that it appears as if the water utility’s by-laws have not been prepared or revised for decades and it is not known why its board has ceased to function since 2001.
The JICA team while discussing the utility’s managing capacity in the report said the KWSB was a typical bureaucratic government entity with antiquated IT equipment, long serving staff, constrained by civil service rules and regulations and subject to both internal and political pressure.
Owing to poor information and planning, the KWSB has been unable to control water and revenue losses and respond rapidly to customers’ requests and complaints, the report says.
In fact, there is growing support for the conversion of the KWSB into a fully-fledged corporation, organised on professional and commercial principles, together with reorganisation into area-based management zones. However, the report observes that a change of mindset is required in the existing staff of revenue section, besides introduction of professionalism in finance and administration as well as staff training in information technology.
With the introduction of the latest technology and data management for the integrated revenue management system, the report suggests that the KWSB should not miss the opportunity to train its own revenue staff for strengthening it management capacity.
Cautioning that information technology alone will not solve the revenue collection problems, the study emphasises the need for completing and continuously updating the Register of Consumers and proper bill delivery as both require strengthening of management system. Besides, the flow of information from the revenue personnel in the 18 towns is also vital and there is a need to improve the communication system regarding data revenue such as illegal connections and newly registered connections.
Besides, the JICA report recommends that the new consumer service centre staff should be given training in IT and dealing with complaint management.
Leakages in trunk mains
The JICA study shows that there are over 200 kilometres of trunk mains varying in diameter from 18 to 72 inches, the most widely used material being pre-stressed reinforced cement concrete pipes.
According to the assessment carried out in 1996, the report says 40 per cent of the overall water losses occur in the trunk main system though lack of metering prevented accurate measurements, leakages results are obtained from extensive investigations by consultants.
The water distribution network comprises about 5,450 kilometres of pipelines. Seventy per cent of pipes are asbestos cement and 23 per cent are cast iron. Much of the system is old and in very poor condition.
The KWSB regulates supplies to sub-zones by opening and closing feeder valves from the trunk mains and regulating the hours of operation of distribution pumping stations and as such almost all ‘retail’ (un-metered) consumers are subjected to intermittent water supply.
The report elaborates that although water losses between the trunk mains and the distribution system due to leakages are estimated to be 20 per cent, the water board has no overall specific strategy, plan or department to deal with the leakages and subsequently the tasks fell to the superintending engineers of the 18 towns under the direction of their respective chief engineers.
At the outset, the JICA report states that there is little done to remove illegal connections though there are thought to be many. “The law is rarely, if ever, enforced by those charged with these duties,” said the report adding that there is known to be a degree of political and other interferences, too, in the implementation of the law.
Reviewing the need for strengthening KWSB’s management capacity with the aim of reducing water losses, the JICA suggests that it must be looked at in the overall context of bringing about corporate reforms in the proposed Asian Development Bank study for capacity building within the CDGK, which is linked to future loans for the Karachi Mega City Development Project.