BWB yet to respond to CAMA’s queries on recall of prepaid meters sent on Feb 22

* Surprisingly BWB has failed to inform and engage consumers on the real reasons for the recall or withdraw of the current prepaid meters

* BWB has also failed to explain how many prepaid meters are identified and require removal as faulty or are of poor quality

By Duncan Mlanjira

Consumer Association of Malawi (CAMA) has released to the media a letter it sent on Thursday last week (February 22) to Blantyre Water Board Chief Executive Officer, Robert Hanjahanja demanding an explanation of the parastatal’s decision to recall of prepaid meters.

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This is after Hanjahanja is yet to respond to the strong arguments that CAMA Executive Director, John Kapito outlined in the petition — maintaining that consumers already embraced the prepaid technology which BWB initiated.

“…surprisingly Blantyre Water Board (BWB) has failed to inform and engage consumers on the real reasons for the recall or withdraw of the current prepaid meters,” says the letter.

“Blantyre Water Board has also failed to explain how many prepaid meters are identified and require removal as faulty or are of poor quality.

“BWB must be reminded that only a few years ago it advised consumers about the many benefits that are offered by prepaid meters and that included improved cash flow for the Water Board as consumers will be paying before consumption.”

BWB CEO Robert Hanjahanja

This arrangement, Kapito argues, was meat to assist BWB to serve consumers better but also to assist and allow them to plan and manage their water consumption.

He also reminds Hanjahanja that the prepaid meter system was also one of BWB’s public reform areas “which included reduction of complaints from many disputed invoices that arose as a result of poor billing from the postpaid billing system”.

“The desire to go into prepaid meters had many purported benefits and we are surprised with the sudden withdrawal of the meters,” Kapito said.

John Kapito

The questions that BWB is yet to answer and shared to the media today (February 26) are:

a) When did BWB discover that these prepaid meters are of poor quality?

b) Have consumers complained or lost money as a result of the poor quality of the current prepaid meters?

c) Why is BWB going back to postpaid meters after all the heavy promotions that were attached to the prepaid meters?

d) Has there been an enquiry that has revealed that these recalled prepaid meters were mis-procured and if so who has been found to be responsible?

e) What has happened to those individuals that were involved in the purchase of these poor quality prepaid meters?

f) Has BWB abandoned its public reform areas one of which demanded the installation of prepaid meters?

g) Is the process of replacing new prepaid meters one of your ways of creating demand for new meters and trigger corrupt procurement contracts?

h) Is the reintroduction of postpaid meters one way of going back to your unfair and inflated billing system?

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Kapito goes to to chide BWB management, saying: “Consumers are fed up with the continued games of twisting and turning them around like useless and hopeless objects.

“We will appreciate if you would respond to our questions and we wish to indicate that whatever motive is behind the reintroduction of postpaid meters that will not be in the interest of consumers.”

Soon after a notification of the recall exercise that BWB released on January 31, we also raised some questions to the water utility company’s management on February 6, which were not responded to

The questions were being asked by members of the public on social media, which were:

1. People are asking why BWB should revert to prepaid because in the first place, the postpaid system was abandoned because BWB was losing revenue due to fraud, metre tampering, unaccounted for or lost water) and a litany of other technical hitches, why are you reverting to post paid instead of procuring better prepaid meters? 

2. Does such procurement take too long such that you first have to recall them? 

3. Are the recalled prepaid meters going to undergo maintenance? 

4. How long will your customers expect to be provided with new prepared meters or repaired ones? 

5. Where will the postpaid meters come from? Will customers be made to pay for them? 

6. There is also great concern that getting a prepaid meter, for those who don’t have, is  painstakingly winding process, why is this so when BWB needs to maximize on revenue collection? 

7. Is it true that an applicant for a prepaid meter has to pay K150,000? 

8. What is the arrangement with banks, TNM Mpamba, Airtel Money and other financial service providers who were integrated to the postpaid meter billing system?

When contacted following CAMA’s release of the letter he sent and the progress of the questions Maravi Express sent, BWB spokesperson, Evelyn Khonje said she has nudged management to consider responding.

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