Smart water kiosks contract manager, Fazil Abdul Latif briefing the media
* Customers to buy water tokens using cards and to access water at the kiosks 24/7
* 15 kiosk are being built and 15 traditional ones being modified into Smart Water Kiosks
By Duncan Mlanjira
Blantyre Water Board (BWB) is completing the construction of 15 electronic water kiosks, dubbed ‘Smart Water Kiosks’ with a further 15 traditional ones being modified — through which customers will be expected to buy water tokens using cards and to access water at the kiosks 24/7.
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Its targeted for cholera-prone areas of the Blantyre City such as Chirimba, Mbayani, Machinjiri, Soche and others through the Malawi Water & Sanitation Project-1 (MWSP-1) — by the Government of Malawi with financing from the International Development Association (IDA) of the World Bank.
Its objective is to increase access to improved water supply and sanitation services in Blantyre Metropolitan Area and the technology is also to enhance BWB’s operational and financial efficiency.
At the same time, it will afford the low income customers to access water 24 hours a day as opposed to 6am-6pm with a lunch-hour break for the traditional ones.
BWB took a crew of journalists to three of the kiosks under construction at Chirimba and Mbayani, whose next phase will be installation of the electronic gadgets as well as providing cards in which the customers will be expected to be loading water tokens.
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BWB’s Projects Engineer, Fazil Abdul Latif, who is the smart water kiosks contract manager, explained that the project is a direct response to the recent cholera outbreak in the city’s cholera hotspots, whose simple way of prevention is access to clean water.
He further said each of the kiosks, both the new and the modified ones, will have a 5,000-liter reservoir tank at its roof to mitigate any cases of intermittent supply of water.
The fortunate part, according to Latif, is that all these areas have a robust water supply network and going forward BWB has plans to construct 45 more smart kiosks.
He added that customers will be uploading their water tokens through the on-site operator of the smart kiosks or to purchase at any customer service point.
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“The idea of having the operator of the kiosks to upload the cards with water tokens is for the customers not to travel far to load their cards,” he said, adding that the cards will be provided to the customers free of charge.
“Once the customer will swipe the card on the electronic gadget, the customer will punch in the number of liters they need and once submitted, the requested liters will flow out and cut off automatically.
“The remaining tokens of the water will be kept in the card for the next use, making this very convenient to the customers as they can access the water at any time they want to.”
Latif also said the water kiosks being built are of the same arrangement BWB has with the traditional ones in that one community member, in agreement with the community leaders, offers the land and the operator can be the landlord or any preferred community member.
The new kiosks are also designed to cater as a grocery shop for the operator, as one way of providing a further economic opportunity to the low income customers.
