The new Nkhudzi Bay plants and its high performing intake on Lake Malawi
* Revenue increase from K8.3 billion in December 2020 to K17.1 billion in December 2024; number of customers to 90,000 from 57,000
* While Blantyre Water Board is phasing out prepaid meters, SRWB is increasing from 4,500 in December 2020 to staggering 21,000 by December 2024
* Construction of water bottling plant is in final phases and expected to be commissioned by March 2025
By Duncan Mlanjira
Southern Region Water Board (SRWB) has made tremendous strides in four years, which include over 100% increase in revenue from K8.3 billion in December 2020 to K17.1 billion by December 2024 — with the number of customers soaring to 90,000 from 57,000 under the same period.
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And while Blantyre Water Board is phasing out the most convenient water payment system of prepaid meters, SRWB is increasing from 4,500 in December 2020 to a staggering 21,000 by December 2024.
This was announced by SRWB Chief Executive Officer, Duncan Chambamba during an interface with the media in Zomba where he also reported that construction of its own water bottling plant is in final phases and expected to be commissioned by March 2025.
Chambamba added that equipment for the water bottling plant is already in the country, which is capable of producing over 10,000 bottles of 500mls per hour, saying SRWB will be ready to label bottle package according to specifications of customers.
On the good performance in revenue, Chambamba said this was largely due to its prepaid system as one of the challenges they face in cashflow results from unpaid debtors on post-paid — most culprits being government agencies.
SRWB operates 32 water schemes in Southern Region that are in Zomba, Mulanje, Thyolo, Mangochi, Balaka, Phalombe, Machinga, Chikwawa, Nsanje, Neno, Mwanza and Chiradzulu.
Since 2020, the water utility company opened new water supply schemes at Nkhudzi Bay in Mangochi, Ntaja in Machinga, Lirangwe in Blantyre Rural, Thondwe in Chiradzulu, Jali in Zomba, Mkando in Chiradzulu, and Miseu Folo in Nsanje.
SRWB carried out two major projects that has helped to solve erratic water supply in Liwonde and at Malawi University of Sciences & Technology (MUST) campus and sorrounding communities of Goliati.
The status in Liwonde as in 2020 included an outlived intake design, whose equipment was being effected by weeds (water hyacinths known in Chichewa as anamasipuni) and power outages.
Weeds at old design intake of Liwonde
Measures done but got washed away
High yielding boreholes
As an immediate measure, the company drilled high yielding boreholes, whose pumping is through solar power system as management is working towards establishing a permanent and high-tech system to connect all the way to Balaka.
At MUST, a dam was constructed with an original intention to supply to the construction of the university but in recent years, the two cyclones heavily damaged the dam, leaving behind a huge unmanageable siltation.
SRWB also drilled high yielding boreholes and installed with solar power and now they are able to produce 2.5 million litres per day while the demand for MUST is 700,000 litres per day with beneficiaries being at 4,259 people.
Non-functional treatment plant at MUST whose dam is clogged with silt
The borehole plant and its management office
Going forward, Chambamba said SRWB is extending distribution lines to connect more customers as well as establishing new water supply schemes across the Southern Region.
Meanwhile, Chambamba sounded an alarm of serious environmental degradation of Zomba Plateau on which there is massive poaching of logs and firewood, which he said if not controlled will lead to the reservoir Mulunguzi Dam drying up.
He said if the rains won’t fall favourably this hydrology season, the reservoir dam, whose current depth has decreased to worrying levels, would dry up very soon leading to people of Zomba at risk of experiencing dry taps.
Intake at Mulunguzi Dam
Apart from Chimbamba, many other environmentalists sounded the same warning of illegal logging, which the forestry authorities are aware of but the malpractice still takes place in broad daylight.
In 2020, Zomba Forest Lodge — through its Reforestation of the Environment and Ecosystem of Zomba (TREEZ) project — established the entire length of Mulunguzi River as a water catchment conservation corridor by planting indigenous trees.
The initiative was to ensure the future of Zomba City’s water supply as well as preservation of the beautiful nature conservation zone for tourists — an exercise that was carried out by TREEZ in conjunction with Zomba Tour Guides Association.
Chambamba said the logging still takes place such that some of the wood sawdust forms part of siltation of Mulunguzi Dam with effects being having water that smells, whose extra-mile treatment becomes more costly.
SRWB’s new office complex in Zomba
To counter the effects of poaching of trees on the mountain, SRWB has secured rights to protect 100m along each of the banks of feeder streams to the reservoir Mulunguzi Dam on which they will be planting and protecting all forestry products.
While the public pointed fingers at SRWB of not controlling the deforestation by deploying security forces to secure the Mulunguzi Dam catchment area, Chambamba said their jurisdiction was the reservoir dam and along its pipeline to Zomba City.
The plateau and its products are under the department of forestry, under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Natural Resources & Climate Change.
However, Chambamba said securing the banks of the feeder streams to the dam, will help them plant more trees over the years, while hoping the authorities would intensify security patrols of the entire mountain.
Other challenges SRWB faces including securing financing to rehabilitate and upgrade water supply systems in Thyolo, Luchenza, Muloza, Mulanje, and Phalombe, which were worst hit by Cyclone Freddy as well as to establish new water supply schemes as “a great part of Southern Region is not yet supplied with potable water”.
The Board is also working towards securing financing to establish water supply systems in Cape Maclear, Chiingeni, Phalula and other centres that can support creation of 12 new schemes within 12 months.
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Out of all the challenges, cashflow resulting from unpaid debtors on postpaid remains top — thus Chimbamba disclosed that they intend to procure more prepaid meters through which most of its revenue is from this convenient system since its installation.
He added that the largest challenge of pre-paid meters was through its batteries, which when they expire, the water supply gets cut off or the customer continues enjoying free water supply, which they never reported as a fault.
To counter this, Chambamba said they are buying more batteries which the customers is expected to pay for once theirs get expired, adding that from their survey, the customers prefer the convenient prepaid system.
“As I indicated, the highest revenue base is from prepaid customers and we need to preserve this to earn more so that we can serve better because postpaid comes with the challenge of cashflow results from unpaid debtors on postpaid.”
He emphasised that new customers on prepaid meters will not be charged for the equipment or its battery accessories but only when they expire and need replacement.
Meanwhile, the high performance of the water utility company was also recognised with three Employer of the Year awards in 2024 alone — Labour Laws Compliance, Social Protection and Industrial Relations & Employee Engagement.
