This archive report was first published on 27 July 2019.
Kenya's Water Resources Authority (WRA) has issued a stern warning to water providers with outstanding bills, threatening to disconnect them if the debts are not settled.
According to WRA board chairman Joe Mutambu, water providers owe the Authority a total of Sh. 5.7 billion in unpaid bills, which he said was nearly crippling the operations of the national regulator.
Speaking after a week-long workshop in Athi River, Machakos County, Mutambu said the Authority has issued demands to the defaulting providers, but they have ignored the notices.
‘We have issued demands running all the way to this year up to last year and they have totally ignored. Some of them moved to court but lost the case and were ordered to honor their obligations. I don’t understand how water service providers are selling water to Kenyans and don’t want to pay for the same,’ Mutambu said.
The most affected urban areas include Nairobi, Mombasa, Nakuru, and Murang’a, where residents may soon experience dry taps if the water providers fail to pay up.
WRA has given the defaulting providers a stern warning, advising residents in these cities and towns to brace themselves for possible disconnection of water.
‘We are advising residents in these cities and towns to brace themselves for possible disconnection of water because their providers have failed to pay up pending bills to the Authority,’ Mutambu warned.
As part of its efforts to improve revenue collection, WRA has unveiled Smart Water Meters, which have the capability to measure water abstracted and transmit the data in real-time.
The smart metering system will cover both large and small water users, including those with boreholes, and will simplify consumer compliance with abstraction licensing requirements.
WRA CEO Mohamed Shurie said the Smart Water Metering system will boost revenue collection and improve service delivery.
‘This will ensure water abstraction volumes are complied with as per the issued permit conditions and also bring to compliance all unlicensed water users. Similarly, it will boost revenue from the current collection by the Authority and by extension improve on service delivery,’ Shurie said.
WRA has given a 90-day grace period for compliance with the new guidelines, failure to which disconnections, permit cancellations, and impositions of fines will be meted out on defaulters.
