9th Sector report and NWASCO Booklet launched

MARKING 10 years of regulating water supply and sanitation, the National Water Supply and Sanitation Council (NWASCO) has successfully launched a ‘10 Year of Regulating’ Booklet and its 9th Urban Water Supply and Sanitation (WSS) Report.The launching of the 66 page '10 Years of Regulating’  Booklet coincided with the commemoration of NWASCO's 10th Anniversary.

The launch  was hosted at  Lusaka's Intercontinental Hotel and graced by the Minister of Energy and Water Development, Hon. Kenneth Konga.

The booklet among other things outlines the origins of water supply and sanitation regulation in Zambia.The functions and powers of NWASCO and the innovations in regulation as well as the regulatory performance are also covered in the report.

The 10 years jubilee stands out as the first of the major milestone anniversaries.

Despite facing many challenges, NWASCO has continued to thrive and the special 10th anniversary commemorates the wonderful journey it has gone through over the years.

This extraordinary anniversary brought with it the opportunity to acknowledge NWASCO's impact in regulating service providers for efficiency and sustainability in water supply and sanitation service provision.

And during the commemoration, well deserving Commercial Utilities (CUs) were recognised for Excellence in Performance Indicators .

Eastern Water and Sewerage Company (EWSC) was recognised for the Best Submitted Data; the Unaccounted for Water recognition went to North Western Water and Sewerage Company and; Nkana Water and Sewerage Company (NWSC) scooped the Water Quality recognition. Both Kafubu and Chambeshi Water and Sewerage Companies scooped the Metering Ratio recognition.

More recognitions were in Water Coverage and Sanitation Coverage for Mulonga Water and Sewerage Company (MWSC),  Collection Efficiency and Hours of Supply for North Western and Lukanga Water and Sewerage Companies (LuWSC) respectively.

Southern Water and Sewerage Company (SWSC) walked away with the Staff per 1, 000 Connection recognition while the O+M Cost coverage by collection recognition went to Kafubu Water and Sewerage Company  (KWSC).

The Best Performing CU  in Peri-urban award went to Nkana Water. The Most Improved CU award went to Kafubu Water and Sewerage Company.

Southern Water and Sewerage Company got the Overall Best Performing award whereas the Runners-Up were North Western Water and Sewerage Company.

The commemoration also recognised Journalists with the Water Supply and Sanitation coverage.

The Best Print Feature article went to Alex Njovu of the Zambia Daily Mail and the Best TV Package went to Sherine Masupelo of ZNBC. Ahmed Mwape of Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC), Kitwe, walked away with the Best Radio Report Award while Bangwe Navile of Muvi TV, Kitwe, was awarded for Outstanding Advocacy of Water Supply and Sanitation issues.

Following the water sector reforms that led to the formation of commercial utilities, NWASCO has seen the completion of the commercialisation process of the provision of water and sewerage services in the entire urban and peri-urban areas in all the nine provinces of Zambia.

Though the performance of these commercial utilities is at different levels, it is clear that NWASCO has contributed immensely to the positive trends in their performance and service provision of these service providers.

The successful launch of the '10 Years of Regulating booklet' and the 9th Urban Water Supply and Sanitation (WSS) Report demonstrates NWASCO's success.

The success story of the Zambian national water regulator can be attested to by different people and organisations that have interacted with it since inception.

Therefore, the commemoration of NWASCO's ten years of existence is  an opportune time to tell this story.

NWASCO has been in existence for over a decade now and has grown to be an institution of international repute.