The report covers the performance of the water utility giant in the provision of water in urban, peri-urban and provincial growth centers.The report also covers the performance Social Security and Housing Finance Cooperation (SSHFC) on its management of social security funds.
The National Audit Office (NAO) reported that NAWEC did not put in mechanisms to increase water production.
“NAWEC did not develop a water safety plan for its water network to provide audience to the company and appropriate response and preventive measures of contamination, the report stated, indicating that 44% of NAWEC’s elevated water tanks used as buffers and designed to provide gravity pressure in distributing water to the network were bypassed and there was no functioning geographic information system (GIS) for the period which should have mapped out its entire water network.
The report further stated: “The iron content in water supplied by NAWEC is mainly within the acceptable range. However, high iron content that supersedes the WHO acceptable standard of 0.3 mg/l has been detected consistently in water supply to Bansang and Gunjur during the period under review.”
It added that NAWEC had not ensured that all the water produced and distributed to its customers was properly chlorinated as chlorine deficits were consistently detected in the water supplied by NAWEC in most of the locations tested from 2017 to 2021.
The report further revealed that NAWEC had not updated the deficiencies in the water master plan since its development in 2005 to reflect current events.
It also highlighted that from 2017 to 2021, the institution did not have an approved strategic development that clearly outlined the water division’s strategic objectives and how they would be attained to meet the population’s growing demand.
The auditors further reported that the water utility giant had relied on the readings of its faulty meters in its water production system and distribution thus miscalculating the total amount of water produced and distributed.
“During power outage, NAWEC failed to provide its water production facilities with functional standby generators to ensure continuous production,” it revealed, saying: “Half of the existing NAWEC’s water infrastructure outlived their useful lifespan and require replacement.”
The Public Enterprise Committee also tasked NAWEC to submit a status implementation report on the audit findings latest 31 March 2023. They also recommend that NAWEC ensure the Water Master Plan reflects the current situation and should consider putting in place mechanisms to produce adequate water to meet the population’s demand. “Also NAWEC should ensure water sources and their treatment plants are well protected/guarded,” the committee advised, stating: “The Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs is to develop the performance indicators and facilitate signing of performance contracts with each Public Enterprise.”
The committee also made a recommendation for the Board and Management of each Public Enterprise to include annual operational performance audit as part of the mandate of their internal audit committees/units.
“The Auditor General to take the report of the internal audit committees on operational performance into consideration in their auditing exercises on all the Commercial Public Enterprises,” they stated, adding: “All reports on operational or performance audit of Public Enterprises be submitted to the National Assembly and presented to the Committee by Board and Management for consideration.”
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