By: Mohamed Sahr mohamedsahrpro@gmail.com
In a strategic move aimed at enhancing institutional transformation and productivity, Ing. George Lamin Vandi, the Managing Director of the Sierra Leone Water Company (SALWACO), along with his team, engaged with the leadership of the Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Corporation on Tuesday, December 19, 2023. The objective of this engagement was to gain insights into operational best practices and foster institutional collaboration to improve service delivery.
Ing. George Lamin Vandi emphasized the significance of benchmarking, describing it as a deliberate practice of comparing business processes and performance metrics with industry best practices from other companies. This approach, according to Vandi, is crucial for better standardization of procedures and operations.
He highlighted that the dimensions typically considered in this benchmarking process are quality, time, and cost. Vandi expressed SALWACO’s vision to become the leading water utility in Africa, emphasizing the need for actions that enhance efficiency and effective service delivery.
The decision to visit Nairobi and benchmark the Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Corporation (NCWSC) came after COP-28, with a specific focus on smart metering for sustainable service delivery. During the engagement, presentations were made by both agencies, outlining their successes and challenges. Arnold Karanja, the Chairperson of NCWSC, acknowledged NCWSC as the leading water utility in East Africa and expressed commitment to supporting SALWACO in streamlining benchmarking operations.
SALWACO and NCWSC shared experiences regarding current production, supply, and demand patterns for the utilities. SALWACO, recognizing the importance of meeting customer demands and aligning with Sustainable Development Goal 6 (clean water and sanitation), sought insights from NCWSC.
The SALWACO team also explored water kiosks in Nairobi, focusing on pro-poor areas, and examined the use of solar water dispensers for public standposts. Additionally, the management of NCWSC provided training on an effective billing system using a locally developed and simplified software called BASIS II, which is used for revenue generation.
The collaborative process concluded with an agreement to establish a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between SALWACO and NCWSC. This MOU will include provisions for personnel exchanges and training programs between the two utilities, fostering ongoing collaboration and mutual growth.
