By Wezzie Gausi:
Sanjika Palace owes Blantyre Water Board (BWB) K1.2 billion in water bill arrears, we have learnt.
A letter signed by BWB Chief Executive Director Robert Hanjahanja, addressed to treasury, says the bill of K1,230,544,520 is as of January 30 2024.
BWB wants a certification of the arrears.
“In our quest for settlement of arrears, we were requested to submit a certified list of outstanding bills for the Treasury Department to process payment.
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“When the Auditor General [AG]’s office was approached, we were advised to approach the Treasury Cashier who would in turn seek the services of the Auditor General for certification of the arrears,” the letter says.
BWB requests Treasury to seek the services of the AG to conduct an audit and certify the palace’s water arrears.
Chairperson for the Natural Resources and Climate Change Committee of Parliament Werani Chilenga said the committee was aware of the matter.
According to Chilenga, Sanjika Palace is not the only public institution with such arrears with water boards.
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“The problem is with Treasury which is underfunding the institutions, which then fail to pay water bills. We plan to meet Treasury, officials and we have already advised the boards that once the bills are paid, they should install prepared meters at public institutions,” Chilenga said.
Secretary to the Treasury Betchani Tchereni wondered why such issues are being discussed in the media.
“We cannot comment on such important matters in the media. Public entities are welcome to our offices to discuss any matter that is concerning funding, but not in the public,” Tchereni said.
In an interview, State Residences spokesperson Anthony Kasunda said they have a payment plan with BWB, which he described as confidential.
Several other public institutions are said to owe water boards bill arrears in billions of Kwacha, a development which is reportedly affecting the board’s operations.
Central Region Water Board recently told the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament that public institutions owe it at least K4 billion in water bills, with Malawi Defence Force topping the list.
