The water has been made possible by the Water Users Association (WUA) in Malawi. “We no longer get water from dirty streams,” said Fatima Misoya, a resident and water vendor in Nkolokoti.

Over half of Nkolokoti-Kacheres’ close to 40 water kiosks used to be run by public firm Blantyre Water Board (BWB) while others were managed by community, religious and political party gurus.

Due to that local leaders used to just pocket money residents paid for water and rarely paid their bills to BWB.

“This resulted in frequent disconnections sometimes lasting for years, forcing residents drawing water from unsafe sources putting themselves at risk of contracting waterborne diseases such as cholera,” said the WUA Administrator Gloria Matchowa.

She added that BWB water vendors then mostly came from outside Nkolokoti-Kachere hence turned up late or never came at all.

Interruptions

Water supply interruptions and other problems with water mains also went unattended for long periods.

“Blantyre Water Board constructed the kiosks because many residents here are poor and cannot afford personal taps. But the kiosks were being too badly run to serve the intended purpose,” said Matchowa.

Before the current Nkolokoti-Kachere water kiosk business story, the two areas owed BWB K1.65 million [$11,000] in unpaid water bills.

A third of the kiosks was also in disrepair or had been disconnected, leaving many of the 90,000 residents struggling to access clean water.

But using a concept of WUA introduced by WaterAid Malawi whereby these cooperatives are based on a philosophy of cost recovery and turning a profit while meeting the need for clean water supply, the situation has improved.

“As an association we are taking in around K1.5 million [$10,000] every month. About K300, 000 [$2,000] goes to paying BWB for water supplied,” said Matchowa.

Some of the money is also spent on parts for repairs, gradually equipping their rented office-most recently they bought a computer-and some is set aside to construct more kiosks and eventually buy a vehicle for their association.

Nkolokoti-Kachere water success is borrowed from Chinsapo a slum with 70,000 residents in Lilongwe, over 350 Km away from Blantyre.

Here the success story emerged in water business after suffering from cholera outbreaks before kiosks establishment to the extent that one family lost five members within a week due to cholera.

Kate Harawa, who is Country Coordinator for Water for People in Malawi an organization which is working with other key players in the country’s water sector including Malawi Government highlighted the Nkolokoti-Kachere successful water business in Lilongwe a day before Malawi joined the rest of the world commemorating World Water Day.

Lack of management committee

She disclosed that previously running the kiosks in the two areas were difficult due to among other things, lack of a management committee and volunteerism (lack of ownership).

“There were also rampant acts of vandalism of kiosks, lack of transparency and accountability including political interference, non-payment of water bills and disconnection,” said Harawa.

She disclosed that the WUA started with 11 functional kiosks in Nkolokoti-Kachere area.

“But now the Water Users Association operates 54 Kiosks owned by the community,” said Harawa adding that the kiosks are running with political support including replication and scaling and water is affordable to the communities.

“Water from WUA is cheaper than from private kiosks and is contributing to reducing the unemployment rate. Despite having paid staff the WUA is able to pay bills and still have some money to give back to the community. So water as a business is viable and scalable,” she said.

Harawa further said that the water business in Nkolokoti-Kachere is governed by a Board of Trustees- User Representatives and managed by a Secretariat with paid staff.

“The Secretariat is headed by an Administrator, has an accountant
plumbers, inspectors, full time Water Sellers. In fact it employees 80 people, and has paid back the K1.6 million arrears,” she said.

Harawa added that the Secretariat has a positive balance, and its accountability and transparency continues to improve by day.

“Unlike in the past, Blantyre Water Board gets its dues and the Water Users get undisrupted water services and unemployment rate has been reduced in the community,” she said.

Malawi’s Urbanization rate stands at 5.2 percent and Blantyre City accounts for two-fifth of the urbanization rate that has been fueling unplanned settlements and difficulties to reach with water and sanitation services. As a result waterborne related diseases have been rampant.

Malawi’s Irrigation and Water Development Minister, Richie Muheya said although Malawi has surpassed the 74 percent by 2015 UN water provision Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) bench mark by providing about 85 percent of Malawi’s over 13 million population with safe, portable water there is still more to be done.