Times Of Swaziland: UTILITIES SERVICE DELIVERY

UTILITIES SERVICE DELIVERY
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Editor on 17/12/2018 08:39:00


Sir,
The prime minister is very much commended for the cost-cutting initiatives he
has just set in motion, which includes among others the halting of utilities’
tariff increases. It is for the first time in the past couple of decades that we
are having an economist talking a simple language and setting in motion straight
forward actions that an ordinary citizen can understand. Even a layman like me
can understand your objectives and the formula you are using to achieve those
objectives. We, the ordinary citizens, only hope that as you settle down you
will start pursuing other initiatives that will resuscitate the economy.
I have been following with interest the different ministries outlining their
manifestos. The Ministry of Commerce, for example, is planning to vastly improve
the ease of doing business in Eswatini. This sounds good on paper but will
remain an illusion unless fellow ministries complement the Ministry of Commerce.
A ministry that comes to mind is that of Natural Resources, which houses the
Eswatini Water Services Corporation (EWSC) and Eswatini Electricity Company
(EEC). These two public companies are enablers of economic development. Let us
take a case in point of Siphofaneni, which is a relatively fast developing area
in this country.
It is sad that these two utility companies’ service delivery is so poor in
such a way that it takes more than 13 months after paying for the water service
to get water installation from the already existing EWSC infrastructure. With
EEC it takes more than 12 months just to get a quotation. This has to vastly
improve if we are to improve the ease of doing business in this country. These
two utility companies must improve their performance metrics because right now
the only reason they still exist is simply because they are enjoying a monopoly
over the services they provide.
“Electricity is the lifeblood of any economy and thus its provision must speak
to the socioeconomic goals. We are only too happy to be held accountable in this
front.” This statement was quoted from EEC’s last financial statement.
Surely it cannot take 12 months just to get a quote of this essential service?
As if the delay is not enough, the quote actually says the service will cost the
ordinary citizen a monstrous E93 000 because the customer has to invest in a
transformer for EEC.