Nairobi loses Sh4.8 billion in unbilled water, a report by Auditor General Nancy Gathungu has revealed.
This, even, as the capital city has been unable to resolve the perennial water shortage plaguing residents.
The capital needs 770 million cubic metres of water a day but the Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company only manages to supply about 520 million cubic metres with a deficit of 250 million cubic metres.
This leads to water rationing.
Over four million Nairobi residents have been forced to endure water rationing with some estates even going for a week with dry taps.
Despite the water rationing, some of the little water supplied through pipelines ends up unbilled.
A report by Gathungu, for the financial year ended June 30, 2020, reveals that the NCWSC produced 176.04 million cubic metres of water out of which only 86.35 million cubic metres were billed to customers.
The 51 per cent of the total volume produced,a balance of 89.69 million cubic metres, represents non-revenue water.
This was double the allowable loss of 25 per cent, under Water Service Regulatory Board guidelines for non-renewable water.
“The significant level of non-renewable water is an indication of inefficiency and a lack of effectiveness in the use of public resources," the report read.
"This may negatively impact the company’s profitability and its long-term sustainability.”
Before 2020, the non-revenue water had fluctuated between 34 and 42 percent from 2014 to 2019.
The losses rose in 2020 despite a decrease in the production of 3.06 million cubic metres — from the 180.1 million cubic metres produced in the year to June 2019.
This is however not the first time that the Nahashon Muguna led company has suffered losses due to unbilled water .
A report by the county assembly Public Investments Committee which was considering the report of the Auditor General on the financial statements of NCWSC for the year ended June 2018 revealed that Sh1 billion was lost due to non-revenue water (unaccounted for water) occasioned by water leakages, illegal connections and a faulty billing system, a report has revealed.
According to the report, the city water firm produced a total volume of 172,767,812 cubic meters of water in the year under review but out of this, only 106,803,022 cubic meters was billed to customers.
The balance of 65,964,740 cubic meters or approximately 38 percent of the total volume produced represented non-revenue or unaccounted for water.
In this period, the Nairobi water collected Sh8.16 billion against a target of Sh8.27 as its billed revenue while in the year ending June 2017, collection hit Sh8.54 billion against a target of Sh8.4 billion
In the year ending June 2015, it beat its billed revenue by Sh10 million to collect Sh 6.72 billion but then fell into a deficit of Sh237 million in the year to June 2016, when the firm billed Sh8.274 billion.
Illegal connections
In 2019,City Hall netted more than Sh16 million in penalties and court fines for illegal water connections in the capital after the county government launched a major crackdown on cartels perpetuating the vice.
Most of the illegal connections are found in lower-income areas such as Githurai, Zimmerman, Kasarani, Mwiki, Kiamaiko, Huruma, Kariobangi, Mathare North, and Kayole as well as Tassia, Baba Dogo, Embakasi, Kware ward and Imara Daima.
Penalties for individuals arrested over illegal water connections amounted to Sh12.9 million while Sh3.19 million was in court fines.
As a result of the crackdown, 1,834 illegal water connections unearthed, leading to the arrest and prosecution of 232 people, with a further 893 illegal connections regularised.
(Edited by Francis Wadegu)
