Plans have reached advanced stage to privatize water distribution in Imo State. According to Government this is the only way to revamp the ailing Water Board and solve the endemic water woes in Imo.

Commissioner for Public Utilities, Public Safety and Youth Empowerment Hon. Dr Ifeanyi Nwachukwu, who made the disclosure in an interview with The Leader said a buyer has been identified and a Memorandum of Understanding (MOD) soon to be signed.

“We have been able to get three companies; we have interviewed them and been able to take one. So right now, we are trying to sign the MOU. Very soon the MOU will be ready and we will hand over the keys to them and they will take over.  We are at the verge of signing now after the ministry of justice has been able to vet the MOU, the other party needs to consult with their lawyers too and effect some corrections, then we will take it up from there and we are almost there,” the commissioner said, refusing to name the company but said it was already operating in Calabar .

The Hon. Dr Nwachukwu who has held the portfolio of public utilities twice, maintained that privatization was the best way to bring sanity to water distribution, cut bureaucracy and generate revenue from water.

“When we came, the state Government had to reactivate most of our water scheme that have not been working over the years. But you know the issue of bureaucracy as soon as we reactivated the scheme, we handed it over to Water Board and it is a situation whereby some people in water board are not actually committed to do their work. You know the attitude of an average Nigerian worker – you know how they take Government property and Government business…

“We felt the Water Board could have sustained it but unfortunately they could not. We have seen that the only way out of the condition is to concession it. What I had to do was to advertise … we have to give it to private companies who are willing to partner with the state Government for them to run the water scheme for us.”

Giving a catalogue of delays and inefficiency plaguing the board, he continued:

“Let me give you an instance, most times you have a pipe burst they find it easier to go and lock the pipe… a situation where you have a burst pipe, when this burst pipe is detected, the plumber will write to his HOD for him to  kindly approve pipes for them to go and replace the burst pipe somewhere, the HOD will minute to the GM, at the end of the day this thing will take like two days. The GM will now minute back to the HOD who will now minute to the storeperson to release two pipes or one pipe. Before this exercise is completed, three days, four days have elapsed,” he explained.

“Now they have gotten approval to convey the pipe. Now the vehicle to convey the pipe, the driver will say there’s no fuel and write to his own HOD who will minute to the GM who will then minute to chief driver before money for  fuel is released at the accounts… So to replace a burst pipe will take close to two weeks. If it’s a private organization, they will know that the water wasting means a lot because there will be pressure and they know how much it cost.”

Further justifying the decision to commercialize water, the commissioner added:

“Take the issue of Concord Hotel, when Government was running it, you get to Concord everywhere was filthy, go to the room it was totally unkempt everywhere… No, no, the angle am coming from is private partnership, We are trying to make you understand that in Nigeria for us to move to the next level we must imbibe the spirit of private partnership that is the only way out.

“In the UK and other developed countries, private companies hardly survive. Government institution is very strong but here Government institutions are not that strong, private institutions are the ones stronger than government institutions so that is where we find ourselves. There is no way we can leave this thing under Government – the best thing is to privatize. NEPA is also trying to do that.”

He, however, said there would be no retrenchment with the sale of Water Board and that Government would subsidize the bill.

“That’s the only way so that when you privatize, you see that the private company will not want to run at a loss. What the state government will do now is to make sure that whatever bill is given to the individual, the State government will pay part of it,” he maintained.

However, the Hon. Commissioner said his ministry was embarking on a general replacement of old pipes despite the imminent privatization.

“You know that AC pipe is a bit cancerous. The state government decided to start replacing them with PVC pipes. We have started but it’s something that will take years,” he said, urging Imolites to expect better days.

“Very soon, they are going to start having more regular water supply. So far so good … But we also want to tell Imolites  to please remove their buildings from our utility lines. We cannot even rebuild some pipes because people have built close to the gutter edge. You cannot run any cable. You can’t even do your maintenance work. Along Orlu road, there was a pipe burst and it was in somebody’s bedroom. In that case, what will you do? By the time you start pulling down the house the opposition will cash-in on it. We are pleading with Imo people to remove their buildings from our utility lines and pipes,” the commissioner concluded.

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