The Liberia Water and Sewer Corporation (LWSC) has highlighted several achievements made by the corporation under President Joseph Nyuma Boakai’s 100-day deliverables.
The Managing Director of LWSC, Mr. Mohammed Ali has disclosed in the last three weeks the Corporation has completed the total repair of the 1 million gallon resoviour up Ducor and is currently in discussion with the Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC) to stabilize the electricity supply to enable them boaster their station on Newport Street which is now pumping water to the resourviour.
Mr. Ali made the disclosure on Tuesday, April 30, 2024, when he spoke at the Ministry of Information, Culture Affairs and Tourism (MICAT) Regular Press Briefing in Monrovia.
Speaking on the Corporation’s successes, the LWSC boss said that in the next two weeks, they will begin testing the water supply to central Monrovia and at the same time the repair of the behavior that couldn’t be repaired for over five years has been done with a cost of US$41,000.
He continued: “We have resumed water supply to most of the communities that were connected previously and we have begun running the White-plane water treatment plant seven days a week. Previously White-Plane treatment plant was running three times a week which is why you are observing the frequent brokerage in the water supply. We resumed water supply to Thinker Village extending to Rock Hill Church and that is being made possible by utilizing the US$1 million gallon resoviour that was constructed in Rock Hill Community, GSA Road, Paynesville and we started releasing water from that facility which is enough to supply our people”.
“We also resumed water supply to communities ranging from St. Paul Bridge to the Bardnersville area. There are setting customers who were connected before that are not getting that water, this is primarily due to the destruction of our pipes by companies that are constructing community and major roads; we sent our team to these communities to begin replacing those pipes,” he asserted.
Mr. Ali added that the Corporation is doing all of these achievements without a single cent from the Government of Liberia.
He stated that for the sewage spilling in Monrovia, on Sunday, April 28, 2024, they started declocking and cleaning the sewage line.
Meanwhile, Mr. Ali also revealed that by next week the institution will embark on disconnecting government entities that are indebted to the institution.
He emphasized that like every other government entity, the LWSC they inherited had a lot of problems starting with the overstaffing of the entity, indebtedness among others.
According to him, the Corporation currently has a liability profile of over US$7 Million which involves indebtedness including staff arrears of 7-9 months, retirees pension arrears of 29 months, local vendors debts of over US$ 1 million, and social security withholding contributions of over US$1 million.
He mentioned that the Corporation also inherited the problem of customers including businesses, companies, government entities, and individuals refusing to pay bills for both water and sewer services provided.
The LWSC Boss highlighted that the indebtedness coupled with water theft and wastage is costing the entity 70% of non-revenue water.
Mr. Ali stated that over the last weeks, the Corporation embarked on a massive disconnection exercise.
“Some of the companies that owe us huge sums of money, we are disconnecting them. Companies and businesses that owe us huge money we disconnected them and blocked their sewer line and they started paying including private individuals,” he said.
He also informed the Minister of Information, Jerolinmek M. Piah that in the next week to come the Corporation will embark on disconnecting government entities that owe the entity.
Mr. Ali emphasized that they will also place focus on current and passed government officials, and members of the Legislature who owe the entity huge money will be disconnected.
“We will disconnect them and we will not hesitate. Am saying this today. I wanted to say it to the public first so that we don’t disconnect people from the past government and you say it is a witch-hunt. The witch-hunt now is for you to pay our money; you are the want witch-hunting the LWSC. If you don’t pay we will witch-hunt you,” he noted.
