By Tione Andsen
LWB has been nominated and shortlisted for the Water Service Provider of the Year category while Eng. Chikuni is in for an individual award, Outstanding Contribution: Water.
LWB CEO, Eng. Chikuni on Tuesday in Lilongwe described the nominations and shortlisting as a motivation for the Board to keep on improving its services to the satisfaction of its customers.
“It’s exciting that as LWB, we are one of the finalists for this prestigious award. Being nominated and shortlisted for such award clear demonstrates the efforts we have made over the years in improving water supply services in Lilongwe City,” he explained.
CEO Eng. Chikuni added, “I owe my individual nomination to all members of staff. To be where we are, requires teamwork and we have proven that we are a team driven by the desire to a difference in our city. I hope our customers will be as more excited as we are.”
LWB is one of the finalists for Water Service Provider of the Year category alongside Umgeni water, Hessequa municipality and Ontec Systems (Pty) Ltd.
LWB has been shortlisted for the award following innovative strides the Board has made in the past two years in improving delivery of water services in Lilongwe City.
Between 2017 and 2019, LWB has, among others, developed a hydraulic model; introduced prepaid metering system; launched a new billing system with customer interface; adopted Enterprise Resource planning (ERP) and SCADA systems; launched state-the-of-art 24/7 Customer Call-Centre and various pieces of equipment for modernizing service delivery.
The Customer Call-Centre has transformed service delivery at LWB and improved communication and interaction with customers; now the Board is a darling to its customers as it has created a powerful interface by being available for its customers 24/7.
For the first time the Board has launched an asset management programme in which World Bank Group funded Lilongwe Water and Sanitation Project (LWSP) which aims at reducing water losses, improving water supply and eliminating bottlenecks in the supply system through replacement, rehabilitation and installation of pipes, pumping mains and booster stations.
On the other hand, Eng. Chikuni is one of the finalists for the Outstanding Contribution in Water category.
Eng. Chikuni has been shortlisted for the award due to his tremendous and enormous contributions to improved Water Services delivery in Lilongwe City since he took over as CEO in 2014.
The sixth edition of the African Utility Week Industry Awards takes place on May 15, 2019 during the 19th annual African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa, in Cape Town, South Africa.
The Industry Awards brings together 800 of Africa’s most renowned power, energy and water industry professionals, many of them long standing attendees of African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa.
All entries are judged by a panel of recognized Industry Experts and verified by an independent auditing firm, Mazars.
Other categories at the Awards include outstanding contribution: power, lifetime achievement, young leader award, power service provider of the year.
LWB once won the award in 2017.