4TH QUARTER TSUNAMI NEWSLETTER

TSUNAMI QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER FOURTH QUARTER EDITION FY 2021/2022

WASCO GAMES - KISUMU CHAPTER

He went ahead to wish all the players success and

...

requested for fairness, objectivity, openness towards officiating of the games and from the participating teams...Read full story on page 8 COMPILED BY:

Emmy Muga



Harriet Ashoro

Editor :Eldah Odongo

NEWSLETTER – 4TH QUARTER EDITION

VISION ‘To be the most admired service provider’ MISSION ‘To provide quality water and sanitation services for improved livelihood’ CORE VALUES Integrity Professionalism Creativity and Innovation Customer Focus Teamwork SLOGAN RefreshLife

OUR COMMITMENT

Reliability Accessibility Quality

NEWSLETTER – 4TH QUARTER EDITION

TABLE OF CONTENT Our Philosophy………………………………………………...….ii Vision Mission Core Value Commitment MD’s Address………………..……………………………………1 Quarterly Performance…………………………………………..3

WASREB Impact 14 Report & Awards…………………...……4 World Environment Day……………………………….………..6 WASCO Games-11th Edition……………………………...........9 Africities Summit…………………………....………..……..…..13 Benchmarking Visits……..……...………………..…………..…16 Staff Changes……………………………...……………………..19 ISO Certification Throwback……………...…………..……….22 Non-Revenue Water Corner…………………………………....26 Confab with Mr. Okomo…………..………..……...……...…....28 Being a Woman…………………...……………………..….. .…..31

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NEWSLETTER – 4TH QUARTER EDITION

END OF FINANCIAL YEAR MESSAGE FROM THE MANAGING DIRECTOR Mr. Thomas Odongo 2021/2022 financial year was full of activities and milestones as its the year where we hosted WASCO games for the first time, Put the first block towards building our permanent home, a dream that we have had as a company for years, successfully reviewed tariff and also saw the end our strategic plan 2017-2022. Its in this regard that I feel that I should share the successes, failures and way forward with all of us; Key Highlights on performance •

We experienced revenue growth of Kshs 150,465,087M

•

Active accounts increased by 2,362

•

Collection efficiency increased by 1% to 92%%

•

NRW reduced by 1. 94%

•

Water supply coverage decreased by 0.5

•

Sewer coverage remains at 16%

•

Improved staff productivity by 5%

•

Staff skills gap reduced by -7%

Other achievements include; •

We introduced a Computer Assisted Audit Tool (CAAT)

•

We are now doing online banking

•

Developed several proposals that got funded while others are still under review

•

Enhanced staff welfare through sports and other engagements

•

90% implementation of the recommended company organogram

•

Recognized and rewarded good performance through job promotions

•

Reduced exposure to risks of litigations, non-compliance and pilferage by 25%

•

Conducted systems audit

•

Enhanced security on the use of passwords

•

Strengthened the ERP support to include component of online pay slips 1

NEWSLETTER – 4TH QUARTER EDITION

•

Enhanced our corporate social responsibility programme

•

Increased brand visibility

•

Improved company branding (staff and assets)

As we start the new Financial year, let us take a pledge together to grow our company even further in a way that we embark onto a profitable, peaceful and prosperous financial year.

Are you ready for 2022-2023??

A few things to look forward in FY 2022-2023 •

Improve User Experience in CRM and streamline system workflows

•

Conduct trainings on emerging trends

•

Increase coverage and access to sanitation

•

Adopt and practice sustainable procurement

•

Onboard more partners

•

Develop a new strategic plan 2022-2027

•

Implement culture change program

•

Digitize IoT programs

•

Create a conducive environment for Creativity and Innovation

•

Strengthen/automate the performance management system-Measure performance real-time

COVID19’s ever changing face is still with us and with it comes different challenges, but as it changes we have learnt to be adaptable to the new situations as such I’m confident that it will not affect our operations as we have built resilience over time. But I call upon each and every one of us to take responsibility to protect themselves, our customers, friends, colleagues and loved ones.

Lastly, we are in the electioneering period, I want to urge you to go and exercise your democratic right, vote wisely and most importantly let’s remain responsible at all times, remembering that there is life past 9th August 2022. The company needs each and every one of you in one shape after the election period is over.

I want to wish KIWASCO family a very peaceful, Healthy and prosperous 12 months. Let’s get down to business.

Thomas Odongo Managing Director

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NEWSLETTER – 4TH QUARTER EDITION

AVERAGE PERFORMANCE FOR THE FINACIAL YEAR 2021/2022

BILLING VS COLLECTION BILLING

COLLECTION

MILLIMANI CBD RIAT M-EAST KENYA-RE MANYATTA PRO-POOR

10,302,066.3 24,417,812.5 4,014,682.83 14,940433.9 9,361,237.46 10,663,399.3 4,401,285.12

9,949,222.092 22,463,024.89 3,933,577.998 13,977,400.15 8,540,532.768 9,315,245.014 4,623,936.608

96.57501544 91.99441961 97.97979471 93.55417803 91.23294656 87.35718095 105.0587835

TOTALS

78, 100,917.4

72,802,939.52

93.21

NON-REVENUE WATER GLOBAL AVERAGE

31.06% 3

%

NEWSLETTER – 4TH QUARTER EDITION

WASREB IMPACT 14 REPORT & AWARDS For the umpteenth time, the company emerged the best Water Service Provider under the Lake Victoria South region during the WASREB Impact 14 annual reporting. The awards were presented during the launch that took place on 24th June 2022 at Lilian Towers hotel in Nairobi.

We also came second in Corporate Governance after Isiolo Water. Generally, the Company improved in overall ranking from position 12 to 11 and from position 6 to 5 under the category of Very large utilities with a score of 128 up from 125 in the previous period.

Table 1 shows a comparison against sector benchmark for Highest Scores Ranking Parameters

Scores Good Drinking Water Quality >95 NRW % <20% Water Coverage >90 Sanitation Coverage >90 Hours of Supply >21 Staff Productivity <5 Personnel expenditure as a per- <20% centage O+M costs Collection Efficiency >90 O+M Cost Coverage % ≥150% Metering Ratio % 100 Total Scores 200 Ranking Overall Ranking

Ranked Kiwasco 93 32 87 No data 24 6 33

91 102 100 128 5 11

From the table above, the company did well in the following 5 parameters: Hours of supply 24 hours Metering ratio 100% O+M Cost coverage 102% Collections Efficiency 91% Water Coverage 87% Areas of improvement are: Water Quality Personnel expenditure as a % O+M NRW % Staff productivity

Current 93% 33% 32% 6% 4

Required > 95% <20% < 20% <5

NEWSLETTER – 4TH QUARTER EDITION

Table 2 shows a comparison against previous Impact reports Reporting Parameters

Impact 14 (2020/21) Water Quality (Rcl) 93 NRW % 32 Water Coverage % 87 Sanitation Coverage % No Data Hours of Supply 24 Staff Productivity 6 Personnel expenditures as 33 a % of total O+M costs Collection Efficiency % 91 O&M Cost Coverage % 102 Metering Ratio % 100 Total Score 128 Ranking 5 Overall Ranking 11

Impact 13 (2019/20) 93 37 85 No Data 24 6 35

Impact 12 (2018/19) 93 31 72 48 24 6 35

Impact 11 (2017/18) 93 37 76 49 24 6 36

Impact10 (2016/17) 91 41 66 48 24 6 32

95 104 100 125 6 12

84 110 100 105 7 16

93 100 100 116 4 11

97 105 88 88 7 27

A comparison to the previous year’s reports (Impact 13) shows an increase in water coverage by 2%, decrease in O&M cost coverage by 2% and decrease in collection efficiency by 4%.

There was also a decrease in NRW by 5%. Parameters of water quality, metering ratio and

Hours of supply have continued to remain the same.

As much as we did well and registered an improved performance, we need to work harder to rise to the top in ranking of other key performance indicators especially if we capitalize on the low hanging fruits.

Photo/file; Mr. Ondigo receiving an award during the event.

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NEWSLETTER – 4TH QUARTER EDITION

WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY CELEBRATIONS In our strides to mitigate climate change and safeguard the livelihood of generations to come, KIWASCO in conjunction with

her

stakeholders

marked World Environment Day in manner that would create a lasting memory to Photo/file: Pupils from Victoria Pri. School during entertainment .

those in attendance, and ultimately impact on the environment positively. Only one Earth was the theme for the year 2022 celebrations which was accentuating the depleting ecosystem against the constantly increasing human wants. It mainly pointed out the urgent need to save the planet from the rampaging climate change.

The event that was held at University of Nairobi Auditorium, Kisumu Campus, comprised of representation from a number of key institutions who have had immense contribution to environmental issues in the region. They included; Kenya Forest Service, Kenya Forest Research Institute, Kenya Wildlife Services and the County Government of Kisumu. Of great importance were pupils from Primary schools who graced the event i.e Joel Omino, Arya, Kudho, Agakhan, Nanga, Usoma, Obwolo and Victoria Primary schools.

During the half day conference, stakeholders present took to the podium to tackle and illustrate different environmental conservation thematic to mark the day. Some of the topics included Climate Change which is the current environmental

global

diversity and Nature

challenge,

Bio-

Photo/file: Mr. Amutala from the Ministry of Education making a presentation.

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NEWSLETTER – 4TH QUARTER EDITION

Loss, Pollution driven by human activities i.e. encroachment which is a major contributor to nature depletion. Further the learners were guided through a step by step process on tree nursey establishment and management. This came as a noble opportunity to equip them with knowledge on how to grow trees from seeds and manage them to fully grown trees. Speaking during the

conference Mr. Moseti who was represented the Managing Director emphasized on the imPhoto/file: During award session

portance of teaching the young learners on

environmental conservation techniques. “Lake Victoria is one of our key resources to production of water that serves Kisumu residents and conserving the environment means regaining the lost glory of the lake that was sullied through pollution and other negative human activities. Inculcating this knowledge to the pupils at this age assures us of a better tomorrow that am delighted to be part,” he stated.

Environmental Conservation is our responsibility. We must shift from harming the planet to healing it. We must protect what we have and bring back what we have lost to advance better for a more sustainable future, for we have ‘Only One Earth’

Photo/file: Stakeholders pose for a photo

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NEWSLETTER – 4TH QUARTER EDITION

NEWSLETTER – 4TH QUARTER EDITION

WASCO GAMES 11th EDITION-KISUMU CHAPTER HPR

Photo/file: Guests during the opening ceremony

The company hosted the 11th Edition of the Water Companies Sports Organizations (WASCO) games 2022. This was the first time to host the games, and this came after the

company had barely celebrated 2 years since joining the sports organization.

Kisumu is a big name! Kisumu is capable! we know you can do it!

Those were some of the comments the WASCO officials said when they first broke the news that Kisumu County will host the games. But the Managing Director, being a highflier embraced this decision and responded that KIWASCO is upto task, we will host the games, and we shall do it very well such that it will be remembered for eons to come. The games took place between April 17th to 22nd in venues spread across the City.

Opening ceremony The opening ceremony was held at Jomo Kenyatta International Stadium in Mamboleo.

The venue was selected due to its magnificence, capacity and the serene location. It was expected that Hon. Raila Odinga would be the chief guest, but unfortunately, he did not turn up. Instead, the CS for Devolution Hon. Eugene Wamalwa graced the occasion. He was joined by the Deputy Governor, County Government of Kisumu Dr. Mathew Owili.

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NEWSLETTER – 4TH QUARTER EDITION

Speaking during the opening ceremony, the MD Mr. Thomas Odongo expressed his pleasure in having KIWASCO host the games. He went ahead to wish all the players success and requested for fairness, objectivity, openness .

Photo/file: Procession during the opening ceremony

towards officiating of the games and from the participating teams Board Chairman, Mr. Vinod Patel on the other hand, expressed satisfaction in Kisumu City being the host and went ahead to say, “as a business man in the City, I know this event is going to shake up the economy of Kisumu as most of the hotels are already booked. I want to take this opportunity to invite our guests to explore the magical sites in the County and also try out various traditional dishes available,” he concluded.

The football team played their maiden match during the opening ceremony against Embu water. They beat Embu 5-1 at the Jomo Kenyatta International Stadium. The goals by Awuonda, Peter Omollo, Willis Ochieng and Okomo Tony (2), gave them team a good start and a hope of clinching the coveted trophy.

Team captain, Tony Okomo was happy with the performance. He expressed contentment in the preparation of the team and he had no doubt that the team was in good shape to play. “The game went according to my expectations,” he remarked.

The team manager, Kevin Obat lauded the team for the sterling performance and expressed confidence in the team achieving better performance in the subsequent matches.

The games The teams put up a spirited fight all through the games, but the teams which emerged the top were;

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NEWSLETTER – 4TH QUARTER EDITION

Netball – position 1

Choir (folk song) – position 1 Golf (director) – position 1 Golf (MD) – 1st runners up Overall, the company was ranked the 2nd runners up in the games.

Photo/file: Kiwasco Netball ladies compete against Thika Netball ladies .

The company sponsored teams of football, volleyball men, netball, ajua, darts, chess, badminton, table tennis, golf, pool, folk song and folk dance. This year saw increased participation from staff members and brought about diversity such that atleast everyone would have something to choose from, unlike in Embu whereby only 3 teams particiPhoto/file: Kiwasco Netball ladies praying ahead of a match.

pated. This time round the teams were also more prepared to handle the task ahead since they had already had a feel of the games.

Photo/file: Chairman B.o.D Mr. Vinod giving his speech

Photo/file: Kiwasco and Embu football teams playoff during the opening the ceremony

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NEWSLETTER – 4TH QUARTER EDITION

Having been given 2 hours off from work (3pm to 5pm) to practice was also a boost to the teams as they had more time dedicated to sharpen their skills and to keep fit.

Cheering squad brought pomp and color

Photo/file: Kiwasco cheering squad vibing to their tunes during the games.

They were loud, they were colorful, they energetic, they had stamina…I just can’t stop describing them. The cheerleading team spiced the games and eventually stole the show with their theatric performance. Right from the opening ceremony in Mamboleo, the squad led other staff members through the procession .that started from Mamboleo roundabout, all through the match pass at the stadium where the dignitaries were seated until when the football team thrashed Embu water.

They continued with their gig all through the week, not relenting even when a team lost.

Instead, they would shout louder, giving them the motivation they required. When a game would end without a win, they would celebrate the defeat together 12

NEWSLETTER – 4TH QUARTER EDITION

We also had two presentation by Mr. Jason

THE AFRICITIES SUMMIT

Ochola, who talked about how to better integrate water and sanitation into urban policies, strategies and plans. Jason, on behalf of the Managing Director, also made a presentation on WASH data gaps and provision of water and sanitation services in the low-income areas of Kisumu.

The football team also participated in the Africities football tournament, one of the side events for the summit. The team enrolled under the category of corporates.

Photo; KIWASCO choir making their debut performance during the opening ceremony of Africities summit

Here they represented the company well as

For the first time ever, Kisumu City got the

competition.

they emerged the first runners up in the

opportunity to host the 9th Edition of Africities Summit, that took place from 17th to the 21st

of May 2022. The theme for the summit was ‘The Role of Intermediary Cities of Africa in the implementation of Agenda 2030 of the United Nations and the African Union Agenda 2063’.

Kiwasco got an opportunity to participate in the summit through offering entertainment by Kiwasco Choir. The choir presented an

Photo; football team posing for a group photo ahead of their match.

electrifying performance that left everybody in

During the summit the company also en-

awe. Many of the people who were caught by

sured that there was constant and enough

surprise knew the company for water and sani-

water supply as the City was hosting digni-

tation service provision only. Bringing people

taries and delegates from all walks of life

together through melodies and dance? Those

and the best we could offer is nothing but

were the many questions which lingered

exemplary services.

through their minds.

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NEWSLETTER – 4TH QUARTER EDITION

STATE-OF-THE-ART ROUND ABOUT In May, we unveiled the long-awaited Kiwasco round-about that was a well thought out piece of art. The concept of the pot at the roundabout was symbolic to the Luo tradition, which showed how water was drown from the river using a pot. The water was normally very cool that it would quench thirst in a way none other drink can compare. The abundance of the water sprinkling is equal to sufficiency of

water the company supplies to the City of Kisumu.

Photo; a section of the round-about located at Tumaini Supermarket intersection

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NEWSLETTER – 4TH QUARTER EDITION

NEWSLETTER – 4TH QUARTER EDITION

BENCHMARKING VISITS Performance is a crucial step towards realizing our objective as a company and benchmarking with other companies provide a way to systematically evaluate our performance, exchange best practices in the water sector and as well as gauge our stand in regards to achieving our vision. During the quarter, we hosted a number of water utilities who came for learning and peer to peer discussions.

Since we rebranded, the company has been on a journey to revamp its image, improve customer service and position itself uniquely in the sector. This has attracted many water utilities within and outside the boarders of Kenya prompting them to come down to interact and acquire this best practice.

We were delighted to host a team from the Ministry of Water and Sanitation Uganda Mid-Western Umbrella who came to learn more on how the company executes its branding and Communication, Systems and Policies, Staffing and also its Corporate

structure among otherr thematic areas.

They had partnered with Water and Sanitation for the Urban Poor (WSUP) on their two days benchmarking with us on.

Photo/file: Practical demonstration of pump waste collection at Manyatta by Gasia Poa.

Meru Water & Sewerage Services and Kakamega County Water and Sanitation Company also came to benchmark with us on our

commercial

operations

and

Geographical Information System (GIS) area that the company has significantly recorded improvement over the last two years.

Nyeri water and sanitation company also came round in the month of April to learn Photo/file: Mrs. Odongo making a presentation during Naruwasco benchmark.

more on our laboratories with more emphasis on the calibration laboratory.

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NEWSLETTER – 4TH QUARTER EDITION

Having emerged as the best Water Service Provider in Customer Service consecutively in the Water Service Regulatory Board (WASREB) Impact ratings, we were honored to host three Water Utilities in Nakuru County for a two-day benchmark. They include Nakuru, Naivasha and Nakuru-Rural Water Companies who came to understand our operations in customer service. We delight in being the trend setters in this field and are usually excited to transfer our knowledge & experience to our peers.

Photo/file: Mr. Oloo taking Uganda team through a session at Photo/file: Kiwasco and Naruwasco team pose for a photo the calibration laboratory.

Photo/file: Mr Sirengo leading a discussion during Meruwasco benchmark

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NEWSLETTER – 4TH QUARTER EDITION

WELCOME ABOARD!

Mr. Samuel Atika, Sanitation Development Officer

Dr. Benson Charles Ochieng Nyambega Director representing Institutions of Higher Learning

Mr. Geoffrey Ochieng, Waste Water Treatment Operator

Mr. Abel Kauta, Human Resources & Administration Manager

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NEWSLETTER – 4TH QUARTER EDITION

EXIT

Mr. Eric Abala, Customer Care

He will be remembered for hav-

Assistant left the company in Ju-

ing brought the touch of a man at

ly to pursue other personal inter-

the customer care desk, which

ests in his career. Eric bowed af-

augured well with mostly the fe-

ter being in the company for

male customers.

over three years.

We wish him all the best.

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NEWSLETTER – 4TH QUARTER EDITION

TILL WE MEET AGAIN Change is inevitable, slow and painful at first but inevitable. During the quarter ended, we lost one of the staff, Raymond. At the time of his death, Ray was working at Kisat treatment plant.

Mr. Raymond Otieno

Fly high warrior!

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NEWSLETTER – 4TH QUARTER EDITION

LOOKING BACK THROUGH ISO CERTIFICATION Article by ; George Odero Manager, Water Production.

The company started the journey in the year 2010. During the year and the preceding year witnessed tremen-

dous improvement in so many aspects of the company’s operations.

For continuity, the management decided that the processes needed to be standardized and sustained for improved customer experience, hence the need to

Photo/file: Ms. Peninah conducting a laboratory test

implement ISO 9001:2008 Quality Management System (QMS).

The journey towards getting ISO certified started and the following activities were undertaken; appointment of a consultant to prepare the company, training of the members of the top Management, training of the process owners, sensitization of the staff on the implementation of the standard and training of internal auditors.

The process took off but with very a bumpy ride. I noted when I was appointed the Management representative that the staff who were trained and sensitized were permanent staff. The staff on short term contracts were not included in the training program. This later posed as a challenge because majority of the staff members were on short term contracts and they had no knowledge on QMS. To deal with this challenge we later sensitized all the staff in the or-

ganization and this time, the staff were trained internally, in small groups. The training was also tailor made to suit their areas of operation for ease of understanding.

The internal auditors were also re-trained to improve their capacity to carry out audits and produce reports as required by the standards.

During the first phase of implementation of the standard, the following benefits were realized;

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NEWSLETTER – 4TH QUARTER EDITION



Compliance with all the regulatory and legal requirements



Great improvement in handling customer issues hence improved customer experience.



All the processes were documented in the procedures, hence easy to replicate.



Records of the implementation of the procedures were being maintained and easily retrievable.



Improved working conditions and infrastructure.



The need to analyze data to inform decision making.



The cost of operation optimized in the organization.



Improved brand image of the organization.

The organization then transited to the standard ISO 9001: 2015. The transition process involved training of staff at all the levels, retraining of the internal auditors and revision of the QMS documents to consider the requirements of the new standards.

The new standard came with new aspects that are very relevant in today’s business environment. It focused majorly on risk-based thinking. It follows the principles of QMS namely; customer focus, leadership, engagement of people, process approach, evidence decision making, relationship management. Risk management has become an integral part of our business

process. Managing the process risks at the respective processes was a game changer in the Company and in the business world.

Since the implementation of the new standard, the customer experience has improved and so has our overall brand image. Staff engagement has also improved at all the levels and this has had a positive impact on staff morale.

In addition, the Company has also implemented another ISO system, ISO 17025:2018 at our cold-water meter calibration laboratory. The meter calibration laboratory has improved the meter management process in the entire organization. The calibration laboratory was later accredited in the year 2021 and this made the laboratory to offer calibration services to other

water companies, hence an additional source of revenue to the Company.

The implementation of the ISO standards has a lot of positive impacts on the staff and on how they undertake their assignments. As the Management Representative, I look back and appreciate the hard work, the sweat, the zeal and every other effort that has been put by each team

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NEWSLETTER – 4TH QUARTER EDITION

to

see

the

company

where it is today in terms of being ISO compliant.

Like the say, being ISO certified means that it is continuous improvement.

Mbele pamoja!

Photo/file: Meter calibration equipment

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NEWSLETTER – 4TH QUARTER EDITION

Safety Tips At The Workplace

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

Always Report Unsafe Conditions.

Keep a clean workstation.

Wear protective equipment.

Take breaks off work, rest and recharge.

Don't skip steps (Avoid shortcuts) Stay up to date with new procedures or protocols.

Maintain proper posture to avoid aches and pains.

Offer guidance to new employees.

NEWSLETTER – 4TH QUARTER

EFFECT OF ACCOUNTS BILLED ON AVERAGE ON THE NRW REDUCTION MANAGEMENT

Inaccesible meter

Cut-off meter

Missing meter

The company aims at billing all her customers based on their actual consumption. How-

ever, due to various reasons some meters cannot be read and this leads to customers being billed on average consumption. KIWASCO has a target that only 5% of the total number of customers should be billed on average. This therefore means that the accounts billed on average contribute to our global non-revenue by 5%.

Estimation of water loss due to accounts being billed on average For instance, the total consumption of 387 accounts billed on average in the month of May 2019 was 15,439m3. The total average consumption for 6 months on these 387 ac-

counts when billed on actual was 41,867m3. This therefore meant that from the sampled 387 accounts, water lost was 26,428m3.

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NEWSLETTER – 4TH QUARTER EDITION

So, what is the way forward?

The company should enhance mass meter mapping to help eradicate accounts being billed on average as a result of unknown location.

Accounts with anomalies such as buried meters, disconnected, damaged meter and static meter should be visited to ascertain and address the reasons for the anomalies.

The NRW section should conduct meter tests on meters with anomalies to ensure that the meters are in perfect working conditions.

Monthly analysis of average accounts and advising the relevant persons to act on the irregularities identified.

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NEWSLETTER – 4TH QUARTER EDITION

CONFAB WITH MR. OKOMO Who is Tony Okomo?

Tony is a 34-year old young man, married to a lovely wife Grace, and together they have a son. Tony works in KIWASCO as a mechanical technician based at KISAT. How long have you worked in KIWASCO? I joined the company on 14th March 2016 as a pump attendant stationed at Sunset Pumping station then was later transferred to KISAT to work as a plant operator. During the

Photo; Tony while at Tom Mboya pumping station

restructuring in 2017, I was upgraded to the mechanical technician position as a result of my hard work in addition to my Educational qualifications.

You were little known to many, but recently you have become popular to the point of being selected the Champion for Creativity & Innovation representing KISAT station, tell me more about that.

Umhhh…through the good work I have been doing in terms of maintenance of machines and pumps, I have set a good example to my fellow staff. This is because I accomplish my duties whenever given a task and this puts me in good books with my supervisors.

At my place of work, I used to propose several ideas to better my working environment that later made my team select me as their champion on Creativity & Innovation matters. Aside

from my core duties, I demonstrated leadership in the field of sports in the company that also increased my popularity.

You are the captain for KIWASCO football team, is this correct?

I am a sportsman; my passion is in football. I have been playing football as a talent since joining high school. I started out as a goal keeper then moved to playing as a midfielder.

After .

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Lifestyle

NEWSLETTER – 4TH QUARTER EDITION

completing High school Education, I joined several football

clubs

including

Muhoroni Youth and BIDCO in Thika which, at the time, were playing the Second league in Kenya.

Upon joining KIWASCO, I have also been part of the KIWASCO football team that participated in WASCO games that were held Photo: Tony shaking hands with CS Devolution Hon. Eugene Wamalwa during the official opening of WASCO games opening match

in Embu and Kisumu in 2019 and 2022 respectively. During the WASCO games held in Kisumu in April 2022, I spearheaded the football team who played upto the quarter finals. Personally, I scored 3 goals in total while playing as a midfielder.

Yes, am the captain of the KIWASCO football team and am happy that through my leadership, we registered improved performance from the tournament held in Embu. I believe that in the next WASCO games we will get to the finals or better yet clinch the coveted top position.

Lately you have been pro-active on matters environment, tell us more about it I work in the Waste Water section, an environment that is considered not friendly to many.

Due to that fact, I felt that the environment matters should be preserved to reduce the associated risks. Therefore, I felt that planting trees is one of the interventions that may help us absorb the carbon dioxide that is being released from the sewerage treatment plant in KISAT. I also realized that our mode of disposing the inorganic materials should also be taken into consideration by constructing an incinerator to help us in burning solid waste to reduce the danger and exposure to the environment. At KISAT, we have planted a total of 400 trees so far, of which most of them are growing well.

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Lifestyle

NEWSLETTER – 4TH QUARTER EDITION

As a champion for creativity & innovation, what are some of the achievements you can boast of?

Having planted and grown the trees at KISAT. Trenching of the water ways infront of the gate of Kisat office to prevent flooding at the station that is almost commencing.

Fencing of Kisat station which is currently in progress.

Installation of the stand-by generator at Airport pumping station Renovation of the wetland to ensure reduction of phosphates is achieved and this has been done to a great extent.

These are just but a few highlights of the achievements realized since the programme begun. I want to take this opportunity to thank the Managing Director for spearheading such a programme.

What are your future plans?

To develop myself in terms of career development, further my education to degree level

so that in future I can bring ideas that can help the company to soar to greater heights.

What is your advice to fellow staff?

I would like to advice my fellow staff to dedicate themselves to their duties and to ensure that each and every task assigned to them is completed so that together we can work towards achieving the company’s goals.

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NEWSLETTER – 4TH QUARTER EDITION

BEING A WOMAN I am woman I am tired half the time I barely sleep if I ever Putting everyone's needs before my own In stilettos I stride to work With eyebags and my head held high I work my ass off Just to get that corner office.

But I love my womanhood crown I get to push myself to limits I knew not I could, I get to shatter walls with a strength that surpasses even my understanding, I get to laugh hard I get to love more than I should Just because I can Just because, I am woman -Beryl Obedi 30