At least 15,000 water subscribers with outstanding bills have been warned of legal action, as the Water and Sanitation Corporation Ltd (WASAC) moves to recover more than Rwf2bn owed to the utility.

Speaking to The New Times on Monday, Lucien Ruterana, the commercial director for Water and Sanitation Authority (WASAC), said some of the bills have accumulated for over six years.

Last month, WASAC announced that it was mulling legal action against those whose water bill was disconnected over six months ago and have neither paid nor approached the utility to discuss modalities of payment.

Ruterana said when someone fails to do any of these for all this time, the assumption is that they are using other means to get water, which could include illegal ones.

He said among WASAC’s 160,000 subscribers, between 10,000 and 15,000 could be affected by the move, but noted that the number might increase if more defaulters are added onto the list at the end of the month.

"It is our hope that this announcement will serve as a wake-up call so that we can see more people affected coming forth to clear their debts so that the number is smaller when time comes to go to court,” Ruterana said.

He said they have also written to the concerned customers and that the debt recovery companies that will engage in the exercise will visit them. However, the customer will cover all the debt recovery services expenses.

Billing system faulted

Some water subscribers have expressed concern over the billing system used by WASAC, which they say might be partly to blame for arrears.

Gaston Gasore, a resident of Kacyiru Sector in Gasabo District, said it would serve better if WASAC contacted subscribers before disconnecting them.

The way it is, he said, one has to go to WASAC office in order to be billed, which could be an inconvenience that breeds the negligence that leads to arrears accumulating for months.

"The proposal is that their billing system is automated to ensure a subscriber does not necessarily have to go to them or even wait for their agents for when they eventually come with the bill,” said Gasore.

He said if, like electricity, water cannot be made prepaid, at least an SMS system should be introduced so people are kept updated of their accumulating bill.

However, Ruterana said whoever wants a water bill can easily get their bill by visiting the utility company’s website, from where they enter their subscription identification number (POC) and automatically get their bill.

The second means is by using a mobile phone where a subscriber can type the word WASAC, leave a space and enter POC number then send to 3123 and get the bill.

Ruterana added that another means is to provide the customer with the water bill containing the money the customer owes the water firm.

Given that the number of Rwandans owning mobile phones is over four million and the water subscribers are about 160,000, Ruterana noted that it is, therefore, easy for them to get their water bills

editorial@newtimes.co.rw