By Amin Kef Sesay
The Board of Directors and a cross section of senior Management of Guma Valley Water Company have concluded a two-day engagement with staff of the three Guma Area Offices (Central, West and East).
The aim of the two-day engagement with staff according to the Chairman of the Board, Hon. Mrs. Bintu Myers was to discuss and chart the way forward on how to improve on staff productivity which will result to improve service delivery and increased revenue generation.
Hon. Bintu Myers said the Board she is heading does not believe in sitting in the office and signing documents; “we want to come out in the field and see for ourselves what the successes and challenges are”.
During the two-day engagement, the Chairman of the Board informed the staff about the low revenue currently being generated which she added is hindering the day-to-day operations of the company. Hon. Myers thanked the staff for the good work they have been doing and ask them to work harder. The Board Chairman said there have been tremendous improvements in terms of the company’s overall performance since she took up office and that she intends to maintain the high standards throughout her tenure of office.
The Board Chairman implored the staff to be very polite when dealing with customers and advised that customers’ complaints and queries should be promptly addressed. Hon. Bintu Myers called on the staff to desist from practices that are injurious to the well-being of the company; “if staff productivity and revenue collection improves, the Board will ask Management to give you more incentives at the end of the year”, she asserted.
In their statements during the engagement, Chairman of the Finance Sub Committee, Director Peter Amara said all departments and units should support the Commercial department for revenue collection to improve; and the Chairman of the Human Resources Sub Committee, Hon. Safula Moijueh said staff must comply fully with the HR policies of the company and conduct themselves properly at all times in the course of executing their daily duties.
Making his remarks, the Deputy Managing Director Francis Lahai said the company is working with 5 Strategic Pillars under its Strategic Performance Improvement Plan (SPIP) which includes supply of adequate and potable water, capacity building, infrastructure development (mains extensions, repair and reducing leakages, etc.), Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and revenue generation and mobilization.
The Deputy Managing Director called on the staff to give concrete feedback to the issues discussed so as to help the Board and Management make informed decisions.
Responding, the Area staff cited inadequate water supply as the primary reason for the low revenue collection and called on the Board and Management to find ways and means to improve on the water supply to their respective areas.
The two-day engagement culminated in the generation of about 30 resolutions and recommendations which all parties involved promised to work towards for improved service delivery, revenue mobilization and improved customer satisfaction.
