Southern Region Water Board (SRWB) says it is ready to engage Thyolo District Hospital management for a better arrangement on how the facility can settle its outstanding water bills.

SRWB chief executive officer Duncan Chambamba said they are ready to reach a compromise with Thyolo District Health Office on the outstanding bills.

“As SRWB, we are ready to take on board their concerns and see how best we can resolve the bills issue. In fact, our main core business is to pump and supply potable water to our customers, including all public institutions such as Thyolo District Hospital,” he said.

Chambamba: We will engage the hospital

The hospital’s bills, currently at K66 million, have affected operations, compelling it to resort to alternative sources of water, including drilling boreholes and installing a submersible pump. The Parliamentary Committee of Natural Resources and Environment ordered the hospital to transfer the water pumping systems to SRWB.

According to the committee, all public institutions are required to be provided with water by the country’s water boards.

Speaking in an interview on Saturday, Thyolo district commissioner Douglas Moffat said they are ready to hand over the water pumping systems to SRWB in compliance with the parliamentary committee’s directive.

“We have always been engaging SRWB on the matter, but what we want is to have an agreement on how the board will sort out the outstanding bills we have with them,” he said.

Moffat said the hospital has always remained committed to settling the bills which stood at about K120 million as of December 2020, but now it is hovering around K66 million.

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