Improving utility management : case study of MWAUWASA, Tanzania

Mwanza Urban Water and Sewerage Authority (MWAUWASA) has been encountering a lot of challenges, which includesinter alia, the still high UfW, great outstanding balances by debtors, high power costs, underdeveloped managementsystem and low sewerage network coverage. This lead to the need to improve utility management and thus the urge of theorganisation to participate in the Water Utility Management & UfW project. One of the issues addressed is the developingof Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) to guide the organisation in its performance including reduction in UfW. Thisrequired the organisation to address the four key questions: where are we now, how did we get here, where do we wantto go, how might we get there, and how do we ensure success. The newly established District Meter Areas (DMAs) isone of the effective strategies of reducing unaccounted for water (UfW) through Measurement-Validation-Identification-Rectification cycle. The project has indeed left MWAUWASA with the in-house capacity for long-term planning for furtherdevelopment and sustainability.