Excerpts from the One Day Interactive Session of the FCT Water Board with Kubwa Residents

The meeting started around 10 AM  and it was moderated by the acting General Manager of the FCT Water Board, Dame Joy Okoro, who was flanked by the Area Managers of Kubwa 1 and Kubwa 2,  Asokoro, Garki, Gwagwalada, Wuye and more out of the FCT sixteen divisions. Others include the Head of Department Rapid Response Mr. Shehu and the principal of the school, Mr. Musa.  Kubwa Residents  turned up in their numbers filling the hall of the Government Secondary School Kubwa, venue of the One Day Imteractive session.

 

Residents' complaints and suggestions

 Residents of Kubwa Phase 3 were amongst the first to lay their complaints of going for days without water because their water is being shared with the neighbouring community such that there is water from Monday to Friday then it ceases until after the neighbouring community's turn on Friday through Monday. Addressing the issue, the Assistant Area Manager in charge of the area blamed the problem on the coming of the Kubwa Rail Station which affected the underground pipes and created a curve that restrains the smooth flow of water to these residents.   Solution to kubwa 1 rotation of water cos of railway and will need relaying but alternate days to be done immediately while relaying will take longer cos of govt bureaucy so don't say you we told water board and they didn't do anything.  

Improvement of billing

Improvement of billing is another area of concern highlighted by Kubwa residents. They canvassed for an improvement "so when I've paid, it hits on the system and nobody will come and say paste it on your door or any other barbaric way of showing payment."

Another resident, Mrs Adeleye commended the board for text messages to her phone to preserve water for the first time ever.  Then she asked that bills be sent as at when due so it will be easier to pay them without accumulation. Addressing the issue, the Area Manager Kubwa said the Board is printing the bills monthly now unlike what obtained in the past when bills came only three times in a year.  She also said that the last bill shared was for the month of May as they have just received the June bill from the Board Headquarters and will need one week to sort and share. The acting GM apologized to the customers over the issue and explained that only one machine is available right now to print over fifty thousand bills monthly so they are taking it easy on the machine to prevent a breakdown but another one will be procured as soon as possible. 

Old infrastructure

A resident Tina Onyia, aka Madam Plumber caused a little drama as she was hailed after introducing herself. She is the owner of the first plumber shop in Kubwa and after commending the Board for their continued good works, expertly pointed out that new estates springing up around Kubwa still rely on the 100ml that were layed many years ago and there is need to lay bigger pipes to satisfy the growing population.

Dame Okoro first commended Madam Plumber on behalf of FCT Water Board saying she has heard so much about her and the Board is especially aware of her pratice, when pipe bursts occur suddenly in Kubwa, to give the Board pipes and products on credit while patiently awaiting the long government payment process afterwards. Adressing her issue, she concurred that indeed water is life and the management of the Board will continue to work to satisfy the customers. 

 

Leakages and bad metres

Mr. David Adeleye aka Babalawo hammered on his hatred for water leakages and shared how in his area they don't wait for the Board to fix leakages, however, it must be tackled as it is making some people without metres in the area to enjoy water more than those who have metres.

Another resident, Mrs Raphael, shared how when she made an enquiry concerning her area INEC Quarters Kubwa, she was advised to get a new metre then 5 months later it got bad also and she is still stuck with it. She was was asked to visit the Board's office closest to her for examination of the new metre.

 

Other issues

The need to run a campaign to create awareness among Kubwa residents for reporting water leakages whenever and wherever they occur was also highlighted. Residents of  Arochukwu Street in Kubwa 2.1  complained of low water pressure to which the acting GM said their engineers would be around to examine. Another resident who travelled outside the country got around N300000 bill when no one was in the building his issue was said to likely be due to faulty metre and he was urged to go to the area office on Monday for resolution. 

The HoD Rapid Response promised that residents would begin to see improvements from next week.