Clients owe Tanzania water authorities 83.9bn/- in outstanding water bills

DODOMA: VARIOUS water customers across the country owe a total of 83.9bn/- in outstanding water bills, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Water and Environment has been told.

The amount was presented to the committee during a meeting held at the Parliament premises in Dodoma, where members discussed measures to recover the outstanding debts and ensure the continued improvement of water services.

The committee, chaired by Jackson Kiswaga, called on the government to take effective measures to recover the outstanding payments, noting the importance of addressing the debts to sustain the provision and improvement of water services.

Minister for Water Jumaa Aweso said the government had already introduced measures aimed at recovering the debts, including the use of smart prepaid water meters.

He said under the system, outstanding debts are automatically recovered when customers make payments for water services, enabling water authorities to gradually recover money owed to them.

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“The government is also engaging customers who have outstanding debts to agree on the best ways of recovering the money,” Minister Aweso said.

 He explained that the provision of water services involves significant operational costs, including electricity, water treatment chemicals, human resources and maintenance of infrastructure.

 Minister Aweso stressed that customers have a responsibility to pay their water bills on time, saying timely payment was essential to sustaining and improving water services across the country.

 “Paying water bills is one of the ways customers contribute to the improvement and sustainability of water services in the country,” he said.