Rwanda: WASAC Turns to E-Payment to Improve Revenue Collection

By Ben Gasore

The Water and Sanitation Corporation (WASAC) has turned to electronic payment systems, like mobile money, Internet and mobile banking, to improve revenue collection from water consumers.

This comes after the shortfalls in water revenue collections of about Rwf12 billion annually, the Minister for Infrastructure, James Musoni, said during the launch of the e-payment platforms in Kigali on Monday.

In the 2013 Auditor General's report indicates that the then Energy Water and Sanitation Authority have no books of accounts and the financial statements, and 42.38 per cent of the water produced and distributed worth Rwf10.5 billion was not billed.

Musoni said the integration of banks and telecoms' mobile and internet banking and mobile money platforms together with WASAC's billing system was the way to go if they were to increase revenues and create more water distribution networks to meet the increasing demand.

The utility has integrated with banks, GT Bank and Bank of Kigali and telecom firm, MTN Rwanda to facilitate the service, a move that will ease payment of water bills. Previously, customers had had to endure long queues at WASAC offices to pay water bills.

GT Bank's managing director, Veracruz Bayo, explained that clients will use the GT Bank option on WASAC website, which in turn directs them to the bank's online banking platform to carry out their payments. Customers can dial *600# on the mobile phones, and follow the utility payment prompts, to use the mobile banking option to pay their water bills.

The MTN Rwanda chief executive officer, Ebenezer Asante, said the firm had added a water payment option to their 'pay bill' menu under the mobile money platform which clients can access by dialling the code *182#.

James Sano, the WASAC director general, said the electronic payment system will enable the utility to bill up to 98 per cent of their customers, up from the previous 59 per cent of the users they were able to bill.

Follow @Ben_Gasore

SOURCE:The new times.