Water Supply Network Asset Management in Sierra Leone - Essay Example

Introduction Sierra Leone is endowed with a wealth of natural resources such as fresh water, fertile landsand forests. The country has mineral resources, for instance diamonds found in Kono in the Eastern province and bauxite found in Marampa in the Northern Province. Despite the resources available in the area, the supply of water in Sierra Leone is described by inadequate access to clean water for drinking and usage. In Freetown, Sierra Leone’s capital city, often taps are dry. In the rural areas, the situation is worse. As a result, there are different bodies that have come up to address the situation. One of this is the new dam in Orugu, which was financed by China in 2009 to lessen water scarcity. Thus, the essay comprehensively discusses water network asset management in Sierra Leone. Defination Nationalization plays a crucial role in Sierra Leone. The colony was founded by a British organization for freed American slaves. Since its inception, the country has invested in the development of the infrastructure such as transportation systems and water supply. The efforts are geared towards providing basic needs for their citizens. Sierra Leon is made up of four main parts which are South, North, Western and Eastern provinces. It is subdivided into 12 provinces. Its capital city is Freetown. It is bordered by Liberia on the South, Atlantic Ocean in the West and Guinea on the North. Retreived from http://www.afropop.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/sierra_leone_map_02.jpg History Prewar history of water supply in Sierra Leone In 1980s, Sierra Leone had a population of about 3.5 million. Measures had to be put in place to ensure that water was supplied to the whole population. During that period, 64 piped water systems were installed and served 30, 000 people out of the 3.5 million people. In the rural areas, the water supply system increased by 35 percent, hence serving a wider population. It was possible through the installation of the hand pumps in the rural areas1. A study carried out by the World Bank and World Health organization recommended that there is a need to establish the national water supply system. Thus, a law was put to force in 1988 which introduced the Sierra Leone Water Company commonly reffered to as (Salwaco)2. The law that was introduced mainly aimed at cost recovery in line with the installation of the water supply systems in Sierra Leone. There was also the introduction of the water tariffs which were introduced in urban areas as flat rates. The water rates mainly targeted the public institutions and commercial customers. The meters were introduced to those commercial areas and were installed, and bills began on the basis of consumption. Retrieved from http://i.infoplease.com/images/msleone.gif The civil war era Sierra Leone Civil War, which erupted in 1991 and ended in 2002, was a setback to the development of its economy. After the war, 2.5 million people became refugees, many of them were mutilated, and 50,000 people died. The events of the war destroyed the water supply infrastructure that had been installed in 1980s. The access to water declined at a rate of 15 percent. The country was worse in shape in the water supply system than in two decades before the war. All the systems that had been installed were destroyed, and most of the human power that was also used died and others became refugees3. After the war, the World Bank came up with a strategy to install the water supply systems. The dam and the water treatment plant that served the capital city Freetown were rehabilitated and their capacities expanded between 1996 and 2002. By doing so, they supplied water to a mushrooming population and the large number of refugees in the capital city. Additionally, the World Bank rehabilitated water supply systems for four towns namely Bo, Lungi, Makeni, and Kenema. The systems were rehabilitated between 2000 and 2003. Postwar After the events of the war, external donors spurred the development of the water supply systems. They came up with reforms which ensured that water was supplied to all the parts of the country. Some of the reforms included the establishment of an autonomous public utility regulatory body. The regulatory body ensured that it approved the request for tariff increase. They also proposed private sector participation in urban water supply in Freetown. Despite the investor’s efforts, none of the reforms was implemented. As a result, the Guma Valley Water Company incurred a loss of US$ 1.5M. Due to that there was a tariff increase in 200 toaddress Guma serious financial issue. To supplied water to Freetowsn Serra Leone’s capital city4. Privatization Guma Valley Water Company (GVWC) is one of the companies that supplied water in the greater part of Freetown. Sierra Leone Water Company (Salwaco) supplied water to the rest of the country apart from the capital city5. Salwaco also assisted the local councils in planning, maintaining water systems, and building to ensure that every part of the country obtained enough water. The companies ensured the people obtained self-sufficient tariff system, fair and affordable ensuring that the company recovered from the events if the war. The reforms also ensured that water was supplied to all parts of the country. What is Asset Management? Asset management is a system that monitors and ensures all the assets of an organization both tangible and intangible are in good condition. Some of the intangible assets include goodwill and intellectual property. It is a systematic process that involves maintaining, deploying, operating, upgrading, and operating all the assets of the organization. It is also used to describe companies that manage investment on behalf of others. Asset management ensures that users get the best services6. Additionally, through asset management, the organization gets an opportunity to understand the strategic value of its assets. At the same time, they improve the effectiveness and the efficiency of the use of the assets. There is also development of an ideal framework for the coordination of asset development programs such as energy, environment, safety and security of the assets. Asset management ensures that products, services, and programs are translated into the commercial sector. Policy and regulation In Siera Leone, the Ministry of Energy and Water Resources heads of all the policies involving water supply. They come up with policies that ensure all the activities of the water supply management chain is done effectively. They also ensure that there are no irregularities in the water supply chain. Everything is done democratically. Some of the policies they have adopted include the National Water and Sanitation policy adopted in September 2008. The Nationa Water and Sanitation Policy was established to improve the provision of sanitation and water supply. They also ensured that there is decentralization of service. The policy also facilitated the coming up of the five year hygiene, water and sanitation program which should cover the whole country. They also came up with the community-based sanitation program. Water supply grid In Sierra Leone, the National Water and sanitation policy ensures all the assets of water supply are maintained. The policy established in 2008 improves the provision of sanitation and water supply. They also came up with a certification program and 169 communities were certified7. Additionally, the water supply system was decentralized to local government. The Ministry of Energy and Water Resources was the overall authority that dealt with all the water related issues. The Ministry was also responsible for co-ordination of all the activities, sourcing funds for the water projects, and cross-sectional planning8. The asset care 39 steps form ISO55000 Successively, after the establishment of the asset management program, there is a need to come up with an ISO55000 program to provide a solid foundation for the asset management. The international organization for standardization defines the codes of the principle provinces and all cites in all the country. Through filing the forms, the country determines their standards and how they are supposed to supply water in the different provinces. The revenue allocation by the World Bank is dependent on the national codes given for standardization9. That is why when the country acquired its independence in 1961, the government came up with a free water supply policy. They established that even though they supplied water to different parts of the country only a few of them paid for the service. Most of the people were not willing to pay for the water supply service. Throug the application of the ISO55000 the country will be in position to meet all the stakehoplder’s demands. Additionally, ISO55000 provides will provide a well laid strategy to guide in the exernal and internal audits. Through this the company will hace quality management of all their systems. Ideally, the use of ISO55000 helps the customers acquire a constant quality of the services thus making the business benefit in all its activities. The company also overcomes the stiff competition through the certification program. The water supply company, can register through BSI because it has developed many of the standards successfully. They have worked with different companies all over the world thus, they have the required experience. Through certification by BSI the company will widen its marker opportunities10. Economic factor In Sierra Leone, the country is working towards coming up with a balanced economy sector. Although there are different setbacks that deter its development, different projects have come up to sustain the country’s economy. The government policies have sparked private sector investment, innovation, job creation, energy efficiency in all the countries, and clean technology. Water supply management failure Consequently, water supply has been affected by the erratic power supply in Sierra Leone. The power failure makes the operation of big companies in Sierra Leone difficult. Due to the power failure, the companies do not get the exact operational cost. Power failure system has also resulted in the closure of some of the companies because they are unable to operate effectively and efficiently11. The water supply system is one of the most crucial sectors of the economy in Sierra Leone that has been affected by power failure system. A report done in 2005 proved that there was a major problem in the water supply sector. The major problem stated that there was lack of trust between SALWACO and non-governmental organizations. The decision of SALWACO to use the German pumps and Kardiah became a controversial issue12. Additionally, there were many people who did not have access to safe drinking water. The reason arose because water quality was not regularly tested through the entire country. There were no proper records kept for safe drinking water. There were also unprotected springs, open wells, and ponds that the community depended on for drinking water13. Solutions recruitment and development Subsequently, privatization is seen as the solution to ensure that all the aspects of most of the organization perform effectively. Private investors are always willing to come up with strategies that ensure the company operates effectively. They will ensure that there is continuous water supply by installing and having machines that supply water to all the parts of the country. Additionally, improving the national grid helps in the growth of the economy14. Additionally, a survey done indicated that the population that has access to clean drinking water has increased. 84 percent of the total urban population accesses clean water. On the other hand, 68 percent of the rural population has access to clean water. The rural areas have excessively protected wells where the population gets clean water. The rural areas also get access to the surface water which is clean for human consumption15. Conclusion Sierra Leone is endowed with various water sources such as seven major rivers. Which are Kaba, Pampana, Sewa, Moa, Mano, Kolente, and Rokel. Sierra Leone also has a high water table in the country thus forming a substantial amount of the groundwater resources. However, as discussed above there is a challenge in the supply of water as a result of power failure. The Freetown, the capital city, gets its supply from Guma Dam which is located in the Western part of the country. The essay critically discusses the asset care 39 steps form ISO 9000/1500, policy and regulation strategy, asset management grid, water supply grid, Water supply management failure, solutions recruitment and development and the economic factors. Bibliography Ang, Andrew. 2014. Asset management: a systematic approach to factor investing. Besada, Hany. 2009. From civil strife to peace building examining private sector involvement in West African reconstruction. [Waterloo, Ont.]: Wilfrid Laurier University Press. Disselkamp, Lisa. 2013. Workforce asset management book of knowledge. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Ferme, Mariane C. 2001. The underneath of things violence, history, and the everyday in Sierra Leone. Berkeley, Calif: University of California Press. Hastings, N. A. J. 2015. Physical asset management: with an introduction to ISO55000. Kup, Alexander Peter. 1975. Sierra Leone: a concise history. Newton Abbot [England]: David & Charles. Schouten, Marco, Edwin Hes, and Zvikomborero Hoko. 2009. Innovative practices in the African water supply and sanitation sector. Stellenbosch: Sun Media. SharmaThakur, Ganesh Chandra, and AbdusSatter. 2008. Integrated waterflood asset management. Tulsa, Okla: PennWell. Thompson, Bankole. 2007. The constitutional history and law of Sierra Leone: 1961-1995. Lanham [u.a.]: Univ. Press of America. West, Richard. 2007. Back to Africa: A history of Sierra Leone and Liberia. London: Cape. Read More