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SERVICE Compact with all Nigerians (SERVICOM) has called on the Federal Capital Territory Water Board (FCTWB) to decentralise its services in water supply at city centre to suburbs of the nation’s capital.
Mrs Nnenna Akajemeli, the National Coordinator of SERVICOM made the called when she presented SERVICOM Compliance Evaluation Reports (SCER) of FCTWB headquarters and its area offices to the Minister of FCT administration on Thursday in Abuja.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that SCER is a routine report of SERVICOM on MDAs activities to ensure citizens-focused service delivery, and to identify gaps in service delivery as well as making recommendations to MDAs for improvement.
SERVICOM was established by the Federal Government to promote effective and efficient service delivery in MDAs to ensure customer satisfaction and to manage the performance-expectation gap between government and citizens on issues of service delivery.
On the observation of water supply in FCT, Akajemeli commended the FCTWB for its services at the city centre but pointed out some weaker areas needed its attention.
She listed areas visited such as Kubwa I and II, Guru, Bwari, Wuse/Wuye, Nyanya/Karu, Gwarimpa, Maitama, Garki I and II, Asokoro, Jabi, Gwagwalada, Jahi/Katampe, Abaji and the Headquarters.
According to her, providing potable water of adequate quantity and quality at equitable rates to the residents of the FCT, management and maintenance of all water works, services in the FCT among other responsibilities are the FCTWB major mandates.
The SERVICOM boss said that there were no adequate and clear directional signs to guide customers and visitors to the Maitama Area Office in particular, and the various offices located within the premises, saying “it impedes access to services’’.
She said customers complained of non-functional of meters in some areas visited as well as broken chambers, old pipelines that needed replacement.
“Customers interviewed confirmed that there is no constant water supply to some parts of Maitama such as Ministers’ Hill, Mississippi, Maitama extension and Federal Housing Quarters.
“This has led to water rationing, resulting to increased costs incurred by customers to purchase storage facilities, ” Akajemeli explained.
She mentioned other areas of weaknesses to include manual system of physical reading meters before producing bills, irregular/inadequate water supply in Bwari, timelines of five working days for resolution of complaints not met among others.
Akajemeli, therefore, advised the board to decentralise its services, make provision for modern equipment and tools to make easy access of water to some areas finding it difficult to access its services.
She suggested training and re-training of staffers as necessarily to enhance their skills, knowledge and attitude for the provision of satisfactory services among others to customers.
In his response Mr Folasade Adesola, the Permanent Secretary FCT Administration, commended SERVICOM for its evaluation reports, saying such initiative was to motivate and influence other areas of FCT administrative activities.
“I think we need more of this evaluation reports but just not with water board as we have heard, we need it to cut across all strata of our services in the FCT.”
Represented by Mr Udo Atang, the Director office of the Permanent Secretary, Adesola said the report was quite revealing and he assured SERVICOM management of forwarding its reports to the Permanent Secretary for administrative actions. (NAN)
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Tags: Federal Capital Territory Water Board (FCTWB) Folasade Adesola Nnenna Akajemeli Service Compact with all Nigerians (SERVICOM) Udo Atang
