Enhancing Financial Sustainability of Blantyre Water Board

Blantyre Water Board has been facing a number of challenges over the past years which have seriously contributed to decline of its financial and operational performance. The financial position as at 31st March 2025 showed that total current liabilities were at MK21.0 billion compared to total current assets of MK23.5 billion. Total long-term liabilities were at MK76.0 billion. The unaudited accounts for the year ended 31st March 2025, show that the Board made a net loss of MK10.2 billion and accumulated losses as at 31st March 2025 were MK108.7 billion. The Board has been experiencing high physical and commercial water losses due to aged infrastructure, system and meter inefficiencies as well as behavioural malpractices. The NRW in 2024/25 financial year was at 58%. This high NRW has significantly contributed to low sales and revenue. Furthermore, in 2025/26 financial year, the Board has experienced high rate of meter vandalism which has also contributed to high NRW. Reducing NRW will increase water sales and revenue, thereby improving financial position of the Board. In addition, the Board incurs high monthly electricity costs. In 2024/25 financial year, the electricity costs were MK18.8 billion. Currently, the average monthly bill has been at MK1.5 billion. ESCOM has an automatic tariff adjustment model while the Board does not have. The electricity cost accounts for 28% of the Board’s total operating costs. The Board cannot pass the ESCOM tariff impact to the end customer. Reducing electricity through use of clean energy initiatives will improve Board’s operational cost and enhance financial position. This will eventually help to turnaround the financial performance of the Board. The Board has been failing to implement its annual strategies due to liquidity challenges resulting in over reliance on overdrafts and loans to finance operations. These challenges have led to the ‘going concern’ uncertainty for the Board. To reverse the trend, the Board plans to reduce non- revenue water and kWh/m3 of energy used from ESCOM to enhance its financial performance.