National
Water and Sewerage Corporation-NWSC and security are investigating a scam involving people
targeting water consumers with high bills purportedly to help them reduce the bills.
It follows complaints from several water consumers indicating that some staff
from NWSC are contacting them using the information they provided while complaining about the high water bills with promises of helping them to revise the bill at a cost because of an ongoing audit that is expected to last three
months.
Ideally, NWSC staff are supposed to get in touch with
customers with complaints about their water bills at no cost. The workers are
expected to review the bill and resolve the matter with the consumer.
However, instead of
following this procedure,
some staff are reportedly sending customers messages asking them to pay some money to have
their bills revised. In a message that URN has seen, a person identifying
himself as Jesero from NWSC Ntinda branch asks a customer
for Shillings 52,000 to reduce her water bill.
“Dear customer, can I help you
to reduce your water bill (NWSC) at a cost of 52,000," the message reads
in part. Jesero later called the customer explaining that the money will help them
off-set a very high bill.
//Cue in;
“Today I have...
Cue out...money line.”//
Patricia Ankunda, another
water consumer in Kamwokya, says that even after paying the money nothing was
done to her bill.
"This person called knowing all my details. My account
number, account name and even my balance. With such details, I knew it was
someone from within. I paid Shillings 100,000 but a week afterwards, my bill
has never reduced. The number I sent the money too is no longer
connected," Ankunda said.
NWSC is currently
carrying out an audit into discrepancies in high water bills. Sam Apedel, the
Public Relations Manager NWSC, says it is illegal for staff to ask customers
for money.
He says they are aware of people asking for bribes from customers to
reduce their water bills, adding that investigations are ongoing by security to
get to the bottom of the matter.
//Cue in: "Please
don't ...
Cue out...of
this."//
Apedel says the process to revise a water bill is long and involves the
branch manager and not just one person. He encourages customers to report such
cases to police.
