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Revamping the BWA
6/20/2009
By Janelle Riley-Thornhill
THE Government of Barbados is currently in negotiations with the Inter-American Development Bank and the Caribbean Development Bank regarding a package of measures to reorganise and modernise the Barbados Water Authority (BWA).
Word of this came from Prime Minister David Thompson earlier this week as he addressed staff of the BWA at their Manor Lodge headquarters.
Those measures, he said, which have been labelled the “Water & Sanitation Systems Upgrade”, include the development of a modern human resources recruitment and development strategy, an operational strategy, change management, development of performance standards or benchmarks, and the review of the role of the BWA as regulator and chief abstractor of water.
Noting that the recruitment of personnel over the years has not been the most efficient or effective, Prime Minister Thompson maintained that a more conventional recruitment policy is needed, where entry requirements are comparable to those of the other utilities. Moreover, he said, that it is important that all persons entering the organisation do so via a transparent process of application, interview, and selection. Such an approach is needed, he contended, if the Authority is to provide the same levels of customer service as the other utilities.
“To sustain this modernisation it will be necessary to train staff specific to the operating environment and to raise entry level requirements for recruitment at the Authority,” he added.
Thompson told those gathered that also included in that package will be the installation of modern management information systems, the use of new technologies such as Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition for network management and control, and public awareness campaigns.
All this, he said, will improve water quality and service delivery, especially at this time when there are a number of planned public and private sector projects, including significant expansion in terms of housing. To that end, he maintained that a balanced development of our water resources is imperative, if lack of this precious commodity is not to stymie any of those efforts.
Speaking to re-branding efforts also being undertaken at the public utility company to the tune of $2.5 million, Thompson stated that analysis from marketing consultants noted that for far too long the BWA’s marketing and communications efforts have been driven by tactical attempts to address concerns that present themselves, rather than adopting a strategic approach.
“They referred to past attempts to enhance collections through disconnection notices in the media, an increase in the number of Disconnection Assistants at the Authority, and the use of Attorneys and a Collection Agent, and noted that none of these efforts bore fruit on a sustained basis,” he added.
As such, he said that they proposed the creation of a strategic marketing plan that will respond to BWA’s long-term objectives.
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