Blythe wants greater efficiency at NWC

Blythe

CONCERNS ABOUT a dip in revenues as well as customer satisfaction at the National Water Commission (NWC) will be addressed by performance audits, according to Minister of Water and Housing, Dr. Karl Blythe.

He told a press briefing at his Ministry in Kingston yesterday that following an impressive 2000/2001, which ended with the NWC making a profit in excess of $500 million and reducing customer complaints, there are early signs in 2001/2002 of a deteriorating performance, especially as it relates to customer satisfaction and revenue collection.

"We concluded that this was due mainly to the performance of our managers," the Minister said.

The decision was taken to rotate the regional and parish managers and a customer service audit was done for the western region. The results were not good. Dr. Blythe said: "Over the period, improvement was seen in some areas, but the overall performance remained below satisfaction."

He said that recent public outcry and his own observations have led to the decision to have a "total reassessment of the performance at the levels of regional and district managers".

It has been decided that: an external customer service audit be done for the other regions; internal and external audits be done at the regional and district managers' level, lasting two to three months; and managers are to be requested to individually submit letters stating their willingness to comply with the findings and recommendations of the audit.

The recommendations could include: promotion, remaining in current positions, demotion, retraining, re-deployment, or separation from the NWC.

"As Minister, I recognize that I cannot force the managers to write these letters, but professional pride should dictate that managers comply with my request," he said. Failure to comply will see the NWC board taking "appropriate action" to carry out the recommendations of the audit, subject to terms of employment, said the Minister.

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