WASA launches app...easier to pay bills

The launch of the Water and Sewerage Authority’s (WASA) services app, e-Billing Service and Rapid Response and Repair Programme, will go a long way in assisting customers with receiving their bills and making payments on time.

The programme was launched on Tuesday at WASA’s head office in Farm Road, St Joseph, where a demonstration was carried out to show how it would improve customer service.

WASA chairman Romney Thomas said the launch was an important step in this direction and would provide tangible benefits on multiple levels.

“I want to take this time to acknowledge and apologise to those customers who at times have had problems getting through to our customer call centre. To a large extent, this is simply a matter of volume affecting flow, not unlike the way traffic conditions are impacted on our roadways during peak hours,” he said.

Thomas said the new WASA app now gave customers the options to make a truck borne request or report a leak, without having to speak directly to a customer service representative. WASA customers would also be able to pay their WASA bills or check the status of their account via their smart phones, rather than commuting to a payment location and lining up to do so.

“I want to underscore at this time, these efforts are being made to make it easier for customers to pay their bills in order that WASA can collect its rates towards sustaining its operations and continuing to improve the delivery of service,” he said.

Thomas said the authority was serious about collecting outstanding rates by using every available option under the law, by pursuing the sale of several commercial properties that were in arrears.

“I want to encourage all customers to ensure their rates are paid up to date, as we will be continuing the rate-collection initiative to all classes of customers,” he said. He admitted there was a real problem of leaks in WASA’s transmission and distribution pipeline systems which not only contributed to an unusually high level of wastage and non-revenue water, which was about 50 per cent, but also caused damage to the road infrastructure.

He said the authority needed to develop and implement a comprehensive plan that would address the problem of leakage in the short, medium and long term. The Rapid Response and Repair Programme was launched as a short-term plan.

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