Karachi Water & Sewerage Board (KWSB) will be using the latest Information Technology (IT) for improvement in recovery, awareness campaigns and to better the board’s coordination with consumers.
In this regard, two consecutive meetings were held between the KWSB and consultants from World Bank Water Sanitation Programme for South Asia (WSP).
WSP consultants Idrees Butt and Cazy offered KWSB Managing Director Misbahuddin Farid and senior officers concerned, the technology to bring KWSB in line with modern standards. Similar meetings were also held with WASA officials in the past. The WSP consultants have been recently making rounds of the KWSB to brief them about the technological advances made in the field of IT.
During the meeting, Butt and Cazy briefed the KWSB officers about the practical use of mobile phone services, applications, SMS alerts for mutual coordination, information regarding schedule changes and recovery of bills through phone. They discussed the concerns and requirements as well as possibilities of E-Payments through mobile phones.
It was decided during the meeting that IT applications would be implemented within next two to four months, whereas the WSP consultants assured that the KWSB would not only be provided with the latest technology, but the staff would also be trained so that the board would not have to rely on third parties in the future.
Furthermore, mobile phone billing and other options would be introduced in the later stages of the project. Meanwhile, the KWSB assured the consultants of their complete support in this regard.
Later, the WSP consultants also met KWSB managing director and briefed him regarding the IT systems and applications. During the discussion Misbahuddin also suggested several steps to be taken in order to bring KWSB up to the modern standards and make the system reachable for literate and illiterate consumers alike.