SIERRA LEONE'S GUMA VALLEY WATER Co BENCHMARKS ON NWSC

A delegation from Guma Valley Water Company (GVWC) of Sierra Leone, led by Managing Director Mariwan Kallon, has kicked off an experiential tour of the National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) to benchmark, learn, and exchange practical insights on managing a modern water and sanitation utility. It is a deep dive, not a courtesy call. Throughout the visit, NWSC has lined up a rich mix of technical presentations, in-depth discussions, and hands-on field visits covering the full value chain, strategic and operational performance, water production and distribution, asset and network management, non-revenue water management, customer relations, revenue collection, services to low-income communities, and wastewater and faecal sludge management. The exchange is timely. Sierra Leone's setup is unique on the continent. Under the Freetown WASH and Aquatic Environment Revamping Project, water services are run by one company, while sewerage services are handled by a completely separate entity. It is against this distinct backdrop and inspired by NWSC's broad experience across Africa that GVWC is immersing itself in NWSC's strategic direction and operational performance for Kampala Water. High on their learning agenda is asset management, GIS and infrastructure layout, and the inner workings of key departments including IT and Billing, the Meter Service Workshop, and the management of urban pro-poor services among others. The delegation will also go behind the scenes of water treatment processes, laboratory operations, service branch operations, and revenue collection practices. At the core of the exchange is NWSC's celebrated fight against non-revenue water from leak detection and meter management to water loss prevention an area where the Corporation has built a formidable track record. Special focus has been reserved for urban pro-poor services. The team will take a deep dive into NWSC's model for serving low-income communities in the city, with hopes that Freetown can adopt and adapt some of these people-centred approaches. Staying true to hands-on learning, excursions into the day-to-day operations of branches will form a key part of the itinerary. Beyond pipes and pumps, the delegation will explore the human side of the utility: customer relations management, customer care, and stakeholder engagement. The key lesson here that public and stakeholder engagement are central to the long-term success of infrastructure projects, and that investing in the right technology and communication tools can secure public support while reducing, or even eliminating, community resistance. To cap it all, the Guma Valley Water Company delegation will sit in on an NWSC Baraza experiencing first-hand the Corporation's culture of open staff communication, shared accountability, and visible leadership engagement, and picking up vital tips on feedback management along the way. Water Meets Power. NWSC Hosts TANESCO to Sharpen the Edge of Utility Performance Different utilities, same pressure. This week, water and electricity are speaking the same language. The National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) has opened its doors to officials from the Tanzania Electric Supply Company (TANESCO) for a week-long benchmarking workshop. Running under the theme "Strengthening performance-based monitoring and evaluationfor improved utility performance,"the engagement is all about learning what works, measuring what matters, and performing better for the customer. On the surface, they trade in different commodities , kilowatts for TANESCO, gallons of water for NWSC. But underneath, their DNA is strikingly similar. Both are capital-intensive, regulated monopolies. Both live and die by how well they manage vast assets, navigate regulation, and keep customers satisfied. It is precisely that shared terrain, the common battle with asset management, regulatory demands, and customer service that has drawn the TANESCO delegation to Uganda to study how NWSC does it up close.