While residents of Calabar metropolis complain of the continuous absence of pipe borne water supplied by the Cross River State Water Board Limited, CRSWBL, in the metropolis, it does appear that administrative bottlenecks within the system have combined to make water unavailable for consumers.
Investigations by www.calitown.com show that new technical partners of CRSWBL, a company known as Techvibes, is groaning under the strain of clearing a mountain of issues left behind by another company called Ortech, which operated up until August 2015 as technical partners to CRSWBL.
It was discovered that before Ortech and CRSWBL parted ways, the latter’s financial indebtedness to electricity company, PHEDC, was the reason why PHEDC cut electricity supply to CRSWBL’s headquarters and treatment plant, leaving her consumers to endure long periods without water supply in the metropolis. Ortech it was also discovered owed salaries for the months of May, June and July 2015, a liability Techvibes refused to inherit.
However, after a staff audit was done, Techvibes retained the services of some staff and in August 2015, paid the staff a fraction of what they were owed, to reduce mounting friction and so that staff, most of whom had downed tools, will return back to work. While Ortech promised to pay the staff all entitlements by August 2015, it is yet to fulfill that promise at the time of going to press.
On her part, the Cross River State Government, CRSG, through the Office of the State Accountant-General had ensured that May and June salaries for these staff were paid and later released the salary balance for July but administrative bottlenecks in CRSWBL’s headquarters it appears stand between staff and their July salary.
CRSWBL’s latter day inefficiency has seen her lose customers in droves as customers pursue alternative water supply options.
