By Yusufu Sesay
The telecom giant and Sierra Leone Water Company (SALWACO) inked a partnership on Thursday to streamline water rates and bills and to enable customers pay using the Orange Money platform.
This partnership will significantly reduce the hassle associated with paying bills at commercial banks by offering a secure, cashless, and user-friendly option for consumers across the country.
Speaking at the launch, Joseph Saffa Tengbeh, Orange Money head of strategy, marketing and partnership, emphasized their commitment to driving digital financial inclusion and improving access to essential services for all Sierra Leoneans.
“This partnership is more than just a payment solution. It is about bringing water service closer to the people,” he said. He added that this will enhance customers’ access to basic water services through digitalization and also promotes cashless transactions.
“With Orang Money, SALWACO customers no longer need to travel longer distances or wait in long queues just to pay water bills. Payments can be made within 24 hours, 7 days a week and across the country where we have Orang Money services. Using the Orange Money platform is an easy way I want to assure everybody for SALWACO customers to be able to pay their bills” he averred.
Tengbeh noted that this partnership strongly aligns with the government’s initiative on digital transformation and financial inclusion whiles ensuring efficient service delivery.
He said Orange Money is proud to be key enablers of national development objectives and the company is committed to creating reliable, inclusive data solutions that improve lives of Sierra Leoneans.
According to him, with this partnership, SALWACO is part of the broader efforts to support public service delivery as they have done with electricity, education, entertainment, health among others.
He thanked the leadership and technical teams of SALWACO and Orang Money for the strong collaboration that made this possible. He also recognized the ongoing support of other stakeholders, including the ministry and the regulators, NaTCA.
“We want to encourage SALWACO customers to start using this service immediately as it is now available on the platform. Our agents and customer care team are everywhere to support you” he said.
SALWACO’s Managing Director Ing. George Lamin Vandi expressed optimism that this collaboration will enhance revenue collection, improve customer satisfaction, and ensure timely payments for uninterrupted water supply.
“We have done that with Rokel Commercial Bank. We are pursuing that also with other institutions. Today, we are achieving one with Orange, for which I would like us to thank the Orange management.
“We are also in the process of replacing the grid energy with a solar power system to power all our stations as a primary energy. SALWACO has been run as a company and therefore we have to bring in innovations so that at the end of the day we can achieve sustainability” he stated.
Minister of Water Resources Dr. Hannah Sao Max-Kayne underscored the importance of innovation and technology to strengthen governance system in delivering public service. She disclosed that cabinet has approved something which they will be looking at to enhance public-private partnership for government state-owned enterprises, and SALWACO is one of the beneficiaries.
The minister said the Orange Money payment platform would enhance transparence and accountability in revenue mobilization drive of the company while expanding coverage to customers across the country.