THE THIRST FOR GOOD GOVERNMENT: REBUILDING PEOPLE’S TRUST IN PUBLIC SERVICES

BY EK SONN CHAN, Director General of Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority
2006 Magsaysay Awardee for Government Service
Presented at the 2006 Magsaysay Awardees’ Lecture Series
Magsaysay Center, Manila, 1 September 2006

1-Introduction

Cambodia was devastated by internal conflicts during the rule of Khmer Rouge from 1975-1979. Many homes were damaged and many lives were lost. Personally, I have lost much during that period of time. I was lucky to survive the genocide regime and the fact that I am able to stand before you now is indeed a miracle by itself.

After 1979, we started to rebuild our country. I was appointed to head the Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority (PPWSA) in 1993. As a Phnom Penh citizen and parent of small children, suffered by lack of clean water in the city, I was energetic and eager to transform PPWSA into an efficient water supply authority that could provide good water service to everyone in Phnom Penh.

2. PPWSA in 1993

Some of you may have read the article on the situation of PPWSA before I have been appointed as the head of that organization in the local newspaper, but let me just briefly describe how deplorable it actually was.

The Supply Situation

When PPWSA resumed its operations in 1979, much of the water facilities were destroyed. By the year 1993, PPWSA was supplying to the city 63,000m3 of water a day covering 40% of the city area and serving only about 20% of the total city population. At best, water supply was intermittent and only available for 10 hours a day.

The distribution network was very old. Most of the pipes have been laid for more than 70 years with the newest of the pipes more than 40 years. The deterioration of the pipes and the lack of maintenance caused high physical loss in the system.

On the average, the supply pressure was about 0.2bar along the distribution network. There were 1945 under ground public water tanks in the city, where the people filled non-stop from the distribution network for community use. This made the quality from bad to worse.

The Workforce

There were 500 staff working in PPWSA with the average monthly salary of 50,000 Riels (approx 20 USD). Basically, the staff were under qualified, underpaid, not motivated and worked with low efficiency because of many different reasons.

Nepotism was widely practiced and discipline among the workers was low. The top management and their men were working for their self-interest rather than the interest of PPWSA and the morale of the staff outside the circle of the top management was low.

As a public utility

PPWSA in 1993, was a perfect example of what a public utility should never be.

From application for water connections to availability of water and payment of bills, PPWSA was biased and discriminated between the rich and powerful and the common residents. Clean water supply was scarce and PPWSA staff abused its power for its own gain.

Formal application for water connections was impossibly difficult. No one knew who and where to approach for water connections. However, illegal connections could be made through third party middle men connected to the top management of PPWSA. These illegal connections could cost as high as 1000USD and were never reflected in the books of PPWSA. Water connections then were mainly for the powerful families and the rich who could afford to pay the high "under-the-table" money. You can imagine the frustration of the people, that your rich and powerful neighbor has direct water connection while you, just staying beside his house, could not even apply for a connection and need to buy water from the resellers at exorbitant price.

Some of these frustrated residents took matter into their own hands and started making their own illegal connections. The water pressure in the pipeline was so low that many resorted to using pumps. This caused big chaos in the water supply system.

The billing system was improperly documented and highly inaccurate. The actual volume of water billed was only 28% of production. Even out of this, the collection ratio was only about 50%.

In many instances, the families with house connections were never billed and some residents who received water bills did not even have any water connections. The authority coerced these people to pay their bills.

With all these happenings, the people had no recourse to make any complaints, and no one to reach out to. In the general public, PPWSA was a name synonymous to corruption, inefficiency and a big bully.

The Performance

With all the above, it was no surprise that the Non Revenue Water (NRW) in 1993 was more than 70%. The water tariff was lower than the cost of water produced and PPWSA operated under high financial difficulty. Many times, it was unable to pay its electricity bills, and sometimes even unable to purchase aluminum sulfate for water treatment purposes.

The total annual income generated was only 0.6 billion Riels against the operating cost of 1.6 billion Riels. Heavy government subsidy was required.

3. THE TRANSFORMATION

I must say that it was really a lucky break for me when I took over the PPWSA in 1993. Their performance was so bad that any improvement I made thereon looked so good.

House cleaning

The very first thing I did to counter all the negative elements and inefficiencies within PPWSA was to restructure the whole top management. Higher management was given more direct responsibilities. More dynamic younger generations with better qualifications were promoted to higher level with more responsibilities. Inefficient 'old timers' in high positions kept their positions but moved into dormant roles.

This change in PPWSA Culture was based on Educating, Motivating and Disciplining. This younger generation of managers was given much training in the various skills required to run PPWSA effectively. Incentives such as higher salary (10 times more than before) and bonuses for good performance were introduced. However, penalty was also imposed for those with bad performance and bad intentions. Managers were also taught to be responsible and the spirit of teamwork was very much stressed. The work responsibility of the staff was more streamlined and the total workforce was reduced.

There was much resistance in the beginning. Those affected managers tried to fight me with all kind of tricks, sometimes with the support of some powerful people and even the media. I was frustrated and saddened many times. However, I did not give up because I had high confidence in my new management team. I was patient because I knew the situation will turn out to be better when we start to show progress. It could not be truer. The resistance turned into support as we started to show progress and gain the support of the general public. Within a few years, I had created an efficient and discipline workforce within PPWSA.

Self Sustained Operations

I knew very well that, to be effective in our operations, we must depend on ourselves and not on government subsidy. Our operations need to be self-sustaining and we need to be efficient. We singled out 4 main areas to address.

One, Complete and Up-To-Date Consumer Database

To be fair, we need to bill only our "actual" customers, thus the need to overhaul the customer database. We launched a massive customer survey. It took us one year and 100 staff going around Phnom Penh, checking house to house for water connections. We discovered 12,980 documented connections were not receiving our water while 13,901 connections were receiving water but were never documented.

Through a financial grant from the French government, a computerized billing system with an up-to-date customer database was completed and fully operational by 1996. In 2000, we went a step further and computerized all our financial transactions and reporting. A comprehensive Management Information System was completed in 2003. With this online system in place, we are now able to access the latest financial data and collection status at the touch of a button. This system not only helped to avoid manual errors and prevented the abuse of power but also helped in our management decisions.

Two, Lower NRW

In order to keep the water tariff at a reasonable level, we need to bring the Non-Revenue Water down. There is no short cut to this objective. Much effort was put into this area.

- Disciplining PPWSA staff from the top down. All managers and staff were warned not to abuse their power, especially not to involve themselves with illegal connection activity. Those found guilty would be removed immediately.

- Inspection teams were set up to locate illegal connections. The public was advised to stop the activity of illegal connections. Incentives were given to anyone who can provide information on these connections. Heavy penalty was slapped on those found to be with illegal connections.

- A repair team was organized to be on standby 24 hours to make proper repair and maintenance of the distribution network. The public was encouraged to call and inform PPWSA on any leakage within the system. On top of that, our repair teams would start looking for water leaks if any leaks were suspected in the different zones.

- With the assistance from different donors, we replaced all the unreliable, non-working, old distribution network.

For years, even till today, we have regular bi-weekly meetings to gauge our performance in reducing our NRW. We made small progresses every time. Every water leaks found were treated as achievement for the NRW team. Today, we are proud to declare that our NRW is less than 10%. This plays a huge part not only in our self sustainability but also in maintaining our water tariff in spite of the incessant increase of the prices of electricity and chemical lately.

Three, Improved Collections

We serve our customers fairly and expect everyone to pay their bills without any special privileges or favors to any party.

- We gave high priority to educate our collectors in proper meter reading, showing courtesy to our customers and providing satisfactory explanation on the billing data, whenever necessary.

- We also embarked on a program to educate the public, other government agencies and even the top management of PPWSA on the importance of paying their water bills. This was no easy task. As a start, the top management of PPWSA started to pay our own water bills. This made the task of convincing others easier.

- We put in a policy to disconnect the connections that do not pay their bills. While it was easier to implement this with the general public, it was not an easy task with certain authorities. How would you disconnect the water connection to a military officer who has never paid his water bill? It took much courage and effort to accomplish this. Once, I even had a gun pointed at my head, a harrowing experience for me personally. But it did not stop me.

However, with a lot of hard work coupled with the strong support of our Prime Minister, we managed to improve the bill collections to 99% from just 50% in 1993.

Four, A More "Realistic" Water Tariff

In most countries, water supply is monopolistic in nature and water tariff is a political issue. For a healthy water supply operation, the water tariff needs to be a realistic figure that truly reflects the costs of an efficient operation. However, the water tariff should not be too high as the public would be paying for the inefficiency of the utility.

The water tariff we inherited was far too low and we had to increase it to cover our operation cost. To avoid having a huge jump in the water tariff, PPWSA proposed to have a 3-step increase in the water tariff over a period of 7 years, in conjunction with service improvement. With the strong support of the banks and the commitment from the Government of Cambodia, particularly the Prime Minister and the Governor of Phnom Penh City, the first step increase was achieved in 1997 and the second step in 2001. After that, PPWSA did not need to push for the third step anymore as its revenue can already fully cover its all costs. This was basically due to the higher collection ratio and the drop in the NRW.

PPWSA of Today - a public oriented water utility

When I took over, I knew that we need to re-gain the trust of the general public in order for them to cooperate with us in solving the water woes in Phnom Penh.

We have created much recourse for the public to reach us. We have given them a number of 24-hour open lines for customers to report leakage or any complaint ranging from wrong billing, impolite PPWSA meter reader or any discontentment with our services. To show that we pay serious attention to the complaints, I even have my mobile phone number listed as one of the open lines. We view these calls seriously because the callers not only bother to call us but were also paying for those calls. We act quickly to any report of leakage and damage to our supply system. If we receive any report of misbehavior by staff, we will send the staff to clarify the situation with the customer and even to apologize if we are in the wrong.

It was no easy task. I had people calling me early morning and late at night, shouting away nastily about their problems and our inefficiencies. However, as we progressed over the years, the tone of these calls started to change as more problems are solved.

Dissemination of information

We want the public to know that we are there for them. We want them to come directly to us for water connections and that the middle men process is a thing of the past. We organized many public campaigns, going from districts to districts and community to community, to disseminate information on the availability of water connections, the quality of our water, water tariffs and other rules and regulations.

We also handed out application forms for water connections with a commitment to provide the connections within 3 days upon applications. We make sure that the public is aware that PPWSA is here to serve them the best that we can. I personally led the campaign many times.

Our meter billing is on bi monthly basis. At each billing period, our meter readers will make 2 rounds to each household. First, to check and read the meter and later, to deliver the water bill. During these trips, we welcome complaints from the customer on their water bills. Sometimes, we even helped to locate the leakages in the house of the consumers if their bills prove to be unusually high.

At our payment booths, we have customer information desk to assist the customers on any information they would require. Now, on the average, a customer spends only 3 minutes at the counter paying the water bill.

CHALLENGES THAT STILL NEED TO BE ADDRESSED

Today, I know that the general public in Phnom Penh has a high level of trust in us. I am happy that in such a small way, I am able to cater to the basic need of our people. We need to continue to keep up the good work.

1. Grooming the next leader

As I will be retiring in 4 years time, the biggest challenge that I have now is to groom one of our managers to lead PPWSA into the next decades. The present top management of PPWSA is a batch of young managers who are capable, committed, and passionate about their job. I foresee two (2) big difficulties. One is for the next leader among them to be able to lead over their peers and two, as young managers, they lack the social standing which is so vital in leading and getting things done in any government department in Cambodia.

I take this as the final test of my leadership; that I have to leave behind me, a successor from the present batch of men and women of PPWSA, who has the conviction and will to carry on what I have started.

2. Bridging the gap between PPWSA and the private sectors

PPWSA has done many adjustments to uplift the salary level of its staff, to bridge the salary gap between the public and private sectors. This is vital for us to prevent "brain drain" and to maintain a dedicated and disciplined workforce.

Thus, through the years, beside the salary, we have created many social schemes aim to alleviate the burden of each other among our staffs and managers. Managers are provided with necessary equipment to fulfill their job. We also introduced health care as an additional employee benefit.

However, there are setbacks to these incentives as they started to draw the ire and envy of other government agencies. The challenge is for me to balance between these two issues so that PPWSA will not end up being isolated as an island within the government setup. We hope the other agencies could emulate us rather than to isolate us.

3. Continuously Maintaining A High Performance Level

The task is by no means completed; the goal is not yet reached. From now on, we will be expanding even more to cater for the increased demand from within the city, industrial zones and also expansion to the metropolitan. We will need a minimum investment of 100 million USD within the next 15 years.

With this, we need to at least maintain our performance level as we intend to repay all the loans without any increase in the water tariffs. We aim to maintain the present affordable water tariff for a long time to come in spite of the almost daily increase in the commodities related to our industry. This is a big challenge to us.

PERSONAL INSIGHTS AND LESSONS LEARNED AS A LEADER

1. Our Aim: Serve The People

Decades ago, our former King Norodom Sihanouk said, "Government servants are the servants of the people". Today, our Prime Minister Hun Sen, always insists that Good Governance is the backbone policy of our government.

PPWSA, as a public utility, works around the clock to provide the people of Phnom Penh direct access to clean water. Water is life. Everyone needs water to live. We at PPWSA are paid to work for the country not just to work for ourselves; to serve people not just to serve our own family. We must be proud of our job and not be ashamed to fulfill our duty.

We do not aim to make money from the people more than what we need for a self sustained operation with the highest level of efficiency. We are careful not to abuse our power and definitely do not want to be caught bullying the public.

2- Good governance - The mark of a good leader

For me a good leader must be more committed to the work than everyone else under him. A good commander is the first to go into the battle field and the last to leave. The leader will take the bad things, leaving only the good things for his subordinates.

A good leader works with both his superiors and subordinates to implement his ideas and plans in providing good governance. However, to have good governance, one must have honest staff. The leader must make sure that the labor of his honest and hardworking staff yield sufficient fruit to take care of their family members.

A good leader is someone who is fair and impartial; and that his policies, rules and regulations apply to everyone, including himself, i.e. in another word, leadership by example.

When I became the General Director of PPWSA, I made it a point to pay my own water bill. One day, I receive a warning from PPWSA for the late payment of water bill for my land, of which I overlooked. Instead of being angry, I gave a personal bonus to that guy that issued the warning. I was very pleased that the system was working.

Even though I punish my staff for their wrong doings, I am also committed to protect them. I believe I have the rights to scold and punish my staff for their wrong doings, but will never allow other agencies/organizations to scold or punish them without my permission.

3. Learning by doing

There are many technical institutions and manuals for formal learning on how to produce clean water, how to lay pipes, how to make water connections, what pipes are good etc. There are also books and places where you can learn about financial and other management techniques.

However, you cannot find a hard and fast rule on how to run an efficient water works within the limitations and conditions of Phnom Penh. It will require more than complete and unwavering dedication and commitment. It requires you to have the stamina to pursue what you believe can be done. Believe me; it was never easy to get the government to agree to our proposed water tariff.

While we relish our many successes, we admit we have imperfections and also failures along the way. In our minds, however, our past successes only teach us that we can succeed again, and with our failures are lessons learned that enable us to move on.

4. Compassion for the poor and needy

I believe many of us here, in one way or another, have this deep feeling of concern for the poor and needy. Hunger and poverty remain the greatest challenge in our country, and need to be tackled head-on. For many years, I have tried to work to contribute to the poor and needy in my country in line with The Poverty Alleviation Policy of our Government.

In Phnom Penh today, 30% of its residents are living subsistence lifestyle, whose income of less than 1 USD a day are far below the poverty line. Out of this, there are at least 20 thousand families staying in 100 communities who are poorer than others. These are the hardcore poor, the vulnerable lot. Having direct access to clean water is a huge burden to them.

PPWSA has made it a point to provide water connections to these people to alleviate their burden. For many of them, in their own words, it is a "dream come true".

Starting from year 2000, we have connected more than 12,000 connections serving approximately 15,000 families with special privileges ranging from payment via installments to discounts and even free connections. These families get the same level of service from us, as the other consumers. And yes, many of these families are not able to pay their bills of 2USD, or 1USD or even a mere 0.5USD. For this, we pay for them via a fund that we have created for them among the staff of PPWSA.

We believe, if we are able to supply water directly to the poorest, then we will be able to supply water to anyone that would need our service. This, my friends, is what I think public service is all about.

CONCLUSION

I must admit I had 2 lucky breaks when I took over the PPWSA in 1993. One, the newly elected government supported our cause and two, the support from international countries and lender agencies. I should take this time to thank the friendly governments, namely Government of Japan and France and also the World Bank and ADB for their technical and financial support throughout the years.

What PPWSA has achieved today is no miracle. We worked hard, we are committed to our tasks in serving the people; and we have done it with fervor from our hearts. I am happy that we have regained the trust of the people.

With this, I would like to encourage the youths of today that nothing is impossible. Be courageous, patient, honest and ethical in what you do and you will succeed. Our honor is to be able to serve the people with fairness and equality at all levels of our society.

Lastly, I must express how proud I am of the men and women in PPWSA. Their dedications to the tasks and honest commitment in rehabilitating PPWSA are truly of world class. They are indeed the body that a head cannot do without.