The staff members of the Kaduna State Water Corporation, KADSWAC, have suspended their ongoing strike, following the intervention of Governor Uba Sani.
The staff had last week embarked on strike to protest the non-payment of their seven-month salaries by the management.
DAILY NIGERIAN gathered that the non-payment of salaries was as a result of the inability of the corporation to generate revenue to cater for its operational and overhead costs.
Speaking on the industrial dispute that crippled water supply in the state, the Commissioner for Public Works and Infrastructure, Ibrahim Hamza, explained that the corporation was an autonomous body by law.
“KADSWAC is an entity of its own; it is supposed to generate its own revenue and use it to pay salaries and other operational activities.
“But that has not been able to sustain the corporation fully. What they generate is far below what they can cater for their own salary,” he said.
Mr Hamza added that the governor has also approved funds for the purchase of chemicals required for water treatment, emphasising the administration’s dedication to enhancing the performance and service delivery of the corporation in line with international best practices.
He urged residents to fulfil their responsibilities by promptly paying their water bills and reporting any instances of water facility vandalism to the appropriate authorities.
Expressing his gratitude, the acting managing director of KADSWAC, Aminu Sulaiman, acknowledged that the responsibility for salary payments lies with the corporation rather than the state government.
He, therefore, commended Mr Sani for his swift assistance in enabling the corporation to achieve optimal performance and service delivery.
“We have outlined plans to prevent future strike actions by procuring water treatment chemicals with the assistance of Governor Uba Sani’s administration to ensure the purification of water for the residents of the state.”
Some residents of the state have, however, commended the state governor for the timely resolution of the dispute between the state government governor and the management of the corporation.
