About NWASCO Information System (NIS)

The regulatory function of NWASCO includes the monitoring of performance of the water and sanitation service providers. Another important task NWASCO has is the tariff negotiations that need to be undertaken on an informed basis. Both tasks require collection of an enormous amount of data. The manual compilation and analysis of all this data is not only time consuming but also prone to typing and calculation errors. By means of an information system time saving, data reliability and comparability can be achieved under the condition that the system is adapted properly to the requirements of NWASCO.

Further, in order for NWASCO to effectively execute its function of advising the government on water and sanitation matters, the need for timely and accurate information becomes paramount. The NWASCO Information System (NIS) is an integral regulatory tool that helps to ensure efficient and effective regulation is realised.

The NIS is a data-entry platform developed in 2003 as an electronic version of the annual reports required from the providers under Statutory Instrument (SI) No. 63 of 2000 and set-out in the NWASCO Annual Reporting Guidelines. The NIS was redeveloped in 2017 into a web-based system with more robust functionality to enable data to be interrogated easily, modified to requirements and exported to other platforms. This also saw the addition of new data entry fields and indicators.