Litia Cava 
From left: WAF Chief Operating Officer, Seru Soderberg, Minister for Public Works Ro Filipe Tuisawau and WAF Chief Executive Officer, Dr Amit Chanan [Source: WAF/ Facebook]
The government is moving forward with plans to corporatize the Water Authority of Fiji through a phased approach.
This initiative, which builds on discussions from the previous administration seeks to enhance operational efficiency without compromising service delivery.
Minister for Public Works Ro Filipe Tuisawau states that one of the key challenges is the significant gap between WAF’s revenue and expenditure.
Currently, he pointed out that WAF generates approximately $41 million in revenue, while the government provides more than $150 million annually to sustain operations and fund capital projects.
“Corporatization is a gradual process, we cannot rush into it and we have to understand that water is a basic need. It cannot just be treated as a commercial output, a commercial commodity. So there needs to be a balance, which is what the government is assessing at the moment in moving forward. And this workshop is a key step in that, in terms of the separation of the revenue part and the non-revenue, especially the rural-based non-revenue part.”
Ro Filipe says that corporatization must include a financial model that aligns revenue more closely with operational costs.
He states that a crucial element states that revenue-generating operations from non-revenue activities, particularly rural water supply., is a crucial element of this transition
While urban water services can be structured for cost recovery, Ro Filipe states that rural communities will continue to require government support, as implementing tariffs in these areas is not viable.
To address this, Ro Filipe says that the government is considering shifting responsibility for rural water services to the Ministry of Public Works and the Department of Water.
This restructuring would allow WAF to concentrate on financially viable operations while ensuring rural communities maintain uninterrupted access to clean water.
Infrastructure challenges further complicate the corporatization process.
Ageing pipelines, technological gaps and financial management issues must be resolved before a full transition can take place.
To support these efforts, Ro Filipe outlined that the government is exploring alternative funding sources, including climate financing for renewable energy solutions such as solar-powered water systems and desalination projects.
As part of the initiative, a stakeholder workshop involving partners such as UNICEF was opened this morning to develop a master plan for rural water services.
The plan, Ro Filipe says aims to assess community needs, identify service gaps and establish a structured approach to improving water supply in underserved areas.
Government representatives stress that corporatization will be implemented gradually to ensure essential services are not disrupted.
The objective is to create an efficient, financially stable WAF while preserving water as an accessible public resource.
With careful planning, policy reforms and investment in infrastructure, stakeholders remain optimistic that WAF can transition successfully to a sustainable corporatization model that benefits urban and rural communities across Fiji.
