Dr Anna Mallia, in her article ‘Chaos at water and electricity corporations’ (MaltaToday 20 January), asks her readers to correct her if she’s wrong. She could have simply asked the Corporations, but then again she would not have had an article to pen, nor insinuations to make.
ARMS Ltd is indeed a registered private limited liability company owned by Enemalta Corporation and Water Services Corporation. The rationale behind the setting up of this joint venture enterprise is to have a business entity whose focus is to radically transform services which are being offered to the Corporation’s customers. The intention is to offer an easier and quicker way for the customer to interact with the Corporations, while at the same time, increasing service options available to him or her. Furthermore the setting up of ARMS Ltd will permit the Utilities to rationalise costs where synergies exist between both Corporations. It is the intention of ARMS Ltd to do so with employees already employed with the Utilities. At present discussions are being carried out with the responsible Union on this matter.
Employees working within ARMS Ltd are being provided with all the necessary training to permit the company to operate according to industry best practice and reach higher levels of performance within services offered to the general public on behalf of both Corporations. In addition these employees are working with state of the art IT systems, permitting them to reach levels of efficiency which were not possible till today. We are sure that this will translate in a highly motivated staff force within the company, which is paramount to laying down the foundations of a modern and competitive Utility customer service.
The scenario involving the “axing of jobs”, depicted by Dr Mallia, is far from the truth. It is the objective of both Corporations to maximize on the resources they have within the company. Where technology efficiencies result in operations becoming redundant, the way forward will be the re-training of employees working within such operations, such that they can carry out new task within both Corporations.
Dr Mallia states that the set up of ARMS Ltd is the consequence of the lack of faith the government has in the Corporations’ workers. This cannot be further from the truth. In fact ARMS Ltd is being managed by employees previously employed by both Corporations. Consequently, the connection between ARMS Ltd and both Corporations is far more then the money invested, but it is a legacy built on professional and hard working individuals. Many of these employees have contributed, and will continue to contribute, to the on-going transformation programme. In fact the first phase in service improvement, which was the launch of a new IT Customer Care and Billing platform, would not have been possible without the commitment of Water Services and Enemalta employees.
Indeed, ARMS Ltd will be managing the installation services for smart meters and water probes. Nevertheless, Dr Mallia incorrectly states that the rationale for the government to do so is based on the lack of trust in the employees of both Corporations to carry out this work. This is another incorrect statement. The project is being managed by a qualified engineer who has been employed with Enemalta for a number of years. In addition, the installers carrying out the necessary field work are in the big majority Enemalta employees. The decision to do so is paying dividends. A recent telephone poll was carried out by an independent agent with 400 customers who had their smart meter replaced. 96% of the customers interviewed stated that they are either pleased or very pleased with the quality of the service provided. Conclusions and results of the report are readily available should Dr Mallia wish to browse through.
On another note, whilst it is true that people who do not pay their actual bill within a 45-day period from the date of invoice will be charged interest at 6% per annum, as from 15 days from the issue date of the invoice, this is applicable only to invoices issued after the 31 December 2009. In addition this is lower than the 9% permitted by law. We feel that this is a socially correct step to take, in favour of the majority of the clients who pay their bills on time. These clients should not bear the costs of others who do not.
The Corporations and ARMS Ltd want to assure their customers that the ongoing investment in technology and training has been carefully planned and will result in better services in the months and years to come.
We would have much appreciated it if Dr Mallia contacted us to check the state of affairs prior to going to the papers.
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