| Summary, etc. |
Davao City Water District has been serving the growing population of Davao City for 48 years now with the enactment of the Presidential Decree No. 198, also known as the Provincial Water Utilities Act of 1973. this was vested DCWD full control in the acquisition, installation, improvement, maintenance, and operation of the city?s water supply and distribution networks in the same decree, the district is also mandated to provide wastewater services within its jurisdiction. this comprises the collection, transport (sewered or non-sewered), proper treatment and safe disposal septage or sewage. In the context of water supply service, DCWD has become a natural monopoly in Davao City, serving 74% of the city?s total population, mostly in the built-up or urban areas as of December 2021. The other mandate of DCWD that is yet to be explored is the provision of access to sanitation and wastewater services, which is the sixth strategic goal of the district based on its ten-year development plan (2021-2030). It was in 2021 that the City Government of Davao and DCWD executed the Memorandum of Agreement to proceed with the implementation of the Septage Management Program (SMP). Thus, this strategic plan is focused on the sanitation services aspect of the district?s mandate. These services are the: (i) regular collection and transport of septage or sludge, (ii) proper treatment, and (iii) proper disposal of the treated effluent and the biosolids. Understanding the needs and situation of Davao in response to its mandate, DCWD continuously implements improvements relative to water supply services, and pursues the sanitation project, even with the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the district?s financials. this is also in consideration of the identified issues and challenges faced by DCWD Management, such as (i) unresponsive water tariff structure; (ii) unresponsive organizational structure; (iii) insufficient technical competencies relative to sanitation services; and (iv) weak cross-sector collaboration and stakeholder involvement. To address these issues and challenges, this strategic plan employs the frameworks anchored on the Sustainable Development Goal No. 6, which seeks to ensure that no one is left behind when it comes to access to clean and safe drinking water and sanitation by 2030. Thus, this strategic plan covers years 2023 to 2030, which is also aligned with the district?s ten-year development plan. the sanitation cityscape conceptual framework is employed, which look into a wider perspective and divided into four different conceptual environments, namely, (i) the living environment; (ii) the service delivery environment; (iii) the enabling environment; and (iv) the key interfaces of the first three environments. These dimensions are used as the first level of assessment for the external analysis environment of this plan. the second level of analysis looks into the internal capabilities of the district in terms of its legal structure, organization and human resources, marketing, operations, and finance. the third level is the development of the corporate objectives which are anchored on the district?s vision, mission, and strategic goals. there are 15 corporate objectives developed specifically following the four dimensions of the balanced scorecard, as well as the technical perspective. Following Fred David?s strategic management three-stage framework, strategy formulation is based on the SWOT analysis, wherein the total weighted scores computed from the external and internal factor evaluation matrix are used to gauge the performance of DCWD. When plotted on the internal-external (IE) matrix, it was revealed that DCWD?s general strategy is ?Hold and Maintain?. this means that the new services to be offered can be best managed using hold and maintain strategies such as market penetration and product/service development. There are three strategies identified from the SWOT Matrix analysis through the matching of key external and internal factors. Since DCWD is a public water utility and a natural monopoly, the strategic options considered are on the basis of how it will be realized and implemented in terms of time and resources, rather than whether to pursue the project or not. The Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM) performed on the strategic options showed Strategy 1 (implement septage management program, with DCWD covering the three services) as the most attractive, obtaining the highest total attractiveness score of 6.84. DCWD?s growth can be realized by tapping more customers in its existing market for the water services, and for sanitation services, it may cater to those not yet covered with water supply services. Hence, product or service advancement should be undertaken to expand the capacity of the Septage Treatment Plants (SpTPs) and should be located near the service coverage. As a new service venture, the implementing programs include the technical plan, and the four plans focusing on financial, organizational or human resource, operational, and customer-focused plans. It is presupposed that achieving all these will lead to a satisfied customer base. |
