An Investigation on The Availability of an Entreprise Risk Management Framework or Policy and its Impact on The Performance of National Water and Sanitation Council of Zambia (2010 – 2020)

Scholars have argued that although Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) is a necessity to organizations or companies, the rate of implementation is still low (Mc Neil, 2015). The problem however, remains that most authors have not specifically looked at the impact of Enterprise Risk management on the performance of public regulatory bodies such as NWASCO. The purpose of this study was therefore to evaluate the impact of Enterprise Risk Management Strategies on the problems that affect the performance of the National Water Supply and Sanitation Council in Zambia. To achieve the study objectives, the study adopted a mixed research approach in which both qualitative research design and quantitative research design were used. It also used an experience survey design and the study the target population of this study was managers and assistant officers of the four water utility firms. An estimate of 200 people to choose sample from was selected. The sample of this study consisted of 20 managers and 44 officers who were purposively selected from the National water and sanitation company body and the three (3) utility companies. In this sample, 5 managers and 11 assistant officers were selected from Finance, Audit and Risk management departments from all the study points. The data collected was analysed using the content analysis for qualitative data and Microsoft excel for quantitative data. From the findings, most of the information given by the respondents indicated that there is no specific ERM being used by NWASCO. After the analysis of documents and interviews were conducted with management as well as other respondents, no proper ERM was brought about by the respondents. Some respondents also lacked knowledge on Risk Management being used by NWASCO in their operations. The Company has not employed a qualified risk officer and it does not have a Risk department which looks into the company risks. However, NWASCO has put in place measures that would lead to a reduction in its exposure to risk to achieve the objectives, these measures included but not limited to; the Provision of incentives for service providers who comply with regulations set by NWASCO, Penalties For non-compliance to regulations, Community involvement and Audit-based regulation approach. NWASCO has also involved the Community in getting feedback on service provision from the WSS service providers. When the community is involved in decision making or any activity there is more acceptance, greater participation, willingness to support and strong sense of ownership. ERM can offer exceptional value if it is soundly applied. It is not only a team effort, but also an organization effort and not a random one. It needs to be based on a strong risk culture, and it requires the sponsorship of the executives in the company or institution. In addition, the aggregation of risk information needs to be performed according to clear rules that everyone would understand and abide by.