By The Tech Guy
So, as we talked about in our last chat, the two key parts of a prepaid solution are the prepaid meter and the vending platform. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned from my lawyer, engineer, and doctor friends, it’s that when someone asks, “How much does it cost?” the only proper answer is… “It depends.”
Because when it comes to prepaid meters, well, it really does depend on a few things.
First up, the type of water meter. You’ve got to put some thought into picking the right one. The build and quality vary a lot between meters. And don’t even get me started on valve types—ball valve, solenoid, diaphragm… each one has its own perks, and your choice will impact how the meter performs depending on the quality of water you’re supplying.
And speaking of water quality, it could be anything from hard to soft, full of sediment, purified, or semi-purified. With all that in play, one meter could last for years, while another might start acting up sooner than you’d like.
Another important factor to consider is where you source the device from—whether it’s China, Israel, South Africa, or Sweden. Different devices are made for different environments. For example, a meter designed for the cool, coastal climate of Swakopmund might not perform as well in the hot, dry conditions of Keetmanshoop. And yes, the climate will definitely affect battery life and overall performance. So, the location where the meter is built can really impact how well it holds up over time.
As you can see, the choice of meter can have a big effect on the longevity of the entire project.
Now, let’s talk about quality. From the research I’ve done, cheaper is definitely not always better. In fact, you could say that “goed koop is duur koop“—cheaper often ends up being more expensive in the long run. Some lower-cost Chinese-sourced devices, for example, have been known to last only about six months! Now,
I want to be clear, I’m not attacking the quality of Chinese-made devices. But the reality is that some of these meters may not be built for our harsher local conditions, which can lead to more frequent replacements and higher costs down the line.
Okay, so let’s get to the real question—How much does a prepaid meter cost???
Residents can expect to pay anywhere from N$2000 to N$5300 for the water meter and the keypad. Now, the vending platform is a bit trickier. Remember that heavy military-grade encryption we mentioned earlier? That’s all tied to something called the STS protocol—the Standard Transfer Specification. It’s the globally accepted encryption standard for prepaid systems (water, electricity, gas, you name it). The protocol is backed by an association of meter manufacturers and software developers, all working together to keep things secure.
Here’s the catch for Namibia, though—no local companies are STS registered. That means all the vending platforms are sourced from across the border, at a cost. Local vendors in Namibia then resell the service to municipalities, who, in turn, work with third-party vendors to make the service more widely available. And, as you can imagine, a little charge gets added at every step of the way.
How much, you may ask? Well, it depends. It all hinges on who wins the tender and how much markup each middleman adds along the way. In simple terms, the cost of prepaid vending can range from as low as 5% to as high as 15% of the price of the transaction. So for every $100 you spend on water…well you do the math.
I’m sure these figures are already raising a few eyebrows for most of us. Personally, I find myself asking questions like: Does this make my glass of tap water more expensive, and if so, by how much? And is all of this really necessary? I mean, one could argue that most of us pay our water bills on time.
So why would we intentionally make water more expensive? A more pertinent question might be: Is there an alternative way to solve this problem? Well, as it turns out, there may be… but we’ll explore that next week.
