Public-private partnership in water supply and sanitation in Sub-Saharan Africa

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Abstract
Purely public water supply systems are characterized by high costs, insufficient supplies and chronic deficits that are covered by central government transfers. The private water supply programme in Abidjan has not met its coverage targets either, but the system has remained financially solvent and fostered a rapid growth in capacity through the informal sector. The material reviewed here and the experience of developing country water systems in general support several conclusions. (1) Water vending is common in developing countries, which suggests that charging for water is not culturally unacceptable. Demand for wastewater services is low, but surcharges could be imposed on water usage to cover some sanitation costs. (2) Incentives are critical to sound management of water supply and sanitation services. They are typically part of the structure of private firms, but are rare in publicly run systems. (3) The private sector's role in the provision of water supply and sanitation can be extensive. Regulation of private activity and quality control by public authorities is essential to maintain competition and ensure proper and fair operation. (4) Public efforts to supply water can be supplemented by a government-regulated, parallel system to increase the amount of water available. Normally these systems involve trucked water, but private sales outlets with pipe infrastructure should be encouraged where feasible. (5) Even where the public sector decides to control and operate the water supply and sanitation system, some partnership with the private sector is possible through contracting out specific tasks such as billing, metering, maintenance of various components or tracking water losses. Finally, the supply of water is an ideal activity for a public-private partnership. Both sectors have comparative advantages that are best applied in conjunction with the other.

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