Africa's Water and Sanitation Infrastructure: Access, Affordability, and Alternatives

by Sudeshna Ghosh Banerjee, Elvira Morella

Overview

The welfare implications of safe water and sanitation cannot be overstated. The economic gains from provision of improved services to millions of unserved Africans in enormous. The international adoption of Millennium Development Goals brought the inadequacies of service provision sharply into focus. With only 58% and 31% enjoying access to water and sanitation services respectively, Sub-Saharan Africa is the only continent that is off-track in achieving the MDGs in 2015. The problem is compounded by the fact that a rigorous and credible baseline did not exist on coverage to improved water and sanitation and resources required to meet the MDGs. This book aims to contribute to this gap by collecting a wealth of primary and secondary information to present the most up-to-date and comprehensive quantitative snapshot of water and sanitation sectors. The book evaluates the challenges to the water and sanitation sectors within the urban and rural areas and deepen our understanding of drivers of coverage expansion in the context of financing, institutional reforms, and efficiency improvements. Finally, the book establishes the investment needs for water and sanitation with a target of meeting the MDGs and compares with the existing financing envelopes, disaggregated by proportions that can be recouped by efficiency gains and net financing gaps. The directions for the future draw on lessons learned from best practices and present the menu of choices available to African countries. There is no recipe book that neatly lays out the possible steps the country should adopt to enhance coverage and quality of service. The challenges differ to a significant extent among African countries and solutions must be tailored to individual national or regional conditions.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780821384572
Publisher:	World Bank Publications
Publication date:	03/09/2011
Series:	Directions in Development - Infrastructure
Pages:	432
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.90(d)

Table of Contents

About the AICD xvii

Series Foreword xix

Acknowledgments xxi

Abbreviations xxvii

Chapter 1 The Elusiveness of the Millennium Development Goals for Water and Sanitation 1

A Timely Synthesis 3

Data Sources and Methodologies 4

Key Finding 1 Wide Differences in Patterns of Access to Water 10

Key Finding 2 Equally Wide Differences in Patterns of Access to Sanitation 13

Key Finding 3 High Costs, High Tariffs, and Regressive Subsidies 16

Key Finding 4 The Stark Challenge of Financing the MDG 18

Key Finding 5 Institutional Reform for Better Water Sector Performance 24

A Multidimensional Snapshot of WSS in Africa 27

Annex 1.1 Surveys in the AICD DHS/MICS Survey Database 28

Annex 1.2 Surveys in the AICD Expenditure Survey Database 29

Annex 1.3 Introducing a Country Typology 30

Notes 31

Bibliography 31

Chapter 2 Access to Safe Water: The Millennium Challenge 33

The Importance of Wells and Boreholes in Water Supply 33

Low Access to Piped Water…for Various Reasons 37

Multiple Players in the Urban Water Market 42

The Role of Wells, Boreholes, and Surface Water in the Rural Water Market 49

Steep Growth of Wells and Boreholes as Sources of Water 52

Notes 59

References 59

Chapter 3 Access to Safe Sanitation: The Millennium Challenge 63

The Predominance of On-Site and Traditional Pit Latrines 63

The Sanitation Challenge across Countries 66

Steep Increases in the Use of Traditional Pit Latrines 69

Good Progress in a Handful of Countries 71

References 81

Chapter 4 Improving the Organization of the Water and Sanitation Sectors 83

The Heterogeneity of the Urban Water Market 84

Varied Institutional Models for Nonpiped Services in the Urban Water Market 102

Many Levels of Government Players in the Rural Water Market 110

Many Players with No Clear Accountability in the Sanitation Market 115

Notes 120

References 120

Chapter 5 Urban Water Provision: The Story of African Utilities 123

Access to Utility Water 124

The Pace of Expansion of Utility Water Coverage 126

Water Production Capacity Varies from Country to Country 128

Two-Part Tariff Structures for Piped Water 128

Sewerage Charges Linked to Water Bills 131

Modest Water Consumption by End Users 132

Substantial Water Losses in Distribution System 136

Difference in Quality of Service among Country Groups 138

Technical Efficiency and Effective Management of Operations 139

Financial Efficiency and the Alignment of Operations and Finances 142

The High Cost of Inefficiencies in Operations and Pricing 146

The Role of Institutions in Improving Performance 153

Annex 5.1 Utilities in the AICD WSS Database 158

Notes 159

References 159

Chapter 6 Cost Recovery, Affordability, and Subsidies 161

Average Monthly Spending on Water 161

Wide Price Variations among Service Providers in the Urban Water Market 162

Two-Part Tariffs and the Small Consumer 168

Paying for Water: How Common? 171

Recovering Operating Costs: Affordable 173

The High Cost of Connecting to Water and Sanitation Services 176

The Cost of Subsidizing Capital and Operating Expenses 179

Poor Targeting of Utility Subsidies 180

Connection Subsidies as a Viable Alternative 184

Annex 6.1 Methodology for Estimating the Annual Gross Profit and the Annual Cross-Subsidy between Household Consumers and Standpipes Captured by Standpipe Operators in a City 187

Notes 188

References 189

Chapter 7 Spending Needed to Meet Goals in Water and Sanitation 191

The Challenge of Expanding Coverage 191

The Unit Cost of Service Provision across Countries 197

To Close the MDG Coverage Gap 202

Annex 7.1 Unit Cost Matrix Model: A Methodology for Estimating Nonstandardized Unit Costs of Network Assets 209

Annex 7.2 Methodology for Quantifying Rehabilitation and O&M Needs 213

Notes 214

References 214

Chapter 8 Bridging the Funding Gap 215

Current Spending on Water and Sanitation 215

Poor Budget Execution by the WSS Sector 220

Even after Efficiency Savings, a Persistent Funding Gap 224

Limited Scope for Raising Additional Finance 231

Promising Ways to Increase Funds 239

Other Ways to Reach the MDG 240

Notes 248

References 248

Chapter 9 Policy Options for the Water and Sanitation Sectors 251

Policy Options for the Water Sector 251

Policy Options for the Sanitation Sector 260

Reference 267

Appendix 1 Access to Water Supply and Sanitation Facilities 269

Appendix 2 Institutions in the Water and Sanitation Sector 293

Appendix 3 Performance Indicators of Selected Water Utilities 323

Appendix 4 Tariffs 349

Appendix 5 Affordability of Water and Sanitation 365

Appendix 6 Funding Gap for Water Supply and Sanitation 371

Index 387

Boxes

2.1 The Problem of Shrinking Households 38

2.2 Coverage, Access, and Hookup Rates: Relationships and Definitions 40

2.3 Legalizing Household Resellers in Cote d'Ivoire 48

2.4 The Opportunity Cost of a Distant Water Supply 50

3.1 Ethiopia's Success with a Community-Led Program 77

4.1 Senegal's Successful Experience with Private Sector Participation 88

4.2 Regulation in Water Reseller Market in Abidjan 109

4.3 Issues Constraining Rural Water Supply in Cross River State, Nigeria 111

5.1 Burkina Faso's Sanitation Tax 134

5.2 Methodology for Estimation of Hidden Cost 147

5.3 Uganda's Successful Case of State-Owned Enterprise Reform 156

6.1 Piped Water Delivered through Public Standposts in Kigali, Rwanda 165

7.1 The Construction Index Factor 201

7.1A Unit Costs of Infrastructure Projects Study 211

Figures

1.1 JMP and AICD Estimates of the Prevalence of "Improved" Water Supply and Sanitation 6

1.2 The Sanitation Ladder 7

1.3 Dependence on Surface Water in Urban and Rural Areas, 1990s versus Early 2000s 14

1.4 Coverage of Water Services, by Income Quintile 15

1.5 Coverage of Sanitation Services, by Income Quintile 16

1.6 Annual Growth in the Use of Sanitation Types, 1990-2005 17