"Making water accessible for all is a social business,” says WaterAid Official

By Ama Kudom-Agyemang, water and environmental journalist, Public Agenda, Ghana

The failure of public utilities service providers in most African countries to recognise their work as a social business has left a big market for private vendors to take advantage of. According to Timeyin Uwejamomere of WaterAid, UK, ‘the provision of water is a business that must show revenue over cost, and the profit margin can be used for expansion works, maintenance of existing facilities and motivation of staff such as paying the school fees of brilliant wards of staff’.

He said this in an interview after participating in a panel discussion on pro-poor practices in urban water, at the SWITCH conference in Zaragoza, Spain, in December 2010.

Mr. Uwejamomere, urged public water service providers to appreciate the business aspect of their work. ‘Once they see themselves as social businesses, they can develop strategies to reach all target audiences especially the poor, whose right to safe water must also be met’, he said.

Mr. Uwejamomere said the view that it was unprofitable for public water providers to focus on the poor was incorrect. ‘When all blockages including ‘pay before installation of facilities,’ are removed, the poor can access water and pay in a flexibly structured manner; then providers will make money, while fulfilling their social responsibilities’, he added.

Poor paying twice as much for kiosk water than rich for home connection

Meanwhile, WaterAid and the Water and Sanitation for Urban Poor group, have undertaken a joint survey in some African countries to determine whether utilities are serving the poor and how. A publication on the results revealed that utilities do recognise the distinct needs and capabilities of the poor in urban areas, and have expressed commitment to serve them. However, only a few of them have pro-poor strategies to meet their needs. The study further revealed that the poor are paying twice as much as per litre at a utility water kiosk as higher income users with household connections.

The two organisations and the Water Operators Partnership Africa group have called on African governments and utilities to reach consumers of income levels by leading a programme that targets all consumers, particularly the poor and marginalised. Utilities should also institutionalise service delivery to the poor through deliberate and specific strategies and funding mechanisms targeted at serving the informal settlements.

See Mary’s interview from the conference on You Tube.