**2.1 The independent small scale water service providers**

The Independent Small Scale Water Service providers include: Small companies, cooperatives, Water Kiosks, Cart Vendors, Water Tankers, Individual bore hole owners, Community Water projects, and NGO funded projects. They are independent to the extent that some are self-employed entrepreneurs or local artisans.The independent water service providers are therefore expected to register with WRMA through a lengthy process before its application to WSRB through a WSB is granted. It has to meet the respective conditions set by the two institutions, respectively, for abstraction and use of water to provide water services. Most work without formal recognition from local authorities, and are neither sub-contracted by the large water distribution companies nor in any agreement with the public sector providers. According to ADB, 2002, there are three main types of SCWSP, namely; Partners of water utilities; Vendors and Resellers; and pioneers of piped water networks include water kiosks and local standpipes. This category buy water from the large water companies and resell to the end users at a profit. Vendors and Resellers include mobile carters, truckers and household resellers. They provide water to where the water utilities are unable to serve. The category of pioneers of piped water networks provide piped water, often ground water to communities which have not accessed the piped water from the utility companies.

In Kenya, WSRB regulations clause 5.3 stipulates that the Licensee shall undertake to ensure that all small scale water service providers operating within an area of a WSP are duly registered with a Licensee and are supervised by the main Water Service Provider through a Small Scale Service Provider Agreement in order to provide a safe, efficient and affordable service to the consumers. The main Water Service Provider shall charge a reasonable administrative fee for the supervisory roles rendered on behalf of the Licensee. The Licensee shall undertake to pursue a clustering strategy on all its publicly funded boreholes in its area of operation in order to create small scale water service providers with appropriate supervisory arrangement with due regard to creation of service providers capable of financial sustainability, efficiency and growth.

In Eldoret town (Rift Valley Water Service Board) of Kenya, the water kiosks have been crucial for the supply of water to low income residents to the extent that whenever there was a disruption, residents of 6 out of 15 low income residential areas, namely Munyaka, Langas, Kamukunji, Huruma, Bondeni and Pioneer are greatly affected. The same is true of Nyeri town (Tana Water Service Board), Nakuru Town (Rift Valley Water Service Board)

Public Private Partnerships in the Privatization of Water Service Delivery in Kenya 213

Victoria South, and Lake Victoria North. Each of the seven WSBs were as per the Act incorporated as Public enterprises, and were each expected to apply for Water Service Provision from the WSRB. Once granted, the licence for water provision, the licence is expected to be leased to the PLC so incorporated which will act as a Water Service Provider

The Act states that "the water services board shall by force of this section be constituted a corporation" (Republic of Kenya, 2002: 982). WSBs remained as asset owners and financiers. Section 53(2) states that a WSB is mandated to "purchase, lease or otherwise acquire on such terms as the Minister may approve, premises, plant, equipment and facilities; and purchase, lease or otherwise acquire land, on such terms as the Minister may approve" (Republic of Kenya, 2002: 983). A WSP on the other hand is generally responsible for operations or control of water assets, although the degree of responsibility may be varied according to the

The Act also provides for the participation of Independent Water Service Providers (WSPs) outside the local authorities' registered public limited companies. These include water service facilities owned or operated by NGOs, CBOs, community self-help groups and other local water undertakers. These are directly registered by WSRB but are supervised by

1. Assume overall administrative and legal responsibility for provision of water services that was previously directly under the Central government, that is, the Department of Water Development except the direct operation of facilities that the Act reserves to the

2. Assume ownership of water services facilities owned or used by the Central Government (Department of Water Development and its parastatal – NWC&PC); 3. Access water service facilities owned or operated by local government service

4. Influence the use of water service facilities owned or operated by NGOs, CBOs, community self-help groups and other local water undertakers. (Ministry of Water and

Kenya has several development partners in the water sector including Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA), Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), World Bank, German Development Agency (KFW/GTZ), French Agency for Development (AFD), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Department for International Development (DFID), African Development Bank (ADB), Finnish Development Agency (FINNIDA), and the European Union (EU), among others. Currently, International Development agency (IDA) and French Agency for Development (AFD) support commercialisation of water utilities serving mainly urban centres (Nairobi and Mombasa) while the German cooperation (KFW) is focusing on commercialisation of water utilities in medium-sized urban centres. Japan is interested in supporting smaller urban centres and rural areas, Denmark, Finland and Belgium aim to cooperate on rural water supply and the African Development Bank (ADB) is financing

According to Owuor et al. (2009),water sector interventions can take the form of local (intraurban) initiatives, for instance to establish a water kiosk in a low-income neighbourhood

respective WSBs. Section 113 of the Act provides the WSBs legal rights to:

(WSP) . Even NWC&PC was turned into an "interim" WSP.

agency agreement between the two bodies.

WSPs;

providers; and

Irrigation, 2004).

projects in urban areas (Kenya 2006b: 193).

and Nairobi city (Athi Water Service Board) in Kenya. According to Asingo (2007), residents from low income areas, find the charges for Eldoret Water Company and Sanitation (ELDOWAS) so expensive that they restrict it to drinking and cooking only while relying on water from bore-holes for other needs like washing. In a study of India, Mackenzie Ray (2010), established that water vendors play an intermediary role in parts of the cities which are underserved such as Rajkot, Ahmadabad, and Chennai whereby they are either reselling water from municipal water standpipes or obtaining water from groundwater sources and transporting it by tanker to the slum areas where residents purchase it. The role played by small scale water providers cannot be underestimated despite accusations of exploiting the poor. Solo (1999) argues that small scale water and sanitation providers play a big role in extending access of key services, especially in Latin America. Kjellen (2000) argues that given the inadequate state of water infrastructure in Dar es Salaam, the small scale water providers complement the water distributive system to the City's distributive system and do not provide poorer quality of water than the City does to its official customers. Similar observations have been made by Njiru (2006) on the role of small scale water providers in sub-Saharan Africa. About 20-45% of residents in Ho chi Minh City, Cebu and Manila (Philippines), and Jakarta depend on water supplies from SCWSPs.

An ADB funded survey of six Asian cities: Cebu, Kathmandu, Jakarta, Ho Chi Minh City, Manila, Shanghai, and Dhaka, revealed that because of the failure of the conventional water utilities to serve many low income households, a large number of the population rely on alternative water supplies which are run by either community groups or local entrepreneurs (ADB, 2002). With the existing tariff and management structures, the large water companies which are usually favoured by the government, are unable to supply a large population with water, hence a large population from low income areas turn to either illegal connections or other alternative water suppliers. The study established that in the cities surveyed, a large population remain unconnected from the municipal/city connections because of the following reasons:


Where the services are extended to the low income areas, the large water companies do not know how to do it since: First, the services including technical requirements are not tailored to the demand of the low income households thus most poor are kept out of connection. Secondly, the payment systems precludes the poor with irregular income and finally, employees of large companies do not communicate well with the poor, hence the risk of being overcharged or penalized in case of improper billing.

### **2.2 Water provision services sector reforms and interventions in Kenya**

The Water Act established Water Services Regulatory Board (WSRB), and seven Regional Water Services Boards (WSBs), namely, Coast, Nairobi, Rift Valley, Central, Northern, Lake

and Nairobi city (Athi Water Service Board) in Kenya. According to Asingo (2007), residents from low income areas, find the charges for Eldoret Water Company and Sanitation (ELDOWAS) so expensive that they restrict it to drinking and cooking only while relying on water from bore-holes for other needs like washing. In a study of India, Mackenzie Ray (2010), established that water vendors play an intermediary role in parts of the cities which are underserved such as Rajkot, Ahmadabad, and Chennai whereby they are either reselling water from municipal water standpipes or obtaining water from groundwater sources and transporting it by tanker to the slum areas where residents purchase it. The role played by small scale water providers cannot be underestimated despite accusations of exploiting the poor. Solo (1999) argues that small scale water and sanitation providers play a big role in extending access of key services, especially in Latin America. Kjellen (2000) argues that given the inadequate state of water infrastructure in Dar es Salaam, the small scale water providers complement the water distributive system to the City's distributive system and do not provide poorer quality of water than the City does to its official customers. Similar observations have been made by Njiru (2006) on the role of small scale water providers in sub-Saharan Africa. About 20-45% of residents in Ho chi Minh City,

Cebu and Manila (Philippines), and Jakarta depend on water supplies from SCWSPs.

because of the following reasons:

poor.

to be left out.

An ADB funded survey of six Asian cities: Cebu, Kathmandu, Jakarta, Ho Chi Minh City, Manila, Shanghai, and Dhaka, revealed that because of the failure of the conventional water utilities to serve many low income households, a large number of the population rely on alternative water supplies which are run by either community groups or local entrepreneurs (ADB, 2002). With the existing tariff and management structures, the large water companies which are usually favoured by the government, are unable to supply a large population with water, hence a large population from low income areas turn to either illegal connections or other alternative water suppliers. The study established that in the cities surveyed, a large population remain unconnected from the municipal/city connections

• The connection fees are so high and lump sum payments upfront usually exclude the

• The amount of water supply is usually insufficient, and the vulnerable poor are the first

• Most of the low income dwellers do not own their respective lands legally hence

Where the services are extended to the low income areas, the large water companies do not know how to do it since: First, the services including technical requirements are not tailored to the demand of the low income households thus most poor are kept out of connection. Secondly, the payment systems precludes the poor with irregular income and finally, employees of large companies do not communicate well with the poor, hence the risk of

The Water Act established Water Services Regulatory Board (WSRB), and seven Regional Water Services Boards (WSBs), namely, Coast, Nairobi, Rift Valley, Central, Northern, Lake

• The cost of extending water to low income areas is regarded uneconomical.

**2.2 Water provision services sector reforms and interventions in Kenya** 

impossible to be connected to the water systems.

being overcharged or penalized in case of improper billing.

Victoria South, and Lake Victoria North. Each of the seven WSBs were as per the Act incorporated as Public enterprises, and were each expected to apply for Water Service Provision from the WSRB. Once granted, the licence for water provision, the licence is expected to be leased to the PLC so incorporated which will act as a Water Service Provider (WSP) . Even NWC&PC was turned into an "interim" WSP.

The Act states that "the water services board shall by force of this section be constituted a corporation" (Republic of Kenya, 2002: 982). WSBs remained as asset owners and financiers. Section 53(2) states that a WSB is mandated to "purchase, lease or otherwise acquire on such terms as the Minister may approve, premises, plant, equipment and facilities; and purchase, lease or otherwise acquire land, on such terms as the Minister may approve" (Republic of Kenya, 2002: 983). A WSP on the other hand is generally responsible for operations or control of water assets, although the degree of responsibility may be varied according to the agency agreement between the two bodies.

The Act also provides for the participation of Independent Water Service Providers (WSPs) outside the local authorities' registered public limited companies. These include water service facilities owned or operated by NGOs, CBOs, community self-help groups and other local water undertakers. These are directly registered by WSRB but are supervised by respective WSBs. Section 113 of the Act provides the WSBs legal rights to:


Kenya has several development partners in the water sector including Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA), Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), World Bank, German Development Agency (KFW/GTZ), French Agency for Development (AFD), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Department for International Development (DFID), African Development Bank (ADB), Finnish Development Agency (FINNIDA), and the European Union (EU), among others. Currently, International Development agency (IDA) and French Agency for Development (AFD) support commercialisation of water utilities serving mainly urban centres (Nairobi and Mombasa) while the German cooperation (KFW) is focusing on commercialisation of water utilities in medium-sized urban centres. Japan is interested in supporting smaller urban centres and rural areas, Denmark, Finland and Belgium aim to cooperate on rural water supply and the African Development Bank (ADB) is financing projects in urban areas (Kenya 2006b: 193).

According to Owuor et al. (2009),water sector interventions can take the form of local (intraurban) initiatives, for instance to establish a water kiosk in a low-income neighbourhood

Public Private Partnerships in the Privatization of Water Service Delivery in Kenya 215

water problems than Kisumu which has several NGOs offering various services in the water provision sector. In all the five towns, the interventions have supported the establishment of water kiosks to be run in collaboration with various interest groups and/or local

The most interactive forum orchestrated through the interventions is best exemplified by Multi Stakeholder Forums (MSF) established by LVWATSAN in Homa Bay and Kisii towns. The MSFs ensure that the interventions under the LVWATSAN programme are developed and implemented in a manner that is informed by and responds to the needs of the local stakeholders. Through regular communication and feedback, the forums also ensure that stakeholders understand and support the achievement of goals and objectives of the programme. MSF worked together with the municipal councils of Homa-Bay and Kisii Municipalities and have been identified as a pro-poor governance mechanisms intended to include and involve poor people and all stakeholders in decision making on matters concerning them. It is a vehicle for a collective participatory approach to problem solving.

• poor women and men, the elderly, youth, orphans and other vulnerable groups, among

The multi-stakeholder forums facilitate the active participation of a broad range of stakeholders at town level, in the design and implementation of the programme interventions (Owuor, et al. 2009). In a way, the MSFs have become a form of consumers'

The interventions have in a way made various water service providers to establish some pro poor programmes in their areas of jurisdictions. KIWASCO is implementing a pioneer 'delegated management model' in Nyalenda – a densely populated slum area in Kisumu. This is a model where KIWASCO sells water in bulk and at a subsidized tariff to a private operator in the community, who in turn manages its distribution and other aspects. The selected operator acts as an agent of KIWASCO in terms of connecting customers, operating the sub-network, collecting revenue and fixing leaks. It is not only a performance- based contract but also a profit-making enterprise towards access to clean and affordable water. They have their own independent management, network, operations and tariffs. ELDOWAS has established ten (10) water kiosks provided but given to interest groups or individuals to operate. The UN-HABITAT's LVWATSAN programme is actively involved in both shortterm and long-term interventions in water and sanitation in the municipality. This is being done in collaboration with the Municipal Councils of Homa Bay and Kisii, SNWASCO,

Already, the LVWATSAN programme has constructed two water kiosks in Shauri Yako of Homa Bay estate to increase access to clean water in low-income areas. These two water kiosks have been left to MSF-Homa Bay to determine which of their group members to run

These forums bring together all possible stakeholders, such as:

regulatory mechanism on the type and quality of services they deserve.

GWASCO and the Multi-Stakeholder Forum (MSF-Homa Bay and Kisii).

• NGOs, CBOs and Faith Based Organisation (FBOs)

Community Based organizations.

• representatives of local authorities, • water and sanitation service providers,

• water vendor associations

• private sector

• media and

others.

with the (financial) assistance of an NGO. But interventions can also target a whole municipality or even a whole region, for instance the rehabilitation and/or improvement of the water (and sanitation) infrastructure. Perhaps the most far-fetching intervention project in urban Kenya is the Lake Victoria Region Water and Sanitation Initiative (LVWATSAN) being implemented by UN-HABITAT in association with the governments of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda and with financial support from the government of the Netherlands.

The programme, which involves a mix of investments in the rehabilitation of existing infrastructure and capacity building at local level, is designed to assist the people in the Lake Victoria towns to meet water and sanitation related MDGs (UN-HABITAT 2007; 2008). The first phase, which focused on rehabilitation of water supply sources, extending water supplies to the poor areas and constructing sanitation facilities, was designed to have an immediate impact in improving water and sanitation services targeting seven towns of Homa-Bay and Kisii in Kenya, Masaka and Kyotera in Uganda, Bukoba and Muleba in Tanzania, and the border town of Mutukula (UN-HABITAT 2007).

With a clear pro-poor focus, the LVWATSAN programme is intended to generate desirable outcomes with a lasting impact on the lives of the poor. These outcomes include improved access to water, sanitation, solid waste management and drainage services in the project areas; functional and gender focused strategies for sustainable management and monitoring of rehabilitated systems; institutionalised capacity building; and a contribution to the reduction in pollutant loads entering Lake Victoria. It is also hoped that the programme towns will provide a model for national authorities and donors, including international financing institutions, to replicate in other towns within the region (UN-HABITAT 2008).

In a preliminary study tour of five towns in Kenya, namely Eldoret, Kisumu, Homa Bay, Kisii and Nakuru to assess the extent of interventions in the water and services provision, Owuor et al (2009) established that Eldoret municipality does not have any NGO, CBO or agency actively involved in water interventions at the local level. However, ELDOWAS may once-in-a-while depend on a Dutch NGO, SNV, for informed research. In 2007, for example, SNV conducted a survey of water vendors in the town and the results shared with ELDOWAS. Kisumu municipality has a number of NGOs working in various water sectors. The active NGOs in water and sanitation include Sustainable Aid in Africa International (SANA), Africa Now, World Vision and CARE Kenya. Wandiege Water Community Project is a water service provider registered by LVSWSB just like KIWASCO. Sustainable Aid in Africa (SANA) which started as a Dutch-Kenya bilateral programme (1982-2000) in rural water and sanitation in the then South Nyanza District of Nyanza Province deals with issues related to domestic water supply and targets the un-served urban and peri-urban informal settlements and the poor in general, besides dealing with environmental sanitation. The main source of water in Nakuru municipality is boreholes. The African Development Bank (ADB) has funded the drilling of 17 borehole: 5 in Baharini, 3 at Nairobi Road and 8 in Kabatini. The Lake Victoria Region Water and Sanitation Initiative in Homa Bay (LVWATSAN-Homa Bay) and a similar in Kisii has worked closely with the respective municipalities and Multi-Stakeholder Fora and initiated a number of short- and long-term water and sanitation interventions in the in LVWSB, especially under the jurisdictions of SNWSCO and GWASCO water service providers. It is clear that the stated interventions have in a way improved the services in terms of accessibility and quality. It is however, not clear why Eldoret which has no NGOs supporting water service provision, has less acute water problems than Kisumu which has several NGOs offering various services in the water provision sector. In all the five towns, the interventions have supported the establishment of water kiosks to be run in collaboration with various interest groups and/or local Community Based organizations.

The most interactive forum orchestrated through the interventions is best exemplified by Multi Stakeholder Forums (MSF) established by LVWATSAN in Homa Bay and Kisii towns. The MSFs ensure that the interventions under the LVWATSAN programme are developed and implemented in a manner that is informed by and responds to the needs of the local stakeholders. Through regular communication and feedback, the forums also ensure that stakeholders understand and support the achievement of goals and objectives of the programme. MSF worked together with the municipal councils of Homa-Bay and Kisii Municipalities and have been identified as a pro-poor governance mechanisms intended to include and involve poor people and all stakeholders in decision making on matters concerning them. It is a vehicle for a collective participatory approach to problem solving. These forums bring together all possible stakeholders, such as:


214 Current Issues of Water Management

with the (financial) assistance of an NGO. But interventions can also target a whole municipality or even a whole region, for instance the rehabilitation and/or improvement of the water (and sanitation) infrastructure. Perhaps the most far-fetching intervention project in urban Kenya is the Lake Victoria Region Water and Sanitation Initiative (LVWATSAN) being implemented by UN-HABITAT in association with the governments of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda and with financial support from the government of the Netherlands. The programme, which involves a mix of investments in the rehabilitation of existing infrastructure and capacity building at local level, is designed to assist the people in the Lake Victoria towns to meet water and sanitation related MDGs (UN-HABITAT 2007; 2008). The first phase, which focused on rehabilitation of water supply sources, extending water supplies to the poor areas and constructing sanitation facilities, was designed to have an immediate impact in improving water and sanitation services targeting seven towns of Homa-Bay and Kisii in Kenya, Masaka and Kyotera in Uganda, Bukoba and Muleba in

With a clear pro-poor focus, the LVWATSAN programme is intended to generate desirable outcomes with a lasting impact on the lives of the poor. These outcomes include improved access to water, sanitation, solid waste management and drainage services in the project areas; functional and gender focused strategies for sustainable management and monitoring of rehabilitated systems; institutionalised capacity building; and a contribution to the reduction in pollutant loads entering Lake Victoria. It is also hoped that the programme towns will provide a model for national authorities and donors, including international financing institutions, to replicate in other towns within the region (UN-HABITAT 2008).

In a preliminary study tour of five towns in Kenya, namely Eldoret, Kisumu, Homa Bay, Kisii and Nakuru to assess the extent of interventions in the water and services provision, Owuor et al (2009) established that Eldoret municipality does not have any NGO, CBO or agency actively involved in water interventions at the local level. However, ELDOWAS may once-in-a-while depend on a Dutch NGO, SNV, for informed research. In 2007, for example, SNV conducted a survey of water vendors in the town and the results shared with ELDOWAS. Kisumu municipality has a number of NGOs working in various water sectors. The active NGOs in water and sanitation include Sustainable Aid in Africa International (SANA), Africa Now, World Vision and CARE Kenya. Wandiege Water Community Project is a water service provider registered by LVSWSB just like KIWASCO. Sustainable Aid in Africa (SANA) which started as a Dutch-Kenya bilateral programme (1982-2000) in rural water and sanitation in the then South Nyanza District of Nyanza Province deals with issues related to domestic water supply and targets the un-served urban and peri-urban informal settlements and the poor in general, besides dealing with environmental sanitation. The main source of water in Nakuru municipality is boreholes. The African Development Bank (ADB) has funded the drilling of 17 borehole: 5 in Baharini, 3 at Nairobi Road and 8 in Kabatini. The Lake Victoria Region Water and Sanitation Initiative in Homa Bay (LVWATSAN-Homa Bay) and a similar in Kisii has worked closely with the respective municipalities and Multi-Stakeholder Fora and initiated a number of short- and long-term water and sanitation interventions in the in LVWSB, especially under the jurisdictions of SNWSCO and GWASCO water service providers. It is clear that the stated interventions have in a way improved the services in terms of accessibility and quality. It is however, not clear why Eldoret which has no NGOs supporting water service provision, has less acute

Tanzania, and the border town of Mutukula (UN-HABITAT 2007).


The multi-stakeholder forums facilitate the active participation of a broad range of stakeholders at town level, in the design and implementation of the programme interventions (Owuor, et al. 2009). In a way, the MSFs have become a form of consumers' regulatory mechanism on the type and quality of services they deserve.

The interventions have in a way made various water service providers to establish some pro poor programmes in their areas of jurisdictions. KIWASCO is implementing a pioneer 'delegated management model' in Nyalenda – a densely populated slum area in Kisumu. This is a model where KIWASCO sells water in bulk and at a subsidized tariff to a private operator in the community, who in turn manages its distribution and other aspects. The selected operator acts as an agent of KIWASCO in terms of connecting customers, operating the sub-network, collecting revenue and fixing leaks. It is not only a performance- based contract but also a profit-making enterprise towards access to clean and affordable water. They have their own independent management, network, operations and tariffs. ELDOWAS has established ten (10) water kiosks provided but given to interest groups or individuals to operate. The UN-HABITAT's LVWATSAN programme is actively involved in both shortterm and long-term interventions in water and sanitation in the municipality. This is being done in collaboration with the Municipal Councils of Homa Bay and Kisii, SNWASCO, GWASCO and the Multi-Stakeholder Forum (MSF-Homa Bay and Kisii).

Already, the LVWATSAN programme has constructed two water kiosks in Shauri Yako of Homa Bay estate to increase access to clean water in low-income areas. These two water kiosks have been left to MSF-Homa Bay to determine which of their group members to run

Public Private Partnerships in the Privatization of Water Service Delivery in Kenya 217

4. The concern that the privatization of public utility service delivery tends to shift accountability of service providers to policy makers rather than the service users,

The justifications for the privatizations wherever they take place have been pegged on the inability or failure of the central and local governments to provide services to the people. This is in most cases though not always attributed to financial factors. For example Nelspruit Local Authority (NLA) in South Africa, entered into public-private partnership to relieve it of the financial burden of upgrading water and sanitation services and ensuring efficient service provision (Asingo, 2005). However, some cities have addressed poor service delivery without necessarily altering ownership and management. For example the city of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe enhanced water service delivery by putting up mechanisms to

Different countries have used different methods to transfer service provision from public to private providers and registered different experiences. Nelspruit city, South Africa used open tendering method to identify a private company to manage water services on a concession basis for an initial period of 30 years. The Local Authority was to retain the role to regulate tariffs and set water and sanitation service quality standards according to the

In Guinea, water privatization proceeded through a franchise arrangement where the government transferred the ownership of urban water supplies to major cities including Conakry to a state owned national water authority, the *Societe Nationale des Eaux Giunea* (SONEG) in 1989.SONEG in turn invited private companies to bid for a franchise to operate and manage water services in the seventeen urban centres. The bid was won by *Societe de Exploitation des Eaux de Guinea (SEEG).* SONEG continued to own water assets, undertake new investments, plan the sector, service debts, set tariffs and monitor the activities of SEEG.*SEEG* in turn was to operate and manage existing supply facilities, bill and collect payments in the 17 urban centres, undertake small scale investments and pay rental fee to SONEG (Bayliss, 2000). It is important to note that Guinea was not faced with water accessibility problems but poor quality water and low coverage of connected water. It had several alternative sources of water such as well water, connection through neighbours meter, and collected rain water. The main challenges included unaccounted for water, low collection rate from the public sector and high price of water (Menard, C and Clarke, G., 2000). In essence, Menard et al 2000, have concluded that despite the challenges and with the availability of water for 24 hours daily, the provision of water services improved under

In Mauritania, the government delegated Water Management in small towns to private providers called *Concessionaires* in 1993. Each *concessionaire* was expected to supply water to a community on a yearly basis for those with diesel powered systems and on a monthly basis for those with solar-powered systems under cost recovery principles where users pay for water consumed. In each case, the concessionaire only recovers maintenance and operation costs as the government meets the capital cost (Cardone and Fonseca, 2003).

Some Governments have also used devolution method to a lower level. For example, in Colombia, water service provision was devolved to local governments in 1994 and the

particularly where privatization grants service monopoly to a private provider.

5. The concern for cost recovery for privatized public good services like water.

minimize the use of unaccounted water through conservation (Asingo, 2005).

3. The impact of the water privatization on the poor people,

national government policy (Cardone and Fonseca, 2003).

private than it could have been under public ownership.

them. NAWASSCO has constructed 7 water kiosks in Nakuru to serve the low-income estates of the municipality. Four of these kiosks are located in Rhonda and Kaptembwa but only 3 are operational. These water kiosks are managed by a CBO known as NAROKA (Owuor et al, 2009).
