Water Management-Case Studies

**57**

**Chapter 5**

**Abstract**

*Joseph Okeyo Obosi*

water provision in Africa.

community water, state

**1. Introduction**

Community Management and

Water Service Delivery in Africa

Access to affordable and clean water has remained a challenge globally. Most states in Africa states have championed the provision of water to its citizens through state driven approaches. Despite the evidence that community water supply has contributed positively more than any other single approach to provision of water supply in Africa, it is still regarded as an informal approach. Most states in Africa still prefer other conventional approaches like Concession and Affermage in Francophone Africa and Commercialization through Management contracts in Anglophone Africa at the expense of the community water management. Either the state has not used the right approach or has neglected the community. Using evidence from Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Ghana and Nigeria, the paper has argued that the failure by the governments to acknowledge the disconnect between the community needs and state priorities has been responsible for the poor state of

**Keywords:** community management, service delivery, public private partnerships,

Community water supply may acquire region or county specific definitions. However, it is generally identified by the people it serves, the purpose it serves and the manner in which it is operated. The meaning ranges from a public water system that serves at least 25 residents throughout the year and may consist of one or multiple wells or reservoirs as in Sri Lanka. Ref. [1]; an alternative to private sector participation in water supply, particularly with respect to urban areas [2] to a community-run small-scale water projects which play a crucial role in the provision of an essential service, especially in the absence of any other alternative [3]. Irrespective of the finer details of the typologies, there is a consensus on the nature and purpose of community water management. Typically, local community groups or 'community-based organizations' (CBOs) bring together people for a common purpose and are agreed on how to achieve the objective through their own management, in the pursuit of which they could be partnered in their operations by NGOs which facilitate technical and financial resources and help relax the prohibitive restrictions regarding land tenure [3]. They could also be partnered by the government or other communities for the realization of the same objective. The Community-based self-provision allows communities to form their own institutions for water delivery without formal connections or partnerships with utility operators or municipal governments. Community self-help initiatives tend to be smaller
