Water supply in low-income urban areas

A question of sharing

Annie SAVINA Alain MATHYS

UNOP - W ORLD BANK

VATER AND SANITATION PROGRAM

REGIONAL VATER SANITATION GROUP - WEST AFRICA

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3

Water Supply in Low-Income Urban Areas

A Question of Sharing

Annie SAVINA Alain MATHYS

UNOP - WORLD lANK

WATER AND SANRAOON PROGRAM

Table of Contents

1 Problem situation 4

2 Situation at the city level 21 Ouagadougou

22 Bamako

23 Abidjan

2 4 Semi-urban areas and suburbs

5

3 Situation in low-income areas 31 Persistence ofseveral water sources

7

32 Variable demand over time

3 3 Distribution ofwater by vendors

34 Questionable water quality

4 Social policy regarding water and constraints of poor populations 41 Public taps

42 Subsidised water supply for low-income groups

43 Subsidised water connections

12

5 A question of adjustment 51 The willingness to pay oflow-income groups is real

52 Purchase of small quantities but everyday

53 Demand for service at home

16

6 A question of sharing 61 From community participation to shared management

62 Management methods

63 Alternative technologies

19

7 Conclusion 21

References List of abbreviatlona

Water supply In Ow-incomtl urbItn llrells

1 Problem situation In Africa a fair amount of progress has been recorded in the management of wban water supply

particularly in the area of service to consumers viability of distribution efficiency of networks and so on Several water companies have been privatised (SODECI in Cote dIvoire for example) and represent an example of success which has become known beyond Africa However despite these successes DWS in wban areas is still confronted with problems Even though the service level for drinking water in African cities seems relatively high (between 80 and 85 according to various sources) these figures do not indicate the real percentage of consumers who are directly connected to the public water system and those who have access indirectly (through vendors purchase from neighbours etc) A more accurate indicator of access to drinking water would thus be to consider the number of households who have private connections In most West African cities the direct access rate is less than 50 (Table 1)

Table 1 Rate ofdirect connections to the water supply network in some West African capitals (percentage ofhouseholds)

60 45 38

Bissau 15

Although many countries have developed social policy in the area of water supply access to drinshyking water still seems selective and with the population in poor neighboumoods experiencing difficulties in obtaining water This situation can be explained by the growing demand in urban areas Indeed in many countries of the sub-region the ratio of urban to rural population tends to be increasing (Figure 1) which presupposes the availability of water sources and increased investments How can this need be met when resource~ are shrinking (scarcity ofwater and financial constraints)

45

40

35

I 30

251

201

15

10

5

- - 0 1970

- 01991

0 i------L----lt-r-----L---y--------~_____----L---l_r_---LCC=-___L~ ILl-~k( Mali Guinea Guinea Benin Senegal Cote Cameroon

Bissau divoire

growth in urban population

In general the capital cities have higher service rates than secondary cities The most salient and enduring feature of the city landscape in spite of attempts to correct it is the disparity among areas within the same city In urban areas a large proportion of the population lives in extremely unhealthy conditions A study in Abidjan showed that the probability of death of children between one and five years is 15 times higher in slum housing areas as compared to other residential housing areas Lack of clean water most often mentioned as a priority need by residents of poor areas is undoubtedly an important factor in explaining the situation

1Antoine Dubresson Manon-Savina Abidjan cote coors Ed KarthalaOrstom 1987

Table of Contents

1 Problem situation 4

2 Situation at the city level 21 Ouagadougou

22 Bamako

23 Abidjan

2 4 Semi-urban areas and suburbs

5

3 Situation in low-income areas 31 Persistence ofseveral water sources

7

32 Variable demand over time

3 3 Distribution ofwater by vendors

34 Questionable water quality

4 Social policy regarding water and constraints of poor populations 41 Public taps

42 Subsidised water supply for low-income groups

43 Subsidised water connections

12

5 A question of adjustment 51 The willingness to pay oflow-income groups is real

52 Purchase of small quantities but everyday

53 Demand for service at home

16

6 A question of sharing 61 From community participation to shared management

62 Management methods

63 Alternative technologies

19

7 Conclusion 21

References List of abbreviatlona

Water supply In Ow-incomtl urbItn llrells

1 Problem situation In Africa a fair amount of progress has been recorded in the management of wban water supply

particularly in the area of service to consumers viability of distribution efficiency of networks and so on Several water companies have been privatised (SODECI in Cote dIvoire for example) and represent an example of success which has become known beyond Africa However despite these successes DWS in wban areas is still confronted with problems Even though the service level for drinking water in African cities seems relatively high (between 80 and 85 according to various sources) these figures do not indicate the real percentage of consumers who are directly connected to the public water system and those who have access indirectly (through vendors purchase from neighbours etc) A more accurate indicator of access to drinking water would thus be to consider the number of households who have private connections In most West African cities the direct access rate is less than 50 (Table 1)

Table 1 Rate ofdirect connections to the water supply network in some West African capitals (percentage ofhouseholds)

60 45 38

Bissau 15

Although many countries have developed social policy in the area of water supply access to drinshyking water still seems selective and with the population in poor neighboumoods experiencing difficulties in obtaining water This situation can be explained by the growing demand in urban areas Indeed in many countries of the sub-region the ratio of urban to rural population tends to be increasing (Figure 1) which presupposes the availability of water sources and increased investments How can this need be met when resource~ are shrinking (scarcity ofwater and financial constraints)

45

40

35

I 30

251

201

15

10

5

- - 0 1970

- 01991

0 i------L----lt-r-----L---y--------~_____----L---l_r_---LCC=-___L~ ILl-~k( Mali Guinea Guinea Benin Senegal Cote Cameroon

Bissau divoire

growth in urban population

In general the capital cities have higher service rates than secondary cities The most salient and enduring feature of the city landscape in spite of attempts to correct it is the disparity among areas within the same city In urban areas a large proportion of the population lives in extremely unhealthy conditions A study in Abidjan showed that the probability of death of children between one and five years is 15 times higher in slum housing areas as compared to other residential housing areas Lack of clean water most often mentioned as a priority need by residents of poor areas is undoubtedly an important factor in explaining the situation

1Antoine Dubresson Manon-Savina Abidjan cote coors Ed KarthalaOrstom 1987

Water supply In Ow-incomtl urbItn llrells

1 Problem situation In Africa a fair amount of progress has been recorded in the management of wban water supply

particularly in the area of service to consumers viability of distribution efficiency of networks and so on Several water companies have been privatised (SODECI in Cote dIvoire for example) and represent an example of success which has become known beyond Africa However despite these successes DWS in wban areas is still confronted with problems Even though the service level for drinking water in African cities seems relatively high (between 80 and 85 according to various sources) these figures do not indicate the real percentage of consumers who are directly connected to the public water system and those who have access indirectly (through vendors purchase from neighbours etc) A more accurate indicator of access to drinking water would thus be to consider the number of households who have private connections In most West African cities the direct access rate is less than 50 (Table 1)

Table 1 Rate ofdirect connections to the water supply network in some West African capitals (percentage ofhouseholds)

60 45 38

Bissau 15

Although many countries have developed social policy in the area of water supply access to drinshyking water still seems selective and with the population in poor neighboumoods experiencing difficulties in obtaining water This situation can be explained by the growing demand in urban areas Indeed in many countries of the sub-region the ratio of urban to rural population tends to be increasing (Figure 1) which presupposes the availability of water sources and increased investments How can this need be met when resource~ are shrinking (scarcity ofwater and financial constraints)

45

40

35

I 30

251

201

15

10

5

- - 0 1970

- 01991

0 i------L----lt-r-----L---y--------~_____----L---l_r_---LCC=-___L~ ILl-~k( Mali Guinea Guinea Benin Senegal Cote Cameroon

Bissau divoire

growth in urban population

In general the capital cities have higher service rates than secondary cities The most salient and enduring feature of the city landscape in spite of attempts to correct it is the disparity among areas within the same city In urban areas a large proportion of the population lives in extremely unhealthy conditions A study in Abidjan showed that the probability of death of children between one and five years is 15 times higher in slum housing areas as compared to other residential housing areas Lack of clean water most often mentioned as a priority need by residents of poor areas is undoubtedly an important factor in explaining the situation

1Antoine Dubresson Manon-Savina Abidjan cote coors Ed KarthalaOrstom 1987

2 Situation at the city level In cities generally two types of water supply systems exist side-by-side a public distribution netshy

wolk whose size varies in different countries and a re-distribution netwolk (of water from the public sysshytem) in low-income neighbourhoods where informal private sector vendors are the principal agents In terms ofwater consumption access through redistribution by various private vendors is the general case in most of these neighbourlloods

Door-to-door delivery ofwater (Ouagadougou)

21 Ouagadougou

In 1992 38 of households had private water connections2 Collective distribution3 characterises

the water supply system in this city Public taps and independent water supply points (lWSP set up on the most productive boreholes) were developed in the beginning of the 1980s These water points are managed by private individuals (through contracts) This type of collective distribution system supplies about 20 of the population but also indirectly supplies a growing number of households (through redistribution by prishyvate water vendors) in particular those in outlying areas

22 Bamako The problem ofaccess to clean water is still acute in many areas of the city Only 23 of the popushy

lation is connected directly to the public water supply system while 18 obtain water from public stand taps The majority ofthe population in particular those living in informal housing buy water from vendors

2 Altaf Mir Anjum and Hughes)etTrey A Willingne3s to payfor improved sanitation in Ouagadougou BJlrlcina Faso Universishyty of North Carolina at Chapel Hill september 1992

3 By collective distribution we mean via independent water points or public taps or independently mechanised water points with a number of taps

Water supply In Iow-incotrHl urban sss

23 Abidjan

According to the computerised data base of urban indicators for the city of Abidjan4 74 of houseshyholds live in areas served by the public water supply system In the last few years the SODECI has folshylowed a policy of voluntary connections whose number has increased significandy since 1990 in neighbourshyhoods with communal compounds However the practice of redistribution has not disappeared it is now limited to adjacent blocks of houses Distribution of water in this case is usually by flexible hoses connected from one lot to another over the walls of the compound

Twenty-six per cent of households live in areas not covered by the public water supply network (Port Bouet 22 Yopougon 1700 Abobo 13 and Attecouoo 13) In these areas 68 of households have access to drinking water through vending systems from public stand taps or by an extension of the public system by private individuals 32 of households in areas not covered by the network have other sources of water such as rainwater handpumps or surface water

24 Semi-urban areas and suburbs

Water supply facilities in semi-urban areas are unequally matched insufficient unevenly distributed and often poorly maintained For example in Mali out of the thirteen semi-urban areas studied during planning for the strategic water supply plan

5 six piped systems exist one of which is dilapidated and nonshy

functional (Hombori) two offer partial coverage (Diabaly and Kolondieba) and three total coverage (Kangaba Douentza and Bandiagara) In these areas wells (particularly traditional private wells) still playa role which is almost as important as in rural villages Since supply conditions are so difficult conflicts at the water point are frequent and women are the first to shoulder the consequences of the systems deficiencies

Transport ofbaeis bymeansofa wheelbaow (Ouagadougou)

4 Direction et Controle des Grands Travaux Direction des etudes et projets UIbains Services de cartographie uroaine Atelier dUIbanisme dAbidjan Base cartographique informatisee des indicateurs urbains de I agglomeration d Abidjan 1994

5 DNHE PNUD Schema directeur de mise en valeur des ressources en eau enquetes socio-economiques sur I eau et I assainissement en milieu rural et urbain au lvlali1991

3 Situation in low-income areas

31 Persistence of several water sources Water is not always distributed through the public water supply system Other water sources such as

wells and surface water storage systems are frequently used even in large cities

In 1991 studies undertaken for the strategic water supply plan in Mali showed that 62 of the population in urban areas which are under the service area of the national water and power utility (EDM Energie du Mali) and the municipality obtained water from sources other than the public network (eg wells within the compound rivers or private boreholes)

Households also use different water sources for different pwposes For example households use water from handpumps or public taps for drinking purposes only Water quality seems to be clearly undershystood by households living in the urban environment

68 II Vendors Wells

Handpumps River pond

Ifigure 2 water sources in Abidjan (areas not covered by the network)

32 Variable demand over time The demand for water in poor areas varies greatly according to the seasons During the rainy season

a large quantity of water is obtained from surface sources and by collecting rainwater especially in semishyurban and outlying areas In several large cities collecting rainwater in barrels by means ofmakeshift gutters made from corrugated roofing sheets is a common practice

of users

100

1middotmiddot bullIbullbullbullbullt ---------shy

Rainy season

DWells _ Handpumps _ River pond

figure 3 variations in water sources according to season Kangaba Mali

Water transport on the head

(Ouagadougou)

33 Distribution of water by vendors Sale of water by vendors takes many forms and several types of transportation can co-exist in the

same city or even the same district

Q sale through carriers transportation and containers used are varied basins or buckets carried on the head large barrels carried on push-carts or wagons pulled by a donkey or a bicycle In Ouagashydougou for example selling water in barrels is an essential part ofthe distribution system

Q motorised sale via private tanker trucks or sometimes public service employees selling drinking water for their own profit

Q installation of networks by private individuals connected to the public system Since the distrishybution site is often far from the water meter a plumber will use light materials to install a system These improvised systems are usually simple such as the storks beaks made of plastic tubing (Abidjan) they may also include several faucets such as the public tap systems in Banconi (Bamako)

sale through a flexible pipe going from the vendors tap to the consumers barrel or basin

Waterdistribunon by means offlexible pipe and storks beaks (Abidjan)

Table 2 Principal method ofwater supply in low-income areas

Well 27

Water vendors 8

Wells amp vendors 56

Public taps 8

Private connections 9

10

65

11

5

8

The profile ofwater vendors is also variable They may be

private individuals these are often small businessmen (or women) who are engaged in other activishyties thus a family member manages the water tap or people who do not have other activities These individuals subscribe to the water company and generally pay a huge advance for the service

associations these may be water committees as at Klela in Mali or water management committees as in several areas of Bamako These committees and associations occasionally experience problems with the population which they represent due to irregularities in their management of finances the large number ofmembers ofthese committees tends to dilute their responsibilities

The revenue of these vendors is variable but seems for the most part higher than the average meshydian income for most West African cities (cf Table 3)

Table 3 Profit margin ofwater vendors according to type ofinstallation

IWSP 3000 600000 250000 60000 25000 265000 88Ouagadougou9

Public tap 270 67500 24300 43200 160Bamako lO

Water vendor 200 150000 73600 15000 61400 307Abidjanll

6 cf Note 5

7 Regional Water and Sanitation Group - West Africa Enqulte SIIr 10 volante de paJlftren asaainissement Commllllf de Port Boult Abidjan 1993

8 Jaglin SylVY Pouvoin urbains et geman partagee Ii Ouagadoflgotl equipemenu et services de proximite dana les peripheries These de doctorat en urbanisme et amenagement Universite de Paris vm 1991

9 BUROEAP Caisse Franyaise de Developpement Etude de CQ3 SIIr Ieau et 10 sante dana les quartien urbains defavorises 1994

10 cf Note 9

11 Regional Water and Sanitation Group - West Africa Survey October 1994

Djenne Koro Banconi Bolibana

WstBr upply In 1ow-lntJOmfl urlNln fires

Flexible pipe from the connection to the compound (Abidjan)

Filling up ofwater barrels in the compound (Abidjan)

Water transported by vending systems gets to the consumer at much higher prices than the rates for private connections or at the public tap (Figure 4) In low-income areas even those covered by the public water supply netwOIk sale ofwater is still very frequent For example in one-storey communal compounds in Abidjan when the owner of the compound (or a tenant household) has a private connection the water is often sold to other households in the compound

FCFA 1

Official price Price at public tap bull Price delivered to customers home

figure 4 price of cubic meter of water at various stages in the distribution network12

12 Prices given for Djenne Koro and Banconi (Mali) are those noted before devaluation of the CFA franc For Bolibana (Abidjan) the price given is that following devaluation

Regional Water andSanltlJtJon Groupmiddot West Africa

34 Questionable water quality

Whatever the source of water supply transport transfer and storage of water in various containers (often to better limit consumption) multiply the potential sources ofcontamination

A study carried out in a small city in Kivu (Zaire) in 1989 showed that the number of episodes of dianhoea per year for children aged two to three years increased in proportion to the distance from the gubshylic tap the risks are triple for a child living more than five minutes walking distance from the public tap 3

In Ouagadougou the variations in the rate of residual chlorine between the water source (public tap) and the storage container were measured taking into account the duration of storage

l4 These observations

showed that the rate of residual chlorine was very variable at the same point in the network and fluctuated widely over time over a period of three days variations of 0 to 13 mgll were noted Chlorine breaks down rapidly in clay jars thus a concentration of 05 mgll of chlorine at the beginning of the storage period is not sufficient since it is rapidly degraded by the multiple contaminations which take place during transport and storage of water at the home After four hours of storage the chlorine had practically disappeared from all the containers (Figure 5)

The duration of water storage in the home varies from 4 to 29 hours with an average duration of 16 hours At this point chlorine has disappeared completely from all the containers For 26 containers analysed and used to store water for more than four hours 85 were contaminated and only 15 met the drinkin~ water standards (0 faecal coliform per 100 mi) The percentage of contaminated containers rises over time I

RM ___MH bullbullbullbull______H__bullbullH _____H____________bullbull__bullbullbull_______ _____________bull___________________________bullbull____________ ___bull ____________H___H _________

06

05

04

03

02

01

~ - -~ - - -shy

- - - ~ - - - - - - - - - - -

- - - - - -- ~ - - - - - - - - - - - - shy

-ltgt-Sample 1

-O-Sample2

- fs -Sample 3

--------A--------------shy shyshy

------------~---~---------------- - o +---------~--------~--------~---------Q

Network TO TO + 2 h TO +4 h TO + 8 h

figure 5 variation in rate of residual chlorine in water stored in the home (mgl)

13 ZairelUSA SANRU project Results othe Kirotshe Impact Study 1989

14 Empereur-BissonnetP L eau de boisson en milieu rural africain evaluation des methodes destinees II ameliorer la qualite micro-biologique Medecine thesis Paris 1989

15 Cf Note 14

4 Social policy regarding water and constraints of poor populations

Water companies have tried several solutions for improving water supply in low-income areas These approaches based on a generous principle of facilitating access to the drinking water supply network for poor populations however face difficulties and perverse effects which limit or even aggravate the situashytion in precarious areas

41 Public taps

Supply from a hand pump in an outlying area (Ouagadougou)

Public taps installed during the colonial period or shortly after independence where water was disshytributed free of charge have been progressively done away with in most of the countries of the sub-region 16

City districts which were responsible for managing these public taps and for covering the cost of the water consumed have experienced greater and greater difficulties in paying the water bills Where public taps still exist their management has been privati sed which has usually given positive results Awareness of the value of water has increased among the authorities who have accepted the principle of privatisation of pubshylic taps as well as among the population who consent to pay for water at the taps

The proportion ofthe population directly served by public taps is however quite small In Bamako only 20 of the population is directly served by public taps or by independent water supply points In Abidjan as of 1994 there were 290 public taps ie a service rate of about 5 of the population 17 and with 30 of the households not connected to the public water supply network

Because of their cost public taps which are generally installed within projects financed by develshyopment organisations or NGOs are relatively few and require their users to transport water over quite large distances Their number is insufficient to constitute any real competition for water vendors or to reduce the price ofwater delivered directly to the home

Improvements wished for by consumers are mainly an increase in water flow at the tap or an inshycrease in the number of faucets (in order to reduce waiting time) and better disposition or installation of taps related to the method oftransporting water (installation ofplatforms height of faucets)

16 Except in Conakry where the numerous public taps in the district ofKaloum continue to distribute water free of charge in spite of an agreement to privatise them endorsed by the national and local authorities and the water company

17 Estimate based on an average quantity of 200 cubic meters distributed per month and per tap and a consumption rate of 20 lIdayinhabitant

Rfl[JlonMMttertmd 8tMJtIIIItM GnHJp bull ~

42 Subsidised water supply for low-income groups Does a so~led social policy based on the argument of income distribution (whereby huge conshy

sumers subsidise small ones) really help the poorest ofthe poor

It has been shown in the preceding paragraphs that the majority of residents of poor areas purchase water from vendors A water vendor consumes a large quantity of water and thus pays the rate applicable to high water consumption His high unit purchase price is thus passed on to his customers although they are in the lowest income group

If we take Cote dIvoire as an example

[J break-even price ofml ofwater 180 F

[J subsidised rate 159 F

[J household rate (avemge consumption 91-300 ml) 368F

[J average price paid by the population 750F

For the 750 F paid by the poor users for a cubic meter of water the SODECI receives 368 F This figure can be broken down as follows (See Figure 6) break-even price (180 F) + subsidy (x F) + profit margin of vendor (y F) Thus the poor population is paying for a subsidy which they should theoretically receive but which they never do

Poor population 382 Fm3 Vendor---750 Fm3 I------~

Subsidies Water

reak-even price + other company

figure 6 who is subsidising whom

A study carried out in Kumasi (Ghana)18 also showed the negative effects of a progressive tariff on the poor population of this city for two reasons first of all in densely populated areas several low-income households (eleven or more households on the avemge) frequently living in the same building share a water connection located in the courtyard and divide the water bill according to the size of the household number of rooms occupied and so forth The progressive tariff applied results in a situation where these households pay more for water than a household which has its own water connection In addition many poor houseshyholds who cannot afford to have a private or collective connection purchase water from their neighbours thus increasing the consumption of the connection and consequently the unit price ofwater which is passed on to the purchaser

Thus it is clear that the poor finance in part the subsidy of the progIessive tariff which is intended for their benefit and from which wealthier people profit as well as extensions of the distribution network which are not in their neighbowhoods (Figure 6)

We need to question the faimess of social policies as long as a large proportion of the population does not have private connections

111 Whittington Dale Possible advene effects ofincrea8ing block water tarlffi in developing ccnmtriel The University ofChi~ 01992

WtBr supply In fow-inCOllHl urblln I11f1II8

43 Subsidised water connections 19

This type of connection consists in having the conswner pay the cost of papershywork the cost of installing the water meter and an advance on conswnption while the connecshytion is generally paid for through a developshyment fund or external subsidies After the deshyvaluation several countries again reduced the cost of subsidised connections In Cote dIvoire for example only the advance on conswnption and the cost of paperwork are paid by the conswner ie 18750 F as a lump

22swn payment

Looking at household inshycome the majority of households living in precarious housing seem to have little access to subsidised conshynections especially if we consider that for this segment of the populashytion food purchases constitute about 80 ofexpenditures

The limits of social approaches which have been proposed up to the present are as follows

Cl Public and collective solushytions are too few when comshypared to the needs in poor arshyeas (long waiting periods long distances to water points)

Lack of flexibility in payment methods for connections and water bills Whatever solushytions are proposed to reduce the cost of connections poor households do not have easy access to them In addition the due dates for bills (every two or even three months)

Resale ofwater make it difficult for houseshyfrom a connection holds with only small and irshyin a compound (Abidjan) regular incomes to make the

payments A private connecshytion also implies an increase

19 This reasoning can also be applied to connections carried out on credit proposed in Senegal Cameroon and Gabon

w Direction et Contr61e des Grands Travaux Direction des etudes et projets mbains Atelier dmbanisme dAbidjan Analyse des filieres de prodllction de terrains ll1bains et de logements caracterisation de fa demande de logements reSllltats de Ienquite socio-economique OIlpreS des menages (the results are from a survey carried out in October 1993) June 1994

21 BURGEAP Caisse Fran~aise de Developpement EtIlde de cas SIlr leOll et la sante dons les qIlQrtiers Ilrbains defavorises March 1994

n Before the devaluation the price paid by the conswner for a free connection amounted to 22000 F (installation of meter 7000 F Pape1Work 2000 F advance on conswnption 13000 F)

in metered water consumption and as a result an increase in expenses

Current approaches imply an ability to save money which low-income groups do not have The study carried out in August through October 1993 on 5441 households in Abidjan23 emphasised that 62 of households throughout the city said that they are unable to save money In precarious housing areas or poor neighbourhoods 70 of household heads stated that they are unable to save any money For those who are able to save the average amount saved is 9600 FCFA per month In compound housing 65 of heads ofhouseholds stated that they are unable to save at all Those who are able to save save an average of 16400 FCFA

Table 4 Cost ofwater connection compared to main monthly income ofa tenant head ofhousehold in Abidjan24 (FCFA)

Improvised housing

Evolving housing

37750F

60000F

18750 F

18750 F

2500 F

2500 F

497

313

66

42

Water supply from a well in an area with a superficial ground water table (Abidjan)

23 cr Note 20 24 cr Note 20

Water supply In IoWwincomll urblln IIrBlIS

5 A question of adjustment

With the hope of ensuring fairness water companies and funding agencies have applied solutions which have allowed a greater proportion of households to have access to drinking water Thus even more than the water tariff which still remains an important factor in the implementation of social policy it is essential to consider the conditions ofaccess to water supply in terms ofthe daily constraints experienced by the population of poor neighbourhoods

51 The willingness to pay of low-income groups is real

They are not asking for free water Several examples show that the myth of free water has been declining over the last few years

Il In Bangui a pilot project in 1986 installed six public taps (where water would be paid for) in two neighbourhoods of the city In 1987 a political decision made these taps free of charge This decision led to a degradation in the functioning of the water supply and less flexibility in supply in particular regarding operating hours The residents themselves quickly protested against the situation which eventually led to re-instating the fees one month after they were suspended

Although the income allocated to payment of water bills represents a large proportion of the budget of low-income families the price does not seem to be perceived as a limiting factor by the population of peri-urban areas or poor neighbourhoods A study carried out in six semi-urban areas in Mali

25 showed that the highest consumption per resident was in the city of Nara (1511inhabishy

tantJday as compared to 65 VinhabitantJday on average for the six cities) however the unit price is highest in Nara (750 to 1500 F in Nara as compared to 500 to 1000 F in the other cities)

When one adds up the amounts spent daily poor sections of the population pay proportionally more for access to good drinking water as compared to their incomes They therefore have access to monetary resources but lack ways to mobilise them effectively

52 Purchase of small quantities but every day

Households purchase water daily since their incomes are small as well as irregular which does not allow them to save money in order to pay for a private connection or to pay a bill every two or three months Daily purchase of water also allows the possibility of reducing expenditures whenever possible people make use of other sources of water (rainwater collection for example) water bought on a daily basis is stored in metal or pottery containers which allows better control over the quantity consumed and thus avoids waste

The notion of effort rate often used in socio-economic studies to better define demand and the financial capacity of households only has meaning for the segment of the population whose income is high enough and regular enough to allow them to save money Mechanisms for deduction in advance presuppose an effort rate and a capacity to save while the effort rate of the poor varies from day to day Mechanisms for saving money used by the poorest segment of the population make use of informal systems which bypass the formal banking system which is also inaccessible to the poorest of the poor

53 Demand for service at home

By developing a flexible commercial service private water vendors make things easier for their customers and thus know how to mobilise the resources ofpoor populations

Il prices vary according to distance (and thus the effort required) and households consent to pay high daily rates in exchange for water delivered to their doorstep

a wide range of service levels is offered according to the economic capacity and needs of the population

25 Gauff Ingenieure Programme de rehabilitation de IAEP de 6 centres semi-urbains - Rapport socio-economique May 1993

[J methods ofpayment are variable by the day or by the week monthly payments are rare since there is a lack of trust between vendors and customers over a relatively long period of time The vendor also bas financial constraints since he must make short-tenn payments within the infonnal economy

[J the number of vendors varies according to demand (more during the dry season in the Sahel countries)

[J supply distances are reduced by means of flexible pipes which allow home delivery and thus do away with long waiting periods

Independent water supply point (Ouagadougou)

Wstlsupply In Iow-income urblln s

Table 5 Comparison ofdistribution network and re-distribution network26

Coverage

Broad geographic coverage

Coverage

Covers space left over by distribution network

Investments

Q High investment

Q Amortisation over several decades

Q Investments spatially fIXed

Q Centralised network plan

eclllmcal systems

Q Electricity

Q Insufficient service at public taps long waiting periods

Investments

Q Moderate investment

Q Light material (stork beak flexible piping various containers vehicles frequently second-hand equipment

Q Configuration of network constantly altered alternative solutions constantly sought

systems

Q Animal or human energy

Q Better service coverage more vendors than public taps home delivery

Administrative system

Q Salaried employees for the most part

Q Impersonal relationship with customers usually by administrative procedures (billing)

Q Advertising necessary

Administrative system

Q No of employed is variable low pay often employs family members

Q Direct personalised relationship no administrative procedures

Q No advertising

Financial systems

Q Fixed rates payment upon receipt of bill (every 2-3 months)

Q Low profit margin per unit but high terms of volume

Q Access to modern credit

in

Financial systems

Q Possibility of flexible payment system (per day per week less often per month)

Q High profrt margin per unit but low in terms of volume

Q No access to modern credit

Indeed the re-distribution system is quite mobile and flexible able to respond to demand The administrative freedom of the re-distribution system allows it to constantly adapt to variable consumption and to changing economic conditions as opposed to the functional rigidity of the water companies27

Public taps (Ouagadougou)

~orel A IHuissier Economie de la distribution de eau aux populations whaines afaible revenu dans les pays en voie de developpement Doctoral Dissertation Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Cbaussees December 1990

27cr Note 8

6 A question of sharing 28

How is this adjustment possible Should the solutions proposed by infonnal sector agents be tolershyated temporarily or on the contrary should they be considered as an integral part of the urban distribution network

61 From community participation to shared management One approach which has been tried out for development of different types of infrastructure and

services in low-income areas is community participation This concept has most often been used to obtain the populations support for govemment programs and thus to help meet institutional standards and make up for the lack of facilities and services The population has usually been encouraged to participate in project implementation by contributions in kind financial contributions or sometimes labour These operations are rarely accompanied by an actual transfer of responsibility so problems in managing the facility installed remain after the implementation ofthe project

It also appears that this concept minimises the various relationships or dynamics existing within a neighbouIhood where the population as a whole is far from homogeneous the failure of numerous management committees set up in several projects is an example ofthis

Lastly failure to take into account the other institutional partners (centralised administrations water companies local collectivities) during the implementation of projects aimed at community participation is undoubtedly one of the reasons for the low sustainability noticed in most of these projects Attempts to set up structures for local management of services within a neighbouIhood without involving relevant institushytions have shown their limitations in the long tenn

Negotiation among the various partners (community suppliers of services public administration) is indeed necessary in order to agree on a definition of their respective roles and on the areas of intervention An approach to partnership needs to be found which will encourage actions undertaken by local communishyties at the neighbouIhood level

62 Management methods When we look at the water supply situation in low-income areas we note that there is a real demand

for home delivery or more accurately for water within the multi-family compound There is a willingness to pay for such a service providing that it is actually rendered The installations and the methods used by venshydors or distributors within the infonnal sector are located at the point where economic feasibility and minishymal obligatory standards converge This management method constitutes a technological and institutional alternative which responds to the demand of communities in precarious areas Can we make allowances for the operational pragmatism of small private entrepreneurs acting at the neighbouIhood level Can we make allowances for unconventional management methods Should services be entirely dependent on national companies

Examples of local management of services (water household waste) are numerous but in most cases this is allowed to occur due to the laxity on the part of the authorities other than a conscious process by the authorities to transfer responsibility In Bamako since 1990 the Governers office has issued a numshyber of pennits to private entrepreneurs living in neighbouIhoods not serviced by the public water system to undertake the extension of the drinking water supply network and to distribute water from public taps loshycated in public areas Extension of the system and installation of the meter are covered in full by the entreshypreneur for fees that are sometimes quite high (1 million FCFA for about 150 meters of piping) Lack of clear role definition among the various institutional agents able to furnish services in the neighbouIhood ofshyten leads to additional fees for the private investors who must pay a lot of commissions in order to obtain the necessary pennits

Small private investors acting at the neighbouIhood level play an important role in furnishing servshyices and seem to have resolved the problems ofcost recovery at their level This situation is advantageous in that it succeeds in covering a part of the demand for water which the state can not afford to satisfy as effishycientlyas it would like to

~or additional information on the concept of shared management see the dissertation of Sylvy JagIin Cf Note 8

Water supply In low-Income urban sress

Water storage in the compound with half-buried clay jars (Ouagadougou)

63 Alternative technologies Can specialised public services allow the exisshy

tence of alternative technologies Have the technologies used and their applicability to conditions in developing countries been questioned

In Ouagadougou distribution via public taps inshydependent water points and vendors represents an examshyple of shared management This distribution method is approved by the administration satisfies in part the deshymands of the population and makes use of local skills In Bamako a pilot water supply project is being impleshymented in the peri-urban areas Small independent netshyworks supplied from boreholes are being built in four neighbourhoods these systems are being managed by local associations This solution was jointly endorsed by the population of the neighbourhoods covered the municipal authorities and centralised technical services because the water company was unable to extend its network to this suburb

29The cost of the connection can be broken down as follows 260 meters of piping at 150 Flmeter 20 meters of flexible piping (10000 F) labour (20000 F) and storks beak (15000 F) The price of a Yacoli pwnp installed by SODECI is 15 million F and the cost of a linear meter of a SODECI connection is 2000 F

Regional WsbtlInd SlInlllltJon Goup - WUt AfrkJs

7 Conclusion It appears that a solution to the problem of water supply to low-income groups must be found by

interfacing public institutions the population and private entrepreneurs in low-income neighbourhoods

The solution of shared management would be profitable for all the parties concerned the water companies who would retain a monopoly only over the portion of the water sector which is profitable acshycording to their operating methods and their standards for equipment for the vendors or infonnal sector disshytributors who would no longer have to work in a semi-clandestine way risking the periodic destruction of their installations and for the poor population who could obtain better service at a more reasonable price thanks to the stimulation of competition due to the recognition of the infonnal re-distribution system for drinking water

Water supply from a tap and storage in barrels in order to

conlTolconsumpnon (Abidjan)

Waiting at a public tap in Boulbinet

(Conakry)

Water supply In Iow-lncome urlJBn SnlSS

References 1 Antoine Dubresson Manou-Savina Abidjan cote cours Ed KarthalalOrstom 1987

2 Jaglin Sylvy Pouvoirs urbains et gestion partagee aOuagadougou equipements et services de proximite dans les peripheries Doctoral dissertation in Uman Studies and Planning University of Paris VJll 1991

3 Regional Water and Sanitation Group - West Africa Enquete sur la volonte de payer en assainisshysement Commune de Port Bouet Abidjan 1993

4 Morel A IHuissier Economie de fa distribution de I eau aux populations urbaines aJaible reveshynu dans les pays en voie de developpement Doctoral dissertation Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussees Paris 1990

List of abbreviations DWS Drinking water supply

EDM Energie du Mali (Mali Power Company)

FCFA Franc ofthe financial community ofWest Africa (1 USS= about 530 FCFA)

IWSP Independent water supply point

NGO Non-govemmental organisation

PVC Polyvinyl chloride

SODECI Societe des Eaux de Cote dIvoire (Ivorian Water Utility)

Printed in Abidjan COte divoire December 1994

Title of the original French document Laimentation en eau en milieu urbain dans les quartiers defavorises Une question de partage

Water supply In Iow-incotrHl urban sss

23 Abidjan

According to the computerised data base of urban indicators for the city of Abidjan4 74 of houseshyholds live in areas served by the public water supply system In the last few years the SODECI has folshylowed a policy of voluntary connections whose number has increased significandy since 1990 in neighbourshyhoods with communal compounds However the practice of redistribution has not disappeared it is now limited to adjacent blocks of houses Distribution of water in this case is usually by flexible hoses connected from one lot to another over the walls of the compound

Twenty-six per cent of households live in areas not covered by the public water supply network (Port Bouet 22 Yopougon 1700 Abobo 13 and Attecouoo 13) In these areas 68 of households have access to drinking water through vending systems from public stand taps or by an extension of the public system by private individuals 32 of households in areas not covered by the network have other sources of water such as rainwater handpumps or surface water

24 Semi-urban areas and suburbs

Water supply facilities in semi-urban areas are unequally matched insufficient unevenly distributed and often poorly maintained For example in Mali out of the thirteen semi-urban areas studied during planning for the strategic water supply plan

5 six piped systems exist one of which is dilapidated and nonshy

functional (Hombori) two offer partial coverage (Diabaly and Kolondieba) and three total coverage (Kangaba Douentza and Bandiagara) In these areas wells (particularly traditional private wells) still playa role which is almost as important as in rural villages Since supply conditions are so difficult conflicts at the water point are frequent and women are the first to shoulder the consequences of the systems deficiencies

Transport ofbaeis bymeansofa wheelbaow (Ouagadougou)

4 Direction et Controle des Grands Travaux Direction des etudes et projets UIbains Services de cartographie uroaine Atelier dUIbanisme dAbidjan Base cartographique informatisee des indicateurs urbains de I agglomeration d Abidjan 1994

5 DNHE PNUD Schema directeur de mise en valeur des ressources en eau enquetes socio-economiques sur I eau et I assainissement en milieu rural et urbain au lvlali1991

3 Situation in low-income areas

31 Persistence of several water sources Water is not always distributed through the public water supply system Other water sources such as

wells and surface water storage systems are frequently used even in large cities

In 1991 studies undertaken for the strategic water supply plan in Mali showed that 62 of the population in urban areas which are under the service area of the national water and power utility (EDM Energie du Mali) and the municipality obtained water from sources other than the public network (eg wells within the compound rivers or private boreholes)

Households also use different water sources for different pwposes For example households use water from handpumps or public taps for drinking purposes only Water quality seems to be clearly undershystood by households living in the urban environment

68 II Vendors Wells

Handpumps River pond

Ifigure 2 water sources in Abidjan (areas not covered by the network)

32 Variable demand over time The demand for water in poor areas varies greatly according to the seasons During the rainy season

a large quantity of water is obtained from surface sources and by collecting rainwater especially in semishyurban and outlying areas In several large cities collecting rainwater in barrels by means ofmakeshift gutters made from corrugated roofing sheets is a common practice

of users

100

1middotmiddot bullIbullbullbullbullt ---------shy

Rainy season

DWells _ Handpumps _ River pond

figure 3 variations in water sources according to season Kangaba Mali

Water transport on the head

(Ouagadougou)

33 Distribution of water by vendors Sale of water by vendors takes many forms and several types of transportation can co-exist in the

same city or even the same district

Q sale through carriers transportation and containers used are varied basins or buckets carried on the head large barrels carried on push-carts or wagons pulled by a donkey or a bicycle In Ouagashydougou for example selling water in barrels is an essential part ofthe distribution system

Q motorised sale via private tanker trucks or sometimes public service employees selling drinking water for their own profit

Q installation of networks by private individuals connected to the public system Since the distrishybution site is often far from the water meter a plumber will use light materials to install a system These improvised systems are usually simple such as the storks beaks made of plastic tubing (Abidjan) they may also include several faucets such as the public tap systems in Banconi (Bamako)

sale through a flexible pipe going from the vendors tap to the consumers barrel or basin

Waterdistribunon by means offlexible pipe and storks beaks (Abidjan)

Table 2 Principal method ofwater supply in low-income areas

Well 27

Water vendors 8

Wells amp vendors 56

Public taps 8

Private connections 9

10

65

11

5

8

The profile ofwater vendors is also variable They may be

private individuals these are often small businessmen (or women) who are engaged in other activishyties thus a family member manages the water tap or people who do not have other activities These individuals subscribe to the water company and generally pay a huge advance for the service

associations these may be water committees as at Klela in Mali or water management committees as in several areas of Bamako These committees and associations occasionally experience problems with the population which they represent due to irregularities in their management of finances the large number ofmembers ofthese committees tends to dilute their responsibilities

The revenue of these vendors is variable but seems for the most part higher than the average meshydian income for most West African cities (cf Table 3)

Table 3 Profit margin ofwater vendors according to type ofinstallation

IWSP 3000 600000 250000 60000 25000 265000 88Ouagadougou9

Public tap 270 67500 24300 43200 160Bamako lO

Water vendor 200 150000 73600 15000 61400 307Abidjanll

6 cf Note 5

7 Regional Water and Sanitation Group - West Africa Enqulte SIIr 10 volante de paJlftren asaainissement Commllllf de Port Boult Abidjan 1993

8 Jaglin SylVY Pouvoin urbains et geman partagee Ii Ouagadoflgotl equipemenu et services de proximite dana les peripheries These de doctorat en urbanisme et amenagement Universite de Paris vm 1991

9 BUROEAP Caisse Franyaise de Developpement Etude de CQ3 SIIr Ieau et 10 sante dana les quartien urbains defavorises 1994

10 cf Note 9

11 Regional Water and Sanitation Group - West Africa Survey October 1994

Djenne Koro Banconi Bolibana

WstBr upply In 1ow-lntJOmfl urlNln fires

Flexible pipe from the connection to the compound (Abidjan)

Filling up ofwater barrels in the compound (Abidjan)

Water transported by vending systems gets to the consumer at much higher prices than the rates for private connections or at the public tap (Figure 4) In low-income areas even those covered by the public water supply netwOIk sale ofwater is still very frequent For example in one-storey communal compounds in Abidjan when the owner of the compound (or a tenant household) has a private connection the water is often sold to other households in the compound

FCFA 1

Official price Price at public tap bull Price delivered to customers home

figure 4 price of cubic meter of water at various stages in the distribution network12

12 Prices given for Djenne Koro and Banconi (Mali) are those noted before devaluation of the CFA franc For Bolibana (Abidjan) the price given is that following devaluation

Regional Water andSanltlJtJon Groupmiddot West Africa

34 Questionable water quality

Whatever the source of water supply transport transfer and storage of water in various containers (often to better limit consumption) multiply the potential sources ofcontamination

A study carried out in a small city in Kivu (Zaire) in 1989 showed that the number of episodes of dianhoea per year for children aged two to three years increased in proportion to the distance from the gubshylic tap the risks are triple for a child living more than five minutes walking distance from the public tap 3

In Ouagadougou the variations in the rate of residual chlorine between the water source (public tap) and the storage container were measured taking into account the duration of storage

l4 These observations

showed that the rate of residual chlorine was very variable at the same point in the network and fluctuated widely over time over a period of three days variations of 0 to 13 mgll were noted Chlorine breaks down rapidly in clay jars thus a concentration of 05 mgll of chlorine at the beginning of the storage period is not sufficient since it is rapidly degraded by the multiple contaminations which take place during transport and storage of water at the home After four hours of storage the chlorine had practically disappeared from all the containers (Figure 5)

The duration of water storage in the home varies from 4 to 29 hours with an average duration of 16 hours At this point chlorine has disappeared completely from all the containers For 26 containers analysed and used to store water for more than four hours 85 were contaminated and only 15 met the drinkin~ water standards (0 faecal coliform per 100 mi) The percentage of contaminated containers rises over time I

RM ___MH bullbullbullbull______H__bullbullH _____H____________bullbull__bullbullbull_______ _____________bull___________________________bullbull____________ ___bull ____________H___H _________

06

05

04

03

02

01

~ - -~ - - -shy

- - - ~ - - - - - - - - - - -

- - - - - -- ~ - - - - - - - - - - - - shy

-ltgt-Sample 1

-O-Sample2

- fs -Sample 3

--------A--------------shy shyshy

------------~---~---------------- - o +---------~--------~--------~---------Q

Network TO TO + 2 h TO +4 h TO + 8 h

figure 5 variation in rate of residual chlorine in water stored in the home (mgl)

13 ZairelUSA SANRU project Results othe Kirotshe Impact Study 1989

14 Empereur-BissonnetP L eau de boisson en milieu rural africain evaluation des methodes destinees II ameliorer la qualite micro-biologique Medecine thesis Paris 1989

15 Cf Note 14

4 Social policy regarding water and constraints of poor populations

Water companies have tried several solutions for improving water supply in low-income areas These approaches based on a generous principle of facilitating access to the drinking water supply network for poor populations however face difficulties and perverse effects which limit or even aggravate the situashytion in precarious areas

41 Public taps

Supply from a hand pump in an outlying area (Ouagadougou)

Public taps installed during the colonial period or shortly after independence where water was disshytributed free of charge have been progressively done away with in most of the countries of the sub-region 16

City districts which were responsible for managing these public taps and for covering the cost of the water consumed have experienced greater and greater difficulties in paying the water bills Where public taps still exist their management has been privati sed which has usually given positive results Awareness of the value of water has increased among the authorities who have accepted the principle of privatisation of pubshylic taps as well as among the population who consent to pay for water at the taps

The proportion ofthe population directly served by public taps is however quite small In Bamako only 20 of the population is directly served by public taps or by independent water supply points In Abidjan as of 1994 there were 290 public taps ie a service rate of about 5 of the population 17 and with 30 of the households not connected to the public water supply network

Because of their cost public taps which are generally installed within projects financed by develshyopment organisations or NGOs are relatively few and require their users to transport water over quite large distances Their number is insufficient to constitute any real competition for water vendors or to reduce the price ofwater delivered directly to the home

Improvements wished for by consumers are mainly an increase in water flow at the tap or an inshycrease in the number of faucets (in order to reduce waiting time) and better disposition or installation of taps related to the method oftransporting water (installation ofplatforms height of faucets)

16 Except in Conakry where the numerous public taps in the district ofKaloum continue to distribute water free of charge in spite of an agreement to privatise them endorsed by the national and local authorities and the water company

17 Estimate based on an average quantity of 200 cubic meters distributed per month and per tap and a consumption rate of 20 lIdayinhabitant

Rfl[JlonMMttertmd 8tMJtIIIItM GnHJp bull ~

42 Subsidised water supply for low-income groups Does a so~led social policy based on the argument of income distribution (whereby huge conshy

sumers subsidise small ones) really help the poorest ofthe poor

It has been shown in the preceding paragraphs that the majority of residents of poor areas purchase water from vendors A water vendor consumes a large quantity of water and thus pays the rate applicable to high water consumption His high unit purchase price is thus passed on to his customers although they are in the lowest income group

If we take Cote dIvoire as an example

[J break-even price ofml ofwater 180 F

[J subsidised rate 159 F

[J household rate (avemge consumption 91-300 ml) 368F

[J average price paid by the population 750F

For the 750 F paid by the poor users for a cubic meter of water the SODECI receives 368 F This figure can be broken down as follows (See Figure 6) break-even price (180 F) + subsidy (x F) + profit margin of vendor (y F) Thus the poor population is paying for a subsidy which they should theoretically receive but which they never do

Poor population 382 Fm3 Vendor---750 Fm3 I------~

Subsidies Water

reak-even price + other company

figure 6 who is subsidising whom

A study carried out in Kumasi (Ghana)18 also showed the negative effects of a progressive tariff on the poor population of this city for two reasons first of all in densely populated areas several low-income households (eleven or more households on the avemge) frequently living in the same building share a water connection located in the courtyard and divide the water bill according to the size of the household number of rooms occupied and so forth The progressive tariff applied results in a situation where these households pay more for water than a household which has its own water connection In addition many poor houseshyholds who cannot afford to have a private or collective connection purchase water from their neighbours thus increasing the consumption of the connection and consequently the unit price ofwater which is passed on to the purchaser

Thus it is clear that the poor finance in part the subsidy of the progIessive tariff which is intended for their benefit and from which wealthier people profit as well as extensions of the distribution network which are not in their neighbowhoods (Figure 6)

We need to question the faimess of social policies as long as a large proportion of the population does not have private connections

111 Whittington Dale Possible advene effects ofincrea8ing block water tarlffi in developing ccnmtriel The University ofChi~ 01992

WtBr supply In fow-inCOllHl urblln I11f1II8

43 Subsidised water connections 19

This type of connection consists in having the conswner pay the cost of papershywork the cost of installing the water meter and an advance on conswnption while the connecshytion is generally paid for through a developshyment fund or external subsidies After the deshyvaluation several countries again reduced the cost of subsidised connections In Cote dIvoire for example only the advance on conswnption and the cost of paperwork are paid by the conswner ie 18750 F as a lump

22swn payment

Looking at household inshycome the majority of households living in precarious housing seem to have little access to subsidised conshynections especially if we consider that for this segment of the populashytion food purchases constitute about 80 ofexpenditures

The limits of social approaches which have been proposed up to the present are as follows

Cl Public and collective solushytions are too few when comshypared to the needs in poor arshyeas (long waiting periods long distances to water points)

Lack of flexibility in payment methods for connections and water bills Whatever solushytions are proposed to reduce the cost of connections poor households do not have easy access to them In addition the due dates for bills (every two or even three months)

Resale ofwater make it difficult for houseshyfrom a connection holds with only small and irshyin a compound (Abidjan) regular incomes to make the

payments A private connecshytion also implies an increase

19 This reasoning can also be applied to connections carried out on credit proposed in Senegal Cameroon and Gabon

w Direction et Contr61e des Grands Travaux Direction des etudes et projets mbains Atelier dmbanisme dAbidjan Analyse des filieres de prodllction de terrains ll1bains et de logements caracterisation de fa demande de logements reSllltats de Ienquite socio-economique OIlpreS des menages (the results are from a survey carried out in October 1993) June 1994

21 BURGEAP Caisse Fran~aise de Developpement EtIlde de cas SIlr leOll et la sante dons les qIlQrtiers Ilrbains defavorises March 1994

n Before the devaluation the price paid by the conswner for a free connection amounted to 22000 F (installation of meter 7000 F Pape1Work 2000 F advance on conswnption 13000 F)

in metered water consumption and as a result an increase in expenses

Current approaches imply an ability to save money which low-income groups do not have The study carried out in August through October 1993 on 5441 households in Abidjan23 emphasised that 62 of households throughout the city said that they are unable to save money In precarious housing areas or poor neighbourhoods 70 of household heads stated that they are unable to save any money For those who are able to save the average amount saved is 9600 FCFA per month In compound housing 65 of heads ofhouseholds stated that they are unable to save at all Those who are able to save save an average of 16400 FCFA

Table 4 Cost ofwater connection compared to main monthly income ofa tenant head ofhousehold in Abidjan24 (FCFA)

Improvised housing

Evolving housing

37750F

60000F

18750 F

18750 F

2500 F

2500 F

497

313

66

42

Water supply from a well in an area with a superficial ground water table (Abidjan)

23 cr Note 20 24 cr Note 20

Water supply In IoWwincomll urblln IIrBlIS

5 A question of adjustment

With the hope of ensuring fairness water companies and funding agencies have applied solutions which have allowed a greater proportion of households to have access to drinking water Thus even more than the water tariff which still remains an important factor in the implementation of social policy it is essential to consider the conditions ofaccess to water supply in terms ofthe daily constraints experienced by the population of poor neighbourhoods

51 The willingness to pay of low-income groups is real

They are not asking for free water Several examples show that the myth of free water has been declining over the last few years

Il In Bangui a pilot project in 1986 installed six public taps (where water would be paid for) in two neighbourhoods of the city In 1987 a political decision made these taps free of charge This decision led to a degradation in the functioning of the water supply and less flexibility in supply in particular regarding operating hours The residents themselves quickly protested against the situation which eventually led to re-instating the fees one month after they were suspended

Although the income allocated to payment of water bills represents a large proportion of the budget of low-income families the price does not seem to be perceived as a limiting factor by the population of peri-urban areas or poor neighbourhoods A study carried out in six semi-urban areas in Mali

25 showed that the highest consumption per resident was in the city of Nara (1511inhabishy

tantJday as compared to 65 VinhabitantJday on average for the six cities) however the unit price is highest in Nara (750 to 1500 F in Nara as compared to 500 to 1000 F in the other cities)

When one adds up the amounts spent daily poor sections of the population pay proportionally more for access to good drinking water as compared to their incomes They therefore have access to monetary resources but lack ways to mobilise them effectively

52 Purchase of small quantities but every day

Households purchase water daily since their incomes are small as well as irregular which does not allow them to save money in order to pay for a private connection or to pay a bill every two or three months Daily purchase of water also allows the possibility of reducing expenditures whenever possible people make use of other sources of water (rainwater collection for example) water bought on a daily basis is stored in metal or pottery containers which allows better control over the quantity consumed and thus avoids waste

The notion of effort rate often used in socio-economic studies to better define demand and the financial capacity of households only has meaning for the segment of the population whose income is high enough and regular enough to allow them to save money Mechanisms for deduction in advance presuppose an effort rate and a capacity to save while the effort rate of the poor varies from day to day Mechanisms for saving money used by the poorest segment of the population make use of informal systems which bypass the formal banking system which is also inaccessible to the poorest of the poor

53 Demand for service at home

By developing a flexible commercial service private water vendors make things easier for their customers and thus know how to mobilise the resources ofpoor populations

Il prices vary according to distance (and thus the effort required) and households consent to pay high daily rates in exchange for water delivered to their doorstep

a wide range of service levels is offered according to the economic capacity and needs of the population

25 Gauff Ingenieure Programme de rehabilitation de IAEP de 6 centres semi-urbains - Rapport socio-economique May 1993

[J methods ofpayment are variable by the day or by the week monthly payments are rare since there is a lack of trust between vendors and customers over a relatively long period of time The vendor also bas financial constraints since he must make short-tenn payments within the infonnal economy

[J the number of vendors varies according to demand (more during the dry season in the Sahel countries)

[J supply distances are reduced by means of flexible pipes which allow home delivery and thus do away with long waiting periods

Independent water supply point (Ouagadougou)

Wstlsupply In Iow-income urblln s

Table 5 Comparison ofdistribution network and re-distribution network26

Coverage

Broad geographic coverage

Coverage

Covers space left over by distribution network

Investments

Q High investment

Q Amortisation over several decades

Q Investments spatially fIXed

Q Centralised network plan

eclllmcal systems

Q Electricity

Q Insufficient service at public taps long waiting periods

Investments

Q Moderate investment

Q Light material (stork beak flexible piping various containers vehicles frequently second-hand equipment

Q Configuration of network constantly altered alternative solutions constantly sought

systems

Q Animal or human energy

Q Better service coverage more vendors than public taps home delivery

Administrative system

Q Salaried employees for the most part

Q Impersonal relationship with customers usually by administrative procedures (billing)

Q Advertising necessary

Administrative system

Q No of employed is variable low pay often employs family members

Q Direct personalised relationship no administrative procedures

Q No advertising

Financial systems

Q Fixed rates payment upon receipt of bill (every 2-3 months)

Q Low profit margin per unit but high terms of volume

Q Access to modern credit

in

Financial systems

Q Possibility of flexible payment system (per day per week less often per month)

Q High profrt margin per unit but low in terms of volume

Q No access to modern credit

Indeed the re-distribution system is quite mobile and flexible able to respond to demand The administrative freedom of the re-distribution system allows it to constantly adapt to variable consumption and to changing economic conditions as opposed to the functional rigidity of the water companies27

Public taps (Ouagadougou)

~orel A IHuissier Economie de la distribution de eau aux populations whaines afaible revenu dans les pays en voie de developpement Doctoral Dissertation Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Cbaussees December 1990

27cr Note 8

6 A question of sharing 28

How is this adjustment possible Should the solutions proposed by infonnal sector agents be tolershyated temporarily or on the contrary should they be considered as an integral part of the urban distribution network

61 From community participation to shared management One approach which has been tried out for development of different types of infrastructure and

services in low-income areas is community participation This concept has most often been used to obtain the populations support for govemment programs and thus to help meet institutional standards and make up for the lack of facilities and services The population has usually been encouraged to participate in project implementation by contributions in kind financial contributions or sometimes labour These operations are rarely accompanied by an actual transfer of responsibility so problems in managing the facility installed remain after the implementation ofthe project

It also appears that this concept minimises the various relationships or dynamics existing within a neighbouIhood where the population as a whole is far from homogeneous the failure of numerous management committees set up in several projects is an example ofthis

Lastly failure to take into account the other institutional partners (centralised administrations water companies local collectivities) during the implementation of projects aimed at community participation is undoubtedly one of the reasons for the low sustainability noticed in most of these projects Attempts to set up structures for local management of services within a neighbouIhood without involving relevant institushytions have shown their limitations in the long tenn

Negotiation among the various partners (community suppliers of services public administration) is indeed necessary in order to agree on a definition of their respective roles and on the areas of intervention An approach to partnership needs to be found which will encourage actions undertaken by local communishyties at the neighbouIhood level

62 Management methods When we look at the water supply situation in low-income areas we note that there is a real demand

for home delivery or more accurately for water within the multi-family compound There is a willingness to pay for such a service providing that it is actually rendered The installations and the methods used by venshydors or distributors within the infonnal sector are located at the point where economic feasibility and minishymal obligatory standards converge This management method constitutes a technological and institutional alternative which responds to the demand of communities in precarious areas Can we make allowances for the operational pragmatism of small private entrepreneurs acting at the neighbouIhood level Can we make allowances for unconventional management methods Should services be entirely dependent on national companies

Examples of local management of services (water household waste) are numerous but in most cases this is allowed to occur due to the laxity on the part of the authorities other than a conscious process by the authorities to transfer responsibility In Bamako since 1990 the Governers office has issued a numshyber of pennits to private entrepreneurs living in neighbouIhoods not serviced by the public water system to undertake the extension of the drinking water supply network and to distribute water from public taps loshycated in public areas Extension of the system and installation of the meter are covered in full by the entreshypreneur for fees that are sometimes quite high (1 million FCFA for about 150 meters of piping) Lack of clear role definition among the various institutional agents able to furnish services in the neighbouIhood ofshyten leads to additional fees for the private investors who must pay a lot of commissions in order to obtain the necessary pennits

Small private investors acting at the neighbouIhood level play an important role in furnishing servshyices and seem to have resolved the problems ofcost recovery at their level This situation is advantageous in that it succeeds in covering a part of the demand for water which the state can not afford to satisfy as effishycientlyas it would like to

~or additional information on the concept of shared management see the dissertation of Sylvy JagIin Cf Note 8

Water supply In low-Income urban sress

Water storage in the compound with half-buried clay jars (Ouagadougou)

63 Alternative technologies Can specialised public services allow the exisshy

tence of alternative technologies Have the technologies used and their applicability to conditions in developing countries been questioned

In Ouagadougou distribution via public taps inshydependent water points and vendors represents an examshyple of shared management This distribution method is approved by the administration satisfies in part the deshymands of the population and makes use of local skills In Bamako a pilot water supply project is being impleshymented in the peri-urban areas Small independent netshyworks supplied from boreholes are being built in four neighbourhoods these systems are being managed by local associations This solution was jointly endorsed by the population of the neighbourhoods covered the municipal authorities and centralised technical services because the water company was unable to extend its network to this suburb

29The cost of the connection can be broken down as follows 260 meters of piping at 150 Flmeter 20 meters of flexible piping (10000 F) labour (20000 F) and storks beak (15000 F) The price of a Yacoli pwnp installed by SODECI is 15 million F and the cost of a linear meter of a SODECI connection is 2000 F

Regional WsbtlInd SlInlllltJon Goup - WUt AfrkJs

7 Conclusion It appears that a solution to the problem of water supply to low-income groups must be found by

interfacing public institutions the population and private entrepreneurs in low-income neighbourhoods

The solution of shared management would be profitable for all the parties concerned the water companies who would retain a monopoly only over the portion of the water sector which is profitable acshycording to their operating methods and their standards for equipment for the vendors or infonnal sector disshytributors who would no longer have to work in a semi-clandestine way risking the periodic destruction of their installations and for the poor population who could obtain better service at a more reasonable price thanks to the stimulation of competition due to the recognition of the infonnal re-distribution system for drinking water

Water supply from a tap and storage in barrels in order to

conlTolconsumpnon (Abidjan)

Waiting at a public tap in Boulbinet

(Conakry)

Water supply In Iow-lncome urlJBn SnlSS

References 1 Antoine Dubresson Manou-Savina Abidjan cote cours Ed KarthalalOrstom 1987

2 Jaglin Sylvy Pouvoirs urbains et gestion partagee aOuagadougou equipements et services de proximite dans les peripheries Doctoral dissertation in Uman Studies and Planning University of Paris VJll 1991

3 Regional Water and Sanitation Group - West Africa Enquete sur la volonte de payer en assainisshysement Commune de Port Bouet Abidjan 1993

4 Morel A IHuissier Economie de fa distribution de I eau aux populations urbaines aJaible reveshynu dans les pays en voie de developpement Doctoral dissertation Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussees Paris 1990

List of abbreviations DWS Drinking water supply

EDM Energie du Mali (Mali Power Company)

FCFA Franc ofthe financial community ofWest Africa (1 USS= about 530 FCFA)

IWSP Independent water supply point

NGO Non-govemmental organisation

PVC Polyvinyl chloride

SODECI Societe des Eaux de Cote dIvoire (Ivorian Water Utility)

Printed in Abidjan COte divoire December 1994

Title of the original French document Laimentation en eau en milieu urbain dans les quartiers defavorises Une question de partage

3 Situation in low-income areas

31 Persistence of several water sources Water is not always distributed through the public water supply system Other water sources such as

wells and surface water storage systems are frequently used even in large cities

In 1991 studies undertaken for the strategic water supply plan in Mali showed that 62 of the population in urban areas which are under the service area of the national water and power utility (EDM Energie du Mali) and the municipality obtained water from sources other than the public network (eg wells within the compound rivers or private boreholes)

Households also use different water sources for different pwposes For example households use water from handpumps or public taps for drinking purposes only Water quality seems to be clearly undershystood by households living in the urban environment

68 II Vendors Wells

Handpumps River pond

Ifigure 2 water sources in Abidjan (areas not covered by the network)

32 Variable demand over time The demand for water in poor areas varies greatly according to the seasons During the rainy season

a large quantity of water is obtained from surface sources and by collecting rainwater especially in semishyurban and outlying areas In several large cities collecting rainwater in barrels by means ofmakeshift gutters made from corrugated roofing sheets is a common practice

of users

100

1middotmiddot bullIbullbullbullbullt ---------shy

Rainy season

DWells _ Handpumps _ River pond

figure 3 variations in water sources according to season Kangaba Mali

Water transport on the head

(Ouagadougou)

33 Distribution of water by vendors Sale of water by vendors takes many forms and several types of transportation can co-exist in the

same city or even the same district

Q sale through carriers transportation and containers used are varied basins or buckets carried on the head large barrels carried on push-carts or wagons pulled by a donkey or a bicycle In Ouagashydougou for example selling water in barrels is an essential part ofthe distribution system

Q motorised sale via private tanker trucks or sometimes public service employees selling drinking water for their own profit

Q installation of networks by private individuals connected to the public system Since the distrishybution site is often far from the water meter a plumber will use light materials to install a system These improvised systems are usually simple such as the storks beaks made of plastic tubing (Abidjan) they may also include several faucets such as the public tap systems in Banconi (Bamako)

sale through a flexible pipe going from the vendors tap to the consumers barrel or basin

Waterdistribunon by means offlexible pipe and storks beaks (Abidjan)

Table 2 Principal method ofwater supply in low-income areas

Well 27

Water vendors 8

Wells amp vendors 56

Public taps 8

Private connections 9

10

65

11

5

8

The profile ofwater vendors is also variable They may be

private individuals these are often small businessmen (or women) who are engaged in other activishyties thus a family member manages the water tap or people who do not have other activities These individuals subscribe to the water company and generally pay a huge advance for the service

associations these may be water committees as at Klela in Mali or water management committees as in several areas of Bamako These committees and associations occasionally experience problems with the population which they represent due to irregularities in their management of finances the large number ofmembers ofthese committees tends to dilute their responsibilities

The revenue of these vendors is variable but seems for the most part higher than the average meshydian income for most West African cities (cf Table 3)

Table 3 Profit margin ofwater vendors according to type ofinstallation

IWSP 3000 600000 250000 60000 25000 265000 88Ouagadougou9

Public tap 270 67500 24300 43200 160Bamako lO

Water vendor 200 150000 73600 15000 61400 307Abidjanll

6 cf Note 5

7 Regional Water and Sanitation Group - West Africa Enqulte SIIr 10 volante de paJlftren asaainissement Commllllf de Port Boult Abidjan 1993

8 Jaglin SylVY Pouvoin urbains et geman partagee Ii Ouagadoflgotl equipemenu et services de proximite dana les peripheries These de doctorat en urbanisme et amenagement Universite de Paris vm 1991

9 BUROEAP Caisse Franyaise de Developpement Etude de CQ3 SIIr Ieau et 10 sante dana les quartien urbains defavorises 1994

10 cf Note 9

11 Regional Water and Sanitation Group - West Africa Survey October 1994

Djenne Koro Banconi Bolibana

WstBr upply In 1ow-lntJOmfl urlNln fires

Flexible pipe from the connection to the compound (Abidjan)

Filling up ofwater barrels in the compound (Abidjan)

Water transported by vending systems gets to the consumer at much higher prices than the rates for private connections or at the public tap (Figure 4) In low-income areas even those covered by the public water supply netwOIk sale ofwater is still very frequent For example in one-storey communal compounds in Abidjan when the owner of the compound (or a tenant household) has a private connection the water is often sold to other households in the compound

FCFA 1

Official price Price at public tap bull Price delivered to customers home

figure 4 price of cubic meter of water at various stages in the distribution network12

12 Prices given for Djenne Koro and Banconi (Mali) are those noted before devaluation of the CFA franc For Bolibana (Abidjan) the price given is that following devaluation

Regional Water andSanltlJtJon Groupmiddot West Africa

34 Questionable water quality

Whatever the source of water supply transport transfer and storage of water in various containers (often to better limit consumption) multiply the potential sources ofcontamination

A study carried out in a small city in Kivu (Zaire) in 1989 showed that the number of episodes of dianhoea per year for children aged two to three years increased in proportion to the distance from the gubshylic tap the risks are triple for a child living more than five minutes walking distance from the public tap 3

In Ouagadougou the variations in the rate of residual chlorine between the water source (public tap) and the storage container were measured taking into account the duration of storage

l4 These observations

showed that the rate of residual chlorine was very variable at the same point in the network and fluctuated widely over time over a period of three days variations of 0 to 13 mgll were noted Chlorine breaks down rapidly in clay jars thus a concentration of 05 mgll of chlorine at the beginning of the storage period is not sufficient since it is rapidly degraded by the multiple contaminations which take place during transport and storage of water at the home After four hours of storage the chlorine had practically disappeared from all the containers (Figure 5)

The duration of water storage in the home varies from 4 to 29 hours with an average duration of 16 hours At this point chlorine has disappeared completely from all the containers For 26 containers analysed and used to store water for more than four hours 85 were contaminated and only 15 met the drinkin~ water standards (0 faecal coliform per 100 mi) The percentage of contaminated containers rises over time I

RM ___MH bullbullbullbull______H__bullbullH _____H____________bullbull__bullbullbull_______ _____________bull___________________________bullbull____________ ___bull ____________H___H _________

06

05

04

03

02

01

~ - -~ - - -shy

- - - ~ - - - - - - - - - - -

- - - - - -- ~ - - - - - - - - - - - - shy

-ltgt-Sample 1

-O-Sample2

- fs -Sample 3

--------A--------------shy shyshy

------------~---~---------------- - o +---------~--------~--------~---------Q

Network TO TO + 2 h TO +4 h TO + 8 h

figure 5 variation in rate of residual chlorine in water stored in the home (mgl)

13 ZairelUSA SANRU project Results othe Kirotshe Impact Study 1989

14 Empereur-BissonnetP L eau de boisson en milieu rural africain evaluation des methodes destinees II ameliorer la qualite micro-biologique Medecine thesis Paris 1989

15 Cf Note 14

4 Social policy regarding water and constraints of poor populations

Water companies have tried several solutions for improving water supply in low-income areas These approaches based on a generous principle of facilitating access to the drinking water supply network for poor populations however face difficulties and perverse effects which limit or even aggravate the situashytion in precarious areas

41 Public taps

Supply from a hand pump in an outlying area (Ouagadougou)

Public taps installed during the colonial period or shortly after independence where water was disshytributed free of charge have been progressively done away with in most of the countries of the sub-region 16

City districts which were responsible for managing these public taps and for covering the cost of the water consumed have experienced greater and greater difficulties in paying the water bills Where public taps still exist their management has been privati sed which has usually given positive results Awareness of the value of water has increased among the authorities who have accepted the principle of privatisation of pubshylic taps as well as among the population who consent to pay for water at the taps

The proportion ofthe population directly served by public taps is however quite small In Bamako only 20 of the population is directly served by public taps or by independent water supply points In Abidjan as of 1994 there were 290 public taps ie a service rate of about 5 of the population 17 and with 30 of the households not connected to the public water supply network

Because of their cost public taps which are generally installed within projects financed by develshyopment organisations or NGOs are relatively few and require their users to transport water over quite large distances Their number is insufficient to constitute any real competition for water vendors or to reduce the price ofwater delivered directly to the home

Improvements wished for by consumers are mainly an increase in water flow at the tap or an inshycrease in the number of faucets (in order to reduce waiting time) and better disposition or installation of taps related to the method oftransporting water (installation ofplatforms height of faucets)

16 Except in Conakry where the numerous public taps in the district ofKaloum continue to distribute water free of charge in spite of an agreement to privatise them endorsed by the national and local authorities and the water company

17 Estimate based on an average quantity of 200 cubic meters distributed per month and per tap and a consumption rate of 20 lIdayinhabitant

Rfl[JlonMMttertmd 8tMJtIIIItM GnHJp bull ~

42 Subsidised water supply for low-income groups Does a so~led social policy based on the argument of income distribution (whereby huge conshy

sumers subsidise small ones) really help the poorest ofthe poor

It has been shown in the preceding paragraphs that the majority of residents of poor areas purchase water from vendors A water vendor consumes a large quantity of water and thus pays the rate applicable to high water consumption His high unit purchase price is thus passed on to his customers although they are in the lowest income group

If we take Cote dIvoire as an example

[J break-even price ofml ofwater 180 F

[J subsidised rate 159 F

[J household rate (avemge consumption 91-300 ml) 368F

[J average price paid by the population 750F

For the 750 F paid by the poor users for a cubic meter of water the SODECI receives 368 F This figure can be broken down as follows (See Figure 6) break-even price (180 F) + subsidy (x F) + profit margin of vendor (y F) Thus the poor population is paying for a subsidy which they should theoretically receive but which they never do

Poor population 382 Fm3 Vendor---750 Fm3 I------~

Subsidies Water

reak-even price + other company

figure 6 who is subsidising whom

A study carried out in Kumasi (Ghana)18 also showed the negative effects of a progressive tariff on the poor population of this city for two reasons first of all in densely populated areas several low-income households (eleven or more households on the avemge) frequently living in the same building share a water connection located in the courtyard and divide the water bill according to the size of the household number of rooms occupied and so forth The progressive tariff applied results in a situation where these households pay more for water than a household which has its own water connection In addition many poor houseshyholds who cannot afford to have a private or collective connection purchase water from their neighbours thus increasing the consumption of the connection and consequently the unit price ofwater which is passed on to the purchaser

Thus it is clear that the poor finance in part the subsidy of the progIessive tariff which is intended for their benefit and from which wealthier people profit as well as extensions of the distribution network which are not in their neighbowhoods (Figure 6)

We need to question the faimess of social policies as long as a large proportion of the population does not have private connections

111 Whittington Dale Possible advene effects ofincrea8ing block water tarlffi in developing ccnmtriel The University ofChi~ 01992

WtBr supply In fow-inCOllHl urblln I11f1II8

43 Subsidised water connections 19

This type of connection consists in having the conswner pay the cost of papershywork the cost of installing the water meter and an advance on conswnption while the connecshytion is generally paid for through a developshyment fund or external subsidies After the deshyvaluation several countries again reduced the cost of subsidised connections In Cote dIvoire for example only the advance on conswnption and the cost of paperwork are paid by the conswner ie 18750 F as a lump

22swn payment

Looking at household inshycome the majority of households living in precarious housing seem to have little access to subsidised conshynections especially if we consider that for this segment of the populashytion food purchases constitute about 80 ofexpenditures

The limits of social approaches which have been proposed up to the present are as follows

Cl Public and collective solushytions are too few when comshypared to the needs in poor arshyeas (long waiting periods long distances to water points)

Lack of flexibility in payment methods for connections and water bills Whatever solushytions are proposed to reduce the cost of connections poor households do not have easy access to them In addition the due dates for bills (every two or even three months)

Resale ofwater make it difficult for houseshyfrom a connection holds with only small and irshyin a compound (Abidjan) regular incomes to make the

payments A private connecshytion also implies an increase

19 This reasoning can also be applied to connections carried out on credit proposed in Senegal Cameroon and Gabon

w Direction et Contr61e des Grands Travaux Direction des etudes et projets mbains Atelier dmbanisme dAbidjan Analyse des filieres de prodllction de terrains ll1bains et de logements caracterisation de fa demande de logements reSllltats de Ienquite socio-economique OIlpreS des menages (the results are from a survey carried out in October 1993) June 1994

21 BURGEAP Caisse Fran~aise de Developpement EtIlde de cas SIlr leOll et la sante dons les qIlQrtiers Ilrbains defavorises March 1994

n Before the devaluation the price paid by the conswner for a free connection amounted to 22000 F (installation of meter 7000 F Pape1Work 2000 F advance on conswnption 13000 F)

in metered water consumption and as a result an increase in expenses

Current approaches imply an ability to save money which low-income groups do not have The study carried out in August through October 1993 on 5441 households in Abidjan23 emphasised that 62 of households throughout the city said that they are unable to save money In precarious housing areas or poor neighbourhoods 70 of household heads stated that they are unable to save any money For those who are able to save the average amount saved is 9600 FCFA per month In compound housing 65 of heads ofhouseholds stated that they are unable to save at all Those who are able to save save an average of 16400 FCFA

Table 4 Cost ofwater connection compared to main monthly income ofa tenant head ofhousehold in Abidjan24 (FCFA)

Improvised housing

Evolving housing

37750F

60000F

18750 F

18750 F

2500 F

2500 F

497

313

66

42

Water supply from a well in an area with a superficial ground water table (Abidjan)

23 cr Note 20 24 cr Note 20

Water supply In IoWwincomll urblln IIrBlIS

5 A question of adjustment

With the hope of ensuring fairness water companies and funding agencies have applied solutions which have allowed a greater proportion of households to have access to drinking water Thus even more than the water tariff which still remains an important factor in the implementation of social policy it is essential to consider the conditions ofaccess to water supply in terms ofthe daily constraints experienced by the population of poor neighbourhoods

51 The willingness to pay of low-income groups is real

They are not asking for free water Several examples show that the myth of free water has been declining over the last few years

Il In Bangui a pilot project in 1986 installed six public taps (where water would be paid for) in two neighbourhoods of the city In 1987 a political decision made these taps free of charge This decision led to a degradation in the functioning of the water supply and less flexibility in supply in particular regarding operating hours The residents themselves quickly protested against the situation which eventually led to re-instating the fees one month after they were suspended

Although the income allocated to payment of water bills represents a large proportion of the budget of low-income families the price does not seem to be perceived as a limiting factor by the population of peri-urban areas or poor neighbourhoods A study carried out in six semi-urban areas in Mali

25 showed that the highest consumption per resident was in the city of Nara (1511inhabishy

tantJday as compared to 65 VinhabitantJday on average for the six cities) however the unit price is highest in Nara (750 to 1500 F in Nara as compared to 500 to 1000 F in the other cities)

When one adds up the amounts spent daily poor sections of the population pay proportionally more for access to good drinking water as compared to their incomes They therefore have access to monetary resources but lack ways to mobilise them effectively

52 Purchase of small quantities but every day

Households purchase water daily since their incomes are small as well as irregular which does not allow them to save money in order to pay for a private connection or to pay a bill every two or three months Daily purchase of water also allows the possibility of reducing expenditures whenever possible people make use of other sources of water (rainwater collection for example) water bought on a daily basis is stored in metal or pottery containers which allows better control over the quantity consumed and thus avoids waste

The notion of effort rate often used in socio-economic studies to better define demand and the financial capacity of households only has meaning for the segment of the population whose income is high enough and regular enough to allow them to save money Mechanisms for deduction in advance presuppose an effort rate and a capacity to save while the effort rate of the poor varies from day to day Mechanisms for saving money used by the poorest segment of the population make use of informal systems which bypass the formal banking system which is also inaccessible to the poorest of the poor

53 Demand for service at home

By developing a flexible commercial service private water vendors make things easier for their customers and thus know how to mobilise the resources ofpoor populations

Il prices vary according to distance (and thus the effort required) and households consent to pay high daily rates in exchange for water delivered to their doorstep

a wide range of service levels is offered according to the economic capacity and needs of the population

25 Gauff Ingenieure Programme de rehabilitation de IAEP de 6 centres semi-urbains - Rapport socio-economique May 1993

[J methods ofpayment are variable by the day or by the week monthly payments are rare since there is a lack of trust between vendors and customers over a relatively long period of time The vendor also bas financial constraints since he must make short-tenn payments within the infonnal economy

[J the number of vendors varies according to demand (more during the dry season in the Sahel countries)

[J supply distances are reduced by means of flexible pipes which allow home delivery and thus do away with long waiting periods

Independent water supply point (Ouagadougou)

Wstlsupply In Iow-income urblln s

Table 5 Comparison ofdistribution network and re-distribution network26

Coverage

Broad geographic coverage

Coverage

Covers space left over by distribution network

Investments

Q High investment

Q Amortisation over several decades

Q Investments spatially fIXed

Q Centralised network plan

eclllmcal systems

Q Electricity

Q Insufficient service at public taps long waiting periods

Investments

Q Moderate investment

Q Light material (stork beak flexible piping various containers vehicles frequently second-hand equipment

Q Configuration of network constantly altered alternative solutions constantly sought

systems

Q Animal or human energy

Q Better service coverage more vendors than public taps home delivery

Administrative system

Q Salaried employees for the most part

Q Impersonal relationship with customers usually by administrative procedures (billing)

Q Advertising necessary

Administrative system

Q No of employed is variable low pay often employs family members

Q Direct personalised relationship no administrative procedures

Q No advertising

Financial systems

Q Fixed rates payment upon receipt of bill (every 2-3 months)

Q Low profit margin per unit but high terms of volume

Q Access to modern credit

in

Financial systems

Q Possibility of flexible payment system (per day per week less often per month)

Q High profrt margin per unit but low in terms of volume

Q No access to modern credit

Indeed the re-distribution system is quite mobile and flexible able to respond to demand The administrative freedom of the re-distribution system allows it to constantly adapt to variable consumption and to changing economic conditions as opposed to the functional rigidity of the water companies27

Public taps (Ouagadougou)

~orel A IHuissier Economie de la distribution de eau aux populations whaines afaible revenu dans les pays en voie de developpement Doctoral Dissertation Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Cbaussees December 1990

27cr Note 8

6 A question of sharing 28

How is this adjustment possible Should the solutions proposed by infonnal sector agents be tolershyated temporarily or on the contrary should they be considered as an integral part of the urban distribution network

61 From community participation to shared management One approach which has been tried out for development of different types of infrastructure and

services in low-income areas is community participation This concept has most often been used to obtain the populations support for govemment programs and thus to help meet institutional standards and make up for the lack of facilities and services The population has usually been encouraged to participate in project implementation by contributions in kind financial contributions or sometimes labour These operations are rarely accompanied by an actual transfer of responsibility so problems in managing the facility installed remain after the implementation ofthe project

It also appears that this concept minimises the various relationships or dynamics existing within a neighbouIhood where the population as a whole is far from homogeneous the failure of numerous management committees set up in several projects is an example ofthis

Lastly failure to take into account the other institutional partners (centralised administrations water companies local collectivities) during the implementation of projects aimed at community participation is undoubtedly one of the reasons for the low sustainability noticed in most of these projects Attempts to set up structures for local management of services within a neighbouIhood without involving relevant institushytions have shown their limitations in the long tenn

Negotiation among the various partners (community suppliers of services public administration) is indeed necessary in order to agree on a definition of their respective roles and on the areas of intervention An approach to partnership needs to be found which will encourage actions undertaken by local communishyties at the neighbouIhood level

62 Management methods When we look at the water supply situation in low-income areas we note that there is a real demand

for home delivery or more accurately for water within the multi-family compound There is a willingness to pay for such a service providing that it is actually rendered The installations and the methods used by venshydors or distributors within the infonnal sector are located at the point where economic feasibility and minishymal obligatory standards converge This management method constitutes a technological and institutional alternative which responds to the demand of communities in precarious areas Can we make allowances for the operational pragmatism of small private entrepreneurs acting at the neighbouIhood level Can we make allowances for unconventional management methods Should services be entirely dependent on national companies

Examples of local management of services (water household waste) are numerous but in most cases this is allowed to occur due to the laxity on the part of the authorities other than a conscious process by the authorities to transfer responsibility In Bamako since 1990 the Governers office has issued a numshyber of pennits to private entrepreneurs living in neighbouIhoods not serviced by the public water system to undertake the extension of the drinking water supply network and to distribute water from public taps loshycated in public areas Extension of the system and installation of the meter are covered in full by the entreshypreneur for fees that are sometimes quite high (1 million FCFA for about 150 meters of piping) Lack of clear role definition among the various institutional agents able to furnish services in the neighbouIhood ofshyten leads to additional fees for the private investors who must pay a lot of commissions in order to obtain the necessary pennits

Small private investors acting at the neighbouIhood level play an important role in furnishing servshyices and seem to have resolved the problems ofcost recovery at their level This situation is advantageous in that it succeeds in covering a part of the demand for water which the state can not afford to satisfy as effishycientlyas it would like to

~or additional information on the concept of shared management see the dissertation of Sylvy JagIin Cf Note 8

Water supply In low-Income urban sress

Water storage in the compound with half-buried clay jars (Ouagadougou)

63 Alternative technologies Can specialised public services allow the exisshy

tence of alternative technologies Have the technologies used and their applicability to conditions in developing countries been questioned

In Ouagadougou distribution via public taps inshydependent water points and vendors represents an examshyple of shared management This distribution method is approved by the administration satisfies in part the deshymands of the population and makes use of local skills In Bamako a pilot water supply project is being impleshymented in the peri-urban areas Small independent netshyworks supplied from boreholes are being built in four neighbourhoods these systems are being managed by local associations This solution was jointly endorsed by the population of the neighbourhoods covered the municipal authorities and centralised technical services because the water company was unable to extend its network to this suburb

29The cost of the connection can be broken down as follows 260 meters of piping at 150 Flmeter 20 meters of flexible piping (10000 F) labour (20000 F) and storks beak (15000 F) The price of a Yacoli pwnp installed by SODECI is 15 million F and the cost of a linear meter of a SODECI connection is 2000 F

Regional WsbtlInd SlInlllltJon Goup - WUt AfrkJs

7 Conclusion It appears that a solution to the problem of water supply to low-income groups must be found by

interfacing public institutions the population and private entrepreneurs in low-income neighbourhoods

The solution of shared management would be profitable for all the parties concerned the water companies who would retain a monopoly only over the portion of the water sector which is profitable acshycording to their operating methods and their standards for equipment for the vendors or infonnal sector disshytributors who would no longer have to work in a semi-clandestine way risking the periodic destruction of their installations and for the poor population who could obtain better service at a more reasonable price thanks to the stimulation of competition due to the recognition of the infonnal re-distribution system for drinking water

Water supply from a tap and storage in barrels in order to

conlTolconsumpnon (Abidjan)

Waiting at a public tap in Boulbinet

(Conakry)

Water supply In Iow-lncome urlJBn SnlSS

References 1 Antoine Dubresson Manou-Savina Abidjan cote cours Ed KarthalalOrstom 1987

2 Jaglin Sylvy Pouvoirs urbains et gestion partagee aOuagadougou equipements et services de proximite dans les peripheries Doctoral dissertation in Uman Studies and Planning University of Paris VJll 1991

3 Regional Water and Sanitation Group - West Africa Enquete sur la volonte de payer en assainisshysement Commune de Port Bouet Abidjan 1993

4 Morel A IHuissier Economie de fa distribution de I eau aux populations urbaines aJaible reveshynu dans les pays en voie de developpement Doctoral dissertation Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussees Paris 1990

List of abbreviations DWS Drinking water supply

EDM Energie du Mali (Mali Power Company)

FCFA Franc ofthe financial community ofWest Africa (1 USS= about 530 FCFA)

IWSP Independent water supply point

NGO Non-govemmental organisation

PVC Polyvinyl chloride

SODECI Societe des Eaux de Cote dIvoire (Ivorian Water Utility)

Printed in Abidjan COte divoire December 1994

Title of the original French document Laimentation en eau en milieu urbain dans les quartiers defavorises Une question de partage

Water transport on the head

(Ouagadougou)

33 Distribution of water by vendors Sale of water by vendors takes many forms and several types of transportation can co-exist in the

same city or even the same district

Q sale through carriers transportation and containers used are varied basins or buckets carried on the head large barrels carried on push-carts or wagons pulled by a donkey or a bicycle In Ouagashydougou for example selling water in barrels is an essential part ofthe distribution system

Q motorised sale via private tanker trucks or sometimes public service employees selling drinking water for their own profit

Q installation of networks by private individuals connected to the public system Since the distrishybution site is often far from the water meter a plumber will use light materials to install a system These improvised systems are usually simple such as the storks beaks made of plastic tubing (Abidjan) they may also include several faucets such as the public tap systems in Banconi (Bamako)

sale through a flexible pipe going from the vendors tap to the consumers barrel or basin

Waterdistribunon by means offlexible pipe and storks beaks (Abidjan)

Table 2 Principal method ofwater supply in low-income areas

Well 27

Water vendors 8

Wells amp vendors 56

Public taps 8

Private connections 9

10

65

11

5

8

The profile ofwater vendors is also variable They may be

private individuals these are often small businessmen (or women) who are engaged in other activishyties thus a family member manages the water tap or people who do not have other activities These individuals subscribe to the water company and generally pay a huge advance for the service

associations these may be water committees as at Klela in Mali or water management committees as in several areas of Bamako These committees and associations occasionally experience problems with the population which they represent due to irregularities in their management of finances the large number ofmembers ofthese committees tends to dilute their responsibilities

The revenue of these vendors is variable but seems for the most part higher than the average meshydian income for most West African cities (cf Table 3)

Table 3 Profit margin ofwater vendors according to type ofinstallation

IWSP 3000 600000 250000 60000 25000 265000 88Ouagadougou9

Public tap 270 67500 24300 43200 160Bamako lO

Water vendor 200 150000 73600 15000 61400 307Abidjanll

6 cf Note 5

7 Regional Water and Sanitation Group - West Africa Enqulte SIIr 10 volante de paJlftren asaainissement Commllllf de Port Boult Abidjan 1993

8 Jaglin SylVY Pouvoin urbains et geman partagee Ii Ouagadoflgotl equipemenu et services de proximite dana les peripheries These de doctorat en urbanisme et amenagement Universite de Paris vm 1991

9 BUROEAP Caisse Franyaise de Developpement Etude de CQ3 SIIr Ieau et 10 sante dana les quartien urbains defavorises 1994

10 cf Note 9

11 Regional Water and Sanitation Group - West Africa Survey October 1994

Djenne Koro Banconi Bolibana

WstBr upply In 1ow-lntJOmfl urlNln fires

Flexible pipe from the connection to the compound (Abidjan)

Filling up ofwater barrels in the compound (Abidjan)

Water transported by vending systems gets to the consumer at much higher prices than the rates for private connections or at the public tap (Figure 4) In low-income areas even those covered by the public water supply netwOIk sale ofwater is still very frequent For example in one-storey communal compounds in Abidjan when the owner of the compound (or a tenant household) has a private connection the water is often sold to other households in the compound

FCFA 1

Official price Price at public tap bull Price delivered to customers home

figure 4 price of cubic meter of water at various stages in the distribution network12

12 Prices given for Djenne Koro and Banconi (Mali) are those noted before devaluation of the CFA franc For Bolibana (Abidjan) the price given is that following devaluation

Regional Water andSanltlJtJon Groupmiddot West Africa

34 Questionable water quality

Whatever the source of water supply transport transfer and storage of water in various containers (often to better limit consumption) multiply the potential sources ofcontamination

A study carried out in a small city in Kivu (Zaire) in 1989 showed that the number of episodes of dianhoea per year for children aged two to three years increased in proportion to the distance from the gubshylic tap the risks are triple for a child living more than five minutes walking distance from the public tap 3

In Ouagadougou the variations in the rate of residual chlorine between the water source (public tap) and the storage container were measured taking into account the duration of storage

l4 These observations

showed that the rate of residual chlorine was very variable at the same point in the network and fluctuated widely over time over a period of three days variations of 0 to 13 mgll were noted Chlorine breaks down rapidly in clay jars thus a concentration of 05 mgll of chlorine at the beginning of the storage period is not sufficient since it is rapidly degraded by the multiple contaminations which take place during transport and storage of water at the home After four hours of storage the chlorine had practically disappeared from all the containers (Figure 5)

The duration of water storage in the home varies from 4 to 29 hours with an average duration of 16 hours At this point chlorine has disappeared completely from all the containers For 26 containers analysed and used to store water for more than four hours 85 were contaminated and only 15 met the drinkin~ water standards (0 faecal coliform per 100 mi) The percentage of contaminated containers rises over time I

RM ___MH bullbullbullbull______H__bullbullH _____H____________bullbull__bullbullbull_______ _____________bull___________________________bullbull____________ ___bull ____________H___H _________

06

05

04

03

02

01

~ - -~ - - -shy

- - - ~ - - - - - - - - - - -

- - - - - -- ~ - - - - - - - - - - - - shy

-ltgt-Sample 1

-O-Sample2

- fs -Sample 3

--------A--------------shy shyshy

------------~---~---------------- - o +---------~--------~--------~---------Q

Network TO TO + 2 h TO +4 h TO + 8 h

figure 5 variation in rate of residual chlorine in water stored in the home (mgl)

13 ZairelUSA SANRU project Results othe Kirotshe Impact Study 1989

14 Empereur-BissonnetP L eau de boisson en milieu rural africain evaluation des methodes destinees II ameliorer la qualite micro-biologique Medecine thesis Paris 1989

15 Cf Note 14

4 Social policy regarding water and constraints of poor populations

Water companies have tried several solutions for improving water supply in low-income areas These approaches based on a generous principle of facilitating access to the drinking water supply network for poor populations however face difficulties and perverse effects which limit or even aggravate the situashytion in precarious areas

41 Public taps

Supply from a hand pump in an outlying area (Ouagadougou)

Public taps installed during the colonial period or shortly after independence where water was disshytributed free of charge have been progressively done away with in most of the countries of the sub-region 16

City districts which were responsible for managing these public taps and for covering the cost of the water consumed have experienced greater and greater difficulties in paying the water bills Where public taps still exist their management has been privati sed which has usually given positive results Awareness of the value of water has increased among the authorities who have accepted the principle of privatisation of pubshylic taps as well as among the population who consent to pay for water at the taps

The proportion ofthe population directly served by public taps is however quite small In Bamako only 20 of the population is directly served by public taps or by independent water supply points In Abidjan as of 1994 there were 290 public taps ie a service rate of about 5 of the population 17 and with 30 of the households not connected to the public water supply network

Because of their cost public taps which are generally installed within projects financed by develshyopment organisations or NGOs are relatively few and require their users to transport water over quite large distances Their number is insufficient to constitute any real competition for water vendors or to reduce the price ofwater delivered directly to the home

Improvements wished for by consumers are mainly an increase in water flow at the tap or an inshycrease in the number of faucets (in order to reduce waiting time) and better disposition or installation of taps related to the method oftransporting water (installation ofplatforms height of faucets)

16 Except in Conakry where the numerous public taps in the district ofKaloum continue to distribute water free of charge in spite of an agreement to privatise them endorsed by the national and local authorities and the water company

17 Estimate based on an average quantity of 200 cubic meters distributed per month and per tap and a consumption rate of 20 lIdayinhabitant

Rfl[JlonMMttertmd 8tMJtIIIItM GnHJp bull ~

42 Subsidised water supply for low-income groups Does a so~led social policy based on the argument of income distribution (whereby huge conshy

sumers subsidise small ones) really help the poorest ofthe poor

It has been shown in the preceding paragraphs that the majority of residents of poor areas purchase water from vendors A water vendor consumes a large quantity of water and thus pays the rate applicable to high water consumption His high unit purchase price is thus passed on to his customers although they are in the lowest income group

If we take Cote dIvoire as an example

[J break-even price ofml ofwater 180 F

[J subsidised rate 159 F

[J household rate (avemge consumption 91-300 ml) 368F

[J average price paid by the population 750F

For the 750 F paid by the poor users for a cubic meter of water the SODECI receives 368 F This figure can be broken down as follows (See Figure 6) break-even price (180 F) + subsidy (x F) + profit margin of vendor (y F) Thus the poor population is paying for a subsidy which they should theoretically receive but which they never do

Poor population 382 Fm3 Vendor---750 Fm3 I------~

Subsidies Water

reak-even price + other company

figure 6 who is subsidising whom

A study carried out in Kumasi (Ghana)18 also showed the negative effects of a progressive tariff on the poor population of this city for two reasons first of all in densely populated areas several low-income households (eleven or more households on the avemge) frequently living in the same building share a water connection located in the courtyard and divide the water bill according to the size of the household number of rooms occupied and so forth The progressive tariff applied results in a situation where these households pay more for water than a household which has its own water connection In addition many poor houseshyholds who cannot afford to have a private or collective connection purchase water from their neighbours thus increasing the consumption of the connection and consequently the unit price ofwater which is passed on to the purchaser

Thus it is clear that the poor finance in part the subsidy of the progIessive tariff which is intended for their benefit and from which wealthier people profit as well as extensions of the distribution network which are not in their neighbowhoods (Figure 6)

We need to question the faimess of social policies as long as a large proportion of the population does not have private connections

111 Whittington Dale Possible advene effects ofincrea8ing block water tarlffi in developing ccnmtriel The University ofChi~ 01992

WtBr supply In fow-inCOllHl urblln I11f1II8

43 Subsidised water connections 19

This type of connection consists in having the conswner pay the cost of papershywork the cost of installing the water meter and an advance on conswnption while the connecshytion is generally paid for through a developshyment fund or external subsidies After the deshyvaluation several countries again reduced the cost of subsidised connections In Cote dIvoire for example only the advance on conswnption and the cost of paperwork are paid by the conswner ie 18750 F as a lump

22swn payment

Looking at household inshycome the majority of households living in precarious housing seem to have little access to subsidised conshynections especially if we consider that for this segment of the populashytion food purchases constitute about 80 ofexpenditures

The limits of social approaches which have been proposed up to the present are as follows

Cl Public and collective solushytions are too few when comshypared to the needs in poor arshyeas (long waiting periods long distances to water points)

Lack of flexibility in payment methods for connections and water bills Whatever solushytions are proposed to reduce the cost of connections poor households do not have easy access to them In addition the due dates for bills (every two or even three months)

Resale ofwater make it difficult for houseshyfrom a connection holds with only small and irshyin a compound (Abidjan) regular incomes to make the

payments A private connecshytion also implies an increase

19 This reasoning can also be applied to connections carried out on credit proposed in Senegal Cameroon and Gabon

w Direction et Contr61e des Grands Travaux Direction des etudes et projets mbains Atelier dmbanisme dAbidjan Analyse des filieres de prodllction de terrains ll1bains et de logements caracterisation de fa demande de logements reSllltats de Ienquite socio-economique OIlpreS des menages (the results are from a survey carried out in October 1993) June 1994

21 BURGEAP Caisse Fran~aise de Developpement EtIlde de cas SIlr leOll et la sante dons les qIlQrtiers Ilrbains defavorises March 1994

n Before the devaluation the price paid by the conswner for a free connection amounted to 22000 F (installation of meter 7000 F Pape1Work 2000 F advance on conswnption 13000 F)

in metered water consumption and as a result an increase in expenses

Current approaches imply an ability to save money which low-income groups do not have The study carried out in August through October 1993 on 5441 households in Abidjan23 emphasised that 62 of households throughout the city said that they are unable to save money In precarious housing areas or poor neighbourhoods 70 of household heads stated that they are unable to save any money For those who are able to save the average amount saved is 9600 FCFA per month In compound housing 65 of heads ofhouseholds stated that they are unable to save at all Those who are able to save save an average of 16400 FCFA

Table 4 Cost ofwater connection compared to main monthly income ofa tenant head ofhousehold in Abidjan24 (FCFA)

Improvised housing

Evolving housing

37750F

60000F

18750 F

18750 F

2500 F

2500 F

497

313

66

42

Water supply from a well in an area with a superficial ground water table (Abidjan)

23 cr Note 20 24 cr Note 20

Water supply In IoWwincomll urblln IIrBlIS

5 A question of adjustment

With the hope of ensuring fairness water companies and funding agencies have applied solutions which have allowed a greater proportion of households to have access to drinking water Thus even more than the water tariff which still remains an important factor in the implementation of social policy it is essential to consider the conditions ofaccess to water supply in terms ofthe daily constraints experienced by the population of poor neighbourhoods

51 The willingness to pay of low-income groups is real

They are not asking for free water Several examples show that the myth of free water has been declining over the last few years

Il In Bangui a pilot project in 1986 installed six public taps (where water would be paid for) in two neighbourhoods of the city In 1987 a political decision made these taps free of charge This decision led to a degradation in the functioning of the water supply and less flexibility in supply in particular regarding operating hours The residents themselves quickly protested against the situation which eventually led to re-instating the fees one month after they were suspended

Although the income allocated to payment of water bills represents a large proportion of the budget of low-income families the price does not seem to be perceived as a limiting factor by the population of peri-urban areas or poor neighbourhoods A study carried out in six semi-urban areas in Mali

25 showed that the highest consumption per resident was in the city of Nara (1511inhabishy

tantJday as compared to 65 VinhabitantJday on average for the six cities) however the unit price is highest in Nara (750 to 1500 F in Nara as compared to 500 to 1000 F in the other cities)

When one adds up the amounts spent daily poor sections of the population pay proportionally more for access to good drinking water as compared to their incomes They therefore have access to monetary resources but lack ways to mobilise them effectively

52 Purchase of small quantities but every day

Households purchase water daily since their incomes are small as well as irregular which does not allow them to save money in order to pay for a private connection or to pay a bill every two or three months Daily purchase of water also allows the possibility of reducing expenditures whenever possible people make use of other sources of water (rainwater collection for example) water bought on a daily basis is stored in metal or pottery containers which allows better control over the quantity consumed and thus avoids waste

The notion of effort rate often used in socio-economic studies to better define demand and the financial capacity of households only has meaning for the segment of the population whose income is high enough and regular enough to allow them to save money Mechanisms for deduction in advance presuppose an effort rate and a capacity to save while the effort rate of the poor varies from day to day Mechanisms for saving money used by the poorest segment of the population make use of informal systems which bypass the formal banking system which is also inaccessible to the poorest of the poor

53 Demand for service at home

By developing a flexible commercial service private water vendors make things easier for their customers and thus know how to mobilise the resources ofpoor populations

Il prices vary according to distance (and thus the effort required) and households consent to pay high daily rates in exchange for water delivered to their doorstep

a wide range of service levels is offered according to the economic capacity and needs of the population

25 Gauff Ingenieure Programme de rehabilitation de IAEP de 6 centres semi-urbains - Rapport socio-economique May 1993

[J methods ofpayment are variable by the day or by the week monthly payments are rare since there is a lack of trust between vendors and customers over a relatively long period of time The vendor also bas financial constraints since he must make short-tenn payments within the infonnal economy

[J the number of vendors varies according to demand (more during the dry season in the Sahel countries)

[J supply distances are reduced by means of flexible pipes which allow home delivery and thus do away with long waiting periods

Independent water supply point (Ouagadougou)

Wstlsupply In Iow-income urblln s

Table 5 Comparison ofdistribution network and re-distribution network26

Coverage

Broad geographic coverage

Coverage

Covers space left over by distribution network

Investments

Q High investment

Q Amortisation over several decades

Q Investments spatially fIXed

Q Centralised network plan

eclllmcal systems

Q Electricity

Q Insufficient service at public taps long waiting periods

Investments

Q Moderate investment

Q Light material (stork beak flexible piping various containers vehicles frequently second-hand equipment

Q Configuration of network constantly altered alternative solutions constantly sought

systems

Q Animal or human energy

Q Better service coverage more vendors than public taps home delivery

Administrative system

Q Salaried employees for the most part

Q Impersonal relationship with customers usually by administrative procedures (billing)

Q Advertising necessary

Administrative system

Q No of employed is variable low pay often employs family members

Q Direct personalised relationship no administrative procedures

Q No advertising

Financial systems

Q Fixed rates payment upon receipt of bill (every 2-3 months)

Q Low profit margin per unit but high terms of volume

Q Access to modern credit

in

Financial systems

Q Possibility of flexible payment system (per day per week less often per month)

Q High profrt margin per unit but low in terms of volume

Q No access to modern credit

Indeed the re-distribution system is quite mobile and flexible able to respond to demand The administrative freedom of the re-distribution system allows it to constantly adapt to variable consumption and to changing economic conditions as opposed to the functional rigidity of the water companies27

Public taps (Ouagadougou)

~orel A IHuissier Economie de la distribution de eau aux populations whaines afaible revenu dans les pays en voie de developpement Doctoral Dissertation Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Cbaussees December 1990

27cr Note 8

6 A question of sharing 28

How is this adjustment possible Should the solutions proposed by infonnal sector agents be tolershyated temporarily or on the contrary should they be considered as an integral part of the urban distribution network

61 From community participation to shared management One approach which has been tried out for development of different types of infrastructure and

services in low-income areas is community participation This concept has most often been used to obtain the populations support for govemment programs and thus to help meet institutional standards and make up for the lack of facilities and services The population has usually been encouraged to participate in project implementation by contributions in kind financial contributions or sometimes labour These operations are rarely accompanied by an actual transfer of responsibility so problems in managing the facility installed remain after the implementation ofthe project

It also appears that this concept minimises the various relationships or dynamics existing within a neighbouIhood where the population as a whole is far from homogeneous the failure of numerous management committees set up in several projects is an example ofthis

Lastly failure to take into account the other institutional partners (centralised administrations water companies local collectivities) during the implementation of projects aimed at community participation is undoubtedly one of the reasons for the low sustainability noticed in most of these projects Attempts to set up structures for local management of services within a neighbouIhood without involving relevant institushytions have shown their limitations in the long tenn

Negotiation among the various partners (community suppliers of services public administration) is indeed necessary in order to agree on a definition of their respective roles and on the areas of intervention An approach to partnership needs to be found which will encourage actions undertaken by local communishyties at the neighbouIhood level

62 Management methods When we look at the water supply situation in low-income areas we note that there is a real demand

for home delivery or more accurately for water within the multi-family compound There is a willingness to pay for such a service providing that it is actually rendered The installations and the methods used by venshydors or distributors within the infonnal sector are located at the point where economic feasibility and minishymal obligatory standards converge This management method constitutes a technological and institutional alternative which responds to the demand of communities in precarious areas Can we make allowances for the operational pragmatism of small private entrepreneurs acting at the neighbouIhood level Can we make allowances for unconventional management methods Should services be entirely dependent on national companies

Examples of local management of services (water household waste) are numerous but in most cases this is allowed to occur due to the laxity on the part of the authorities other than a conscious process by the authorities to transfer responsibility In Bamako since 1990 the Governers office has issued a numshyber of pennits to private entrepreneurs living in neighbouIhoods not serviced by the public water system to undertake the extension of the drinking water supply network and to distribute water from public taps loshycated in public areas Extension of the system and installation of the meter are covered in full by the entreshypreneur for fees that are sometimes quite high (1 million FCFA for about 150 meters of piping) Lack of clear role definition among the various institutional agents able to furnish services in the neighbouIhood ofshyten leads to additional fees for the private investors who must pay a lot of commissions in order to obtain the necessary pennits

Small private investors acting at the neighbouIhood level play an important role in furnishing servshyices and seem to have resolved the problems ofcost recovery at their level This situation is advantageous in that it succeeds in covering a part of the demand for water which the state can not afford to satisfy as effishycientlyas it would like to

~or additional information on the concept of shared management see the dissertation of Sylvy JagIin Cf Note 8

Water supply In low-Income urban sress

Water storage in the compound with half-buried clay jars (Ouagadougou)

63 Alternative technologies Can specialised public services allow the exisshy

tence of alternative technologies Have the technologies used and their applicability to conditions in developing countries been questioned

In Ouagadougou distribution via public taps inshydependent water points and vendors represents an examshyple of shared management This distribution method is approved by the administration satisfies in part the deshymands of the population and makes use of local skills In Bamako a pilot water supply project is being impleshymented in the peri-urban areas Small independent netshyworks supplied from boreholes are being built in four neighbourhoods these systems are being managed by local associations This solution was jointly endorsed by the population of the neighbourhoods covered the municipal authorities and centralised technical services because the water company was unable to extend its network to this suburb

29The cost of the connection can be broken down as follows 260 meters of piping at 150 Flmeter 20 meters of flexible piping (10000 F) labour (20000 F) and storks beak (15000 F) The price of a Yacoli pwnp installed by SODECI is 15 million F and the cost of a linear meter of a SODECI connection is 2000 F

Regional WsbtlInd SlInlllltJon Goup - WUt AfrkJs

7 Conclusion It appears that a solution to the problem of water supply to low-income groups must be found by

interfacing public institutions the population and private entrepreneurs in low-income neighbourhoods

The solution of shared management would be profitable for all the parties concerned the water companies who would retain a monopoly only over the portion of the water sector which is profitable acshycording to their operating methods and their standards for equipment for the vendors or infonnal sector disshytributors who would no longer have to work in a semi-clandestine way risking the periodic destruction of their installations and for the poor population who could obtain better service at a more reasonable price thanks to the stimulation of competition due to the recognition of the infonnal re-distribution system for drinking water

Water supply from a tap and storage in barrels in order to

conlTolconsumpnon (Abidjan)

Waiting at a public tap in Boulbinet

(Conakry)

Water supply In Iow-lncome urlJBn SnlSS

References 1 Antoine Dubresson Manou-Savina Abidjan cote cours Ed KarthalalOrstom 1987

2 Jaglin Sylvy Pouvoirs urbains et gestion partagee aOuagadougou equipements et services de proximite dans les peripheries Doctoral dissertation in Uman Studies and Planning University of Paris VJll 1991

3 Regional Water and Sanitation Group - West Africa Enquete sur la volonte de payer en assainisshysement Commune de Port Bouet Abidjan 1993

4 Morel A IHuissier Economie de fa distribution de I eau aux populations urbaines aJaible reveshynu dans les pays en voie de developpement Doctoral dissertation Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussees Paris 1990

List of abbreviations DWS Drinking water supply

EDM Energie du Mali (Mali Power Company)

FCFA Franc ofthe financial community ofWest Africa (1 USS= about 530 FCFA)

IWSP Independent water supply point

NGO Non-govemmental organisation

PVC Polyvinyl chloride

SODECI Societe des Eaux de Cote dIvoire (Ivorian Water Utility)

Printed in Abidjan COte divoire December 1994

Title of the original French document Laimentation en eau en milieu urbain dans les quartiers defavorises Une question de partage

Table 2 Principal method ofwater supply in low-income areas

Well 27

Water vendors 8

Wells amp vendors 56

Public taps 8

Private connections 9

10

65

11

5

8

The profile ofwater vendors is also variable They may be

private individuals these are often small businessmen (or women) who are engaged in other activishyties thus a family member manages the water tap or people who do not have other activities These individuals subscribe to the water company and generally pay a huge advance for the service

associations these may be water committees as at Klela in Mali or water management committees as in several areas of Bamako These committees and associations occasionally experience problems with the population which they represent due to irregularities in their management of finances the large number ofmembers ofthese committees tends to dilute their responsibilities

The revenue of these vendors is variable but seems for the most part higher than the average meshydian income for most West African cities (cf Table 3)

Table 3 Profit margin ofwater vendors according to type ofinstallation

IWSP 3000 600000 250000 60000 25000 265000 88Ouagadougou9

Public tap 270 67500 24300 43200 160Bamako lO

Water vendor 200 150000 73600 15000 61400 307Abidjanll

6 cf Note 5

7 Regional Water and Sanitation Group - West Africa Enqulte SIIr 10 volante de paJlftren asaainissement Commllllf de Port Boult Abidjan 1993

8 Jaglin SylVY Pouvoin urbains et geman partagee Ii Ouagadoflgotl equipemenu et services de proximite dana les peripheries These de doctorat en urbanisme et amenagement Universite de Paris vm 1991

9 BUROEAP Caisse Franyaise de Developpement Etude de CQ3 SIIr Ieau et 10 sante dana les quartien urbains defavorises 1994

10 cf Note 9

11 Regional Water and Sanitation Group - West Africa Survey October 1994

Djenne Koro Banconi Bolibana

WstBr upply In 1ow-lntJOmfl urlNln fires

Flexible pipe from the connection to the compound (Abidjan)

Filling up ofwater barrels in the compound (Abidjan)

Water transported by vending systems gets to the consumer at much higher prices than the rates for private connections or at the public tap (Figure 4) In low-income areas even those covered by the public water supply netwOIk sale ofwater is still very frequent For example in one-storey communal compounds in Abidjan when the owner of the compound (or a tenant household) has a private connection the water is often sold to other households in the compound

FCFA 1

Official price Price at public tap bull Price delivered to customers home

figure 4 price of cubic meter of water at various stages in the distribution network12

12 Prices given for Djenne Koro and Banconi (Mali) are those noted before devaluation of the CFA franc For Bolibana (Abidjan) the price given is that following devaluation

Regional Water andSanltlJtJon Groupmiddot West Africa

34 Questionable water quality

Whatever the source of water supply transport transfer and storage of water in various containers (often to better limit consumption) multiply the potential sources ofcontamination

A study carried out in a small city in Kivu (Zaire) in 1989 showed that the number of episodes of dianhoea per year for children aged two to three years increased in proportion to the distance from the gubshylic tap the risks are triple for a child living more than five minutes walking distance from the public tap 3

In Ouagadougou the variations in the rate of residual chlorine between the water source (public tap) and the storage container were measured taking into account the duration of storage

l4 These observations

showed that the rate of residual chlorine was very variable at the same point in the network and fluctuated widely over time over a period of three days variations of 0 to 13 mgll were noted Chlorine breaks down rapidly in clay jars thus a concentration of 05 mgll of chlorine at the beginning of the storage period is not sufficient since it is rapidly degraded by the multiple contaminations which take place during transport and storage of water at the home After four hours of storage the chlorine had practically disappeared from all the containers (Figure 5)

The duration of water storage in the home varies from 4 to 29 hours with an average duration of 16 hours At this point chlorine has disappeared completely from all the containers For 26 containers analysed and used to store water for more than four hours 85 were contaminated and only 15 met the drinkin~ water standards (0 faecal coliform per 100 mi) The percentage of contaminated containers rises over time I

RM ___MH bullbullbullbull______H__bullbullH _____H____________bullbull__bullbullbull_______ _____________bull___________________________bullbull____________ ___bull ____________H___H _________

06

05

04

03

02

01

~ - -~ - - -shy

- - - ~ - - - - - - - - - - -

- - - - - -- ~ - - - - - - - - - - - - shy

-ltgt-Sample 1

-O-Sample2

- fs -Sample 3

--------A--------------shy shyshy

------------~---~---------------- - o +---------~--------~--------~---------Q

Network TO TO + 2 h TO +4 h TO + 8 h

figure 5 variation in rate of residual chlorine in water stored in the home (mgl)

13 ZairelUSA SANRU project Results othe Kirotshe Impact Study 1989

14 Empereur-BissonnetP L eau de boisson en milieu rural africain evaluation des methodes destinees II ameliorer la qualite micro-biologique Medecine thesis Paris 1989

15 Cf Note 14

4 Social policy regarding water and constraints of poor populations

Water companies have tried several solutions for improving water supply in low-income areas These approaches based on a generous principle of facilitating access to the drinking water supply network for poor populations however face difficulties and perverse effects which limit or even aggravate the situashytion in precarious areas

41 Public taps

Supply from a hand pump in an outlying area (Ouagadougou)

Public taps installed during the colonial period or shortly after independence where water was disshytributed free of charge have been progressively done away with in most of the countries of the sub-region 16

City districts which were responsible for managing these public taps and for covering the cost of the water consumed have experienced greater and greater difficulties in paying the water bills Where public taps still exist their management has been privati sed which has usually given positive results Awareness of the value of water has increased among the authorities who have accepted the principle of privatisation of pubshylic taps as well as among the population who consent to pay for water at the taps

The proportion ofthe population directly served by public taps is however quite small In Bamako only 20 of the population is directly served by public taps or by independent water supply points In Abidjan as of 1994 there were 290 public taps ie a service rate of about 5 of the population 17 and with 30 of the households not connected to the public water supply network

Because of their cost public taps which are generally installed within projects financed by develshyopment organisations or NGOs are relatively few and require their users to transport water over quite large distances Their number is insufficient to constitute any real competition for water vendors or to reduce the price ofwater delivered directly to the home

Improvements wished for by consumers are mainly an increase in water flow at the tap or an inshycrease in the number of faucets (in order to reduce waiting time) and better disposition or installation of taps related to the method oftransporting water (installation ofplatforms height of faucets)

16 Except in Conakry where the numerous public taps in the district ofKaloum continue to distribute water free of charge in spite of an agreement to privatise them endorsed by the national and local authorities and the water company

17 Estimate based on an average quantity of 200 cubic meters distributed per month and per tap and a consumption rate of 20 lIdayinhabitant

Rfl[JlonMMttertmd 8tMJtIIIItM GnHJp bull ~

42 Subsidised water supply for low-income groups Does a so~led social policy based on the argument of income distribution (whereby huge conshy

sumers subsidise small ones) really help the poorest ofthe poor

It has been shown in the preceding paragraphs that the majority of residents of poor areas purchase water from vendors A water vendor consumes a large quantity of water and thus pays the rate applicable to high water consumption His high unit purchase price is thus passed on to his customers although they are in the lowest income group

If we take Cote dIvoire as an example

[J break-even price ofml ofwater 180 F

[J subsidised rate 159 F

[J household rate (avemge consumption 91-300 ml) 368F

[J average price paid by the population 750F

For the 750 F paid by the poor users for a cubic meter of water the SODECI receives 368 F This figure can be broken down as follows (See Figure 6) break-even price (180 F) + subsidy (x F) + profit margin of vendor (y F) Thus the poor population is paying for a subsidy which they should theoretically receive but which they never do

Poor population 382 Fm3 Vendor---750 Fm3 I------~

Subsidies Water

reak-even price + other company

figure 6 who is subsidising whom

A study carried out in Kumasi (Ghana)18 also showed the negative effects of a progressive tariff on the poor population of this city for two reasons first of all in densely populated areas several low-income households (eleven or more households on the avemge) frequently living in the same building share a water connection located in the courtyard and divide the water bill according to the size of the household number of rooms occupied and so forth The progressive tariff applied results in a situation where these households pay more for water than a household which has its own water connection In addition many poor houseshyholds who cannot afford to have a private or collective connection purchase water from their neighbours thus increasing the consumption of the connection and consequently the unit price ofwater which is passed on to the purchaser

Thus it is clear that the poor finance in part the subsidy of the progIessive tariff which is intended for their benefit and from which wealthier people profit as well as extensions of the distribution network which are not in their neighbowhoods (Figure 6)

We need to question the faimess of social policies as long as a large proportion of the population does not have private connections

111 Whittington Dale Possible advene effects ofincrea8ing block water tarlffi in developing ccnmtriel The University ofChi~ 01992

WtBr supply In fow-inCOllHl urblln I11f1II8

43 Subsidised water connections 19

This type of connection consists in having the conswner pay the cost of papershywork the cost of installing the water meter and an advance on conswnption while the connecshytion is generally paid for through a developshyment fund or external subsidies After the deshyvaluation several countries again reduced the cost of subsidised connections In Cote dIvoire for example only the advance on conswnption and the cost of paperwork are paid by the conswner ie 18750 F as a lump

22swn payment

Looking at household inshycome the majority of households living in precarious housing seem to have little access to subsidised conshynections especially if we consider that for this segment of the populashytion food purchases constitute about 80 ofexpenditures

The limits of social approaches which have been proposed up to the present are as follows

Cl Public and collective solushytions are too few when comshypared to the needs in poor arshyeas (long waiting periods long distances to water points)

Lack of flexibility in payment methods for connections and water bills Whatever solushytions are proposed to reduce the cost of connections poor households do not have easy access to them In addition the due dates for bills (every two or even three months)

Resale ofwater make it difficult for houseshyfrom a connection holds with only small and irshyin a compound (Abidjan) regular incomes to make the

payments A private connecshytion also implies an increase

19 This reasoning can also be applied to connections carried out on credit proposed in Senegal Cameroon and Gabon

w Direction et Contr61e des Grands Travaux Direction des etudes et projets mbains Atelier dmbanisme dAbidjan Analyse des filieres de prodllction de terrains ll1bains et de logements caracterisation de fa demande de logements reSllltats de Ienquite socio-economique OIlpreS des menages (the results are from a survey carried out in October 1993) June 1994

21 BURGEAP Caisse Fran~aise de Developpement EtIlde de cas SIlr leOll et la sante dons les qIlQrtiers Ilrbains defavorises March 1994

n Before the devaluation the price paid by the conswner for a free connection amounted to 22000 F (installation of meter 7000 F Pape1Work 2000 F advance on conswnption 13000 F)

in metered water consumption and as a result an increase in expenses

Current approaches imply an ability to save money which low-income groups do not have The study carried out in August through October 1993 on 5441 households in Abidjan23 emphasised that 62 of households throughout the city said that they are unable to save money In precarious housing areas or poor neighbourhoods 70 of household heads stated that they are unable to save any money For those who are able to save the average amount saved is 9600 FCFA per month In compound housing 65 of heads ofhouseholds stated that they are unable to save at all Those who are able to save save an average of 16400 FCFA

Table 4 Cost ofwater connection compared to main monthly income ofa tenant head ofhousehold in Abidjan24 (FCFA)

Improvised housing

Evolving housing

37750F

60000F

18750 F

18750 F

2500 F

2500 F

497

313

66

42

Water supply from a well in an area with a superficial ground water table (Abidjan)

23 cr Note 20 24 cr Note 20

Water supply In IoWwincomll urblln IIrBlIS

5 A question of adjustment

With the hope of ensuring fairness water companies and funding agencies have applied solutions which have allowed a greater proportion of households to have access to drinking water Thus even more than the water tariff which still remains an important factor in the implementation of social policy it is essential to consider the conditions ofaccess to water supply in terms ofthe daily constraints experienced by the population of poor neighbourhoods

51 The willingness to pay of low-income groups is real

They are not asking for free water Several examples show that the myth of free water has been declining over the last few years

Il In Bangui a pilot project in 1986 installed six public taps (where water would be paid for) in two neighbourhoods of the city In 1987 a political decision made these taps free of charge This decision led to a degradation in the functioning of the water supply and less flexibility in supply in particular regarding operating hours The residents themselves quickly protested against the situation which eventually led to re-instating the fees one month after they were suspended

Although the income allocated to payment of water bills represents a large proportion of the budget of low-income families the price does not seem to be perceived as a limiting factor by the population of peri-urban areas or poor neighbourhoods A study carried out in six semi-urban areas in Mali

25 showed that the highest consumption per resident was in the city of Nara (1511inhabishy

tantJday as compared to 65 VinhabitantJday on average for the six cities) however the unit price is highest in Nara (750 to 1500 F in Nara as compared to 500 to 1000 F in the other cities)

When one adds up the amounts spent daily poor sections of the population pay proportionally more for access to good drinking water as compared to their incomes They therefore have access to monetary resources but lack ways to mobilise them effectively

52 Purchase of small quantities but every day

Households purchase water daily since their incomes are small as well as irregular which does not allow them to save money in order to pay for a private connection or to pay a bill every two or three months Daily purchase of water also allows the possibility of reducing expenditures whenever possible people make use of other sources of water (rainwater collection for example) water bought on a daily basis is stored in metal or pottery containers which allows better control over the quantity consumed and thus avoids waste

The notion of effort rate often used in socio-economic studies to better define demand and the financial capacity of households only has meaning for the segment of the population whose income is high enough and regular enough to allow them to save money Mechanisms for deduction in advance presuppose an effort rate and a capacity to save while the effort rate of the poor varies from day to day Mechanisms for saving money used by the poorest segment of the population make use of informal systems which bypass the formal banking system which is also inaccessible to the poorest of the poor

53 Demand for service at home

By developing a flexible commercial service private water vendors make things easier for their customers and thus know how to mobilise the resources ofpoor populations

Il prices vary according to distance (and thus the effort required) and households consent to pay high daily rates in exchange for water delivered to their doorstep

a wide range of service levels is offered according to the economic capacity and needs of the population

25 Gauff Ingenieure Programme de rehabilitation de IAEP de 6 centres semi-urbains - Rapport socio-economique May 1993

[J methods ofpayment are variable by the day or by the week monthly payments are rare since there is a lack of trust between vendors and customers over a relatively long period of time The vendor also bas financial constraints since he must make short-tenn payments within the infonnal economy

[J the number of vendors varies according to demand (more during the dry season in the Sahel countries)

[J supply distances are reduced by means of flexible pipes which allow home delivery and thus do away with long waiting periods

Independent water supply point (Ouagadougou)

Wstlsupply In Iow-income urblln s

Table 5 Comparison ofdistribution network and re-distribution network26

Coverage

Broad geographic coverage

Coverage

Covers space left over by distribution network

Investments

Q High investment

Q Amortisation over several decades

Q Investments spatially fIXed

Q Centralised network plan

eclllmcal systems

Q Electricity

Q Insufficient service at public taps long waiting periods

Investments

Q Moderate investment

Q Light material (stork beak flexible piping various containers vehicles frequently second-hand equipment

Q Configuration of network constantly altered alternative solutions constantly sought

systems

Q Animal or human energy

Q Better service coverage more vendors than public taps home delivery

Administrative system

Q Salaried employees for the most part

Q Impersonal relationship with customers usually by administrative procedures (billing)

Q Advertising necessary

Administrative system

Q No of employed is variable low pay often employs family members

Q Direct personalised relationship no administrative procedures

Q No advertising

Financial systems

Q Fixed rates payment upon receipt of bill (every 2-3 months)

Q Low profit margin per unit but high terms of volume

Q Access to modern credit

in

Financial systems

Q Possibility of flexible payment system (per day per week less often per month)

Q High profrt margin per unit but low in terms of volume

Q No access to modern credit

Indeed the re-distribution system is quite mobile and flexible able to respond to demand The administrative freedom of the re-distribution system allows it to constantly adapt to variable consumption and to changing economic conditions as opposed to the functional rigidity of the water companies27

Public taps (Ouagadougou)

~orel A IHuissier Economie de la distribution de eau aux populations whaines afaible revenu dans les pays en voie de developpement Doctoral Dissertation Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Cbaussees December 1990

27cr Note 8

6 A question of sharing 28

How is this adjustment possible Should the solutions proposed by infonnal sector agents be tolershyated temporarily or on the contrary should they be considered as an integral part of the urban distribution network

61 From community participation to shared management One approach which has been tried out for development of different types of infrastructure and

services in low-income areas is community participation This concept has most often been used to obtain the populations support for govemment programs and thus to help meet institutional standards and make up for the lack of facilities and services The population has usually been encouraged to participate in project implementation by contributions in kind financial contributions or sometimes labour These operations are rarely accompanied by an actual transfer of responsibility so problems in managing the facility installed remain after the implementation ofthe project

It also appears that this concept minimises the various relationships or dynamics existing within a neighbouIhood where the population as a whole is far from homogeneous the failure of numerous management committees set up in several projects is an example ofthis

Lastly failure to take into account the other institutional partners (centralised administrations water companies local collectivities) during the implementation of projects aimed at community participation is undoubtedly one of the reasons for the low sustainability noticed in most of these projects Attempts to set up structures for local management of services within a neighbouIhood without involving relevant institushytions have shown their limitations in the long tenn

Negotiation among the various partners (community suppliers of services public administration) is indeed necessary in order to agree on a definition of their respective roles and on the areas of intervention An approach to partnership needs to be found which will encourage actions undertaken by local communishyties at the neighbouIhood level

62 Management methods When we look at the water supply situation in low-income areas we note that there is a real demand

for home delivery or more accurately for water within the multi-family compound There is a willingness to pay for such a service providing that it is actually rendered The installations and the methods used by venshydors or distributors within the infonnal sector are located at the point where economic feasibility and minishymal obligatory standards converge This management method constitutes a technological and institutional alternative which responds to the demand of communities in precarious areas Can we make allowances for the operational pragmatism of small private entrepreneurs acting at the neighbouIhood level Can we make allowances for unconventional management methods Should services be entirely dependent on national companies

Examples of local management of services (water household waste) are numerous but in most cases this is allowed to occur due to the laxity on the part of the authorities other than a conscious process by the authorities to transfer responsibility In Bamako since 1990 the Governers office has issued a numshyber of pennits to private entrepreneurs living in neighbouIhoods not serviced by the public water system to undertake the extension of the drinking water supply network and to distribute water from public taps loshycated in public areas Extension of the system and installation of the meter are covered in full by the entreshypreneur for fees that are sometimes quite high (1 million FCFA for about 150 meters of piping) Lack of clear role definition among the various institutional agents able to furnish services in the neighbouIhood ofshyten leads to additional fees for the private investors who must pay a lot of commissions in order to obtain the necessary pennits

Small private investors acting at the neighbouIhood level play an important role in furnishing servshyices and seem to have resolved the problems ofcost recovery at their level This situation is advantageous in that it succeeds in covering a part of the demand for water which the state can not afford to satisfy as effishycientlyas it would like to

~or additional information on the concept of shared management see the dissertation of Sylvy JagIin Cf Note 8

Water supply In low-Income urban sress

Water storage in the compound with half-buried clay jars (Ouagadougou)

63 Alternative technologies Can specialised public services allow the exisshy

tence of alternative technologies Have the technologies used and their applicability to conditions in developing countries been questioned

In Ouagadougou distribution via public taps inshydependent water points and vendors represents an examshyple of shared management This distribution method is approved by the administration satisfies in part the deshymands of the population and makes use of local skills In Bamako a pilot water supply project is being impleshymented in the peri-urban areas Small independent netshyworks supplied from boreholes are being built in four neighbourhoods these systems are being managed by local associations This solution was jointly endorsed by the population of the neighbourhoods covered the municipal authorities and centralised technical services because the water company was unable to extend its network to this suburb

29The cost of the connection can be broken down as follows 260 meters of piping at 150 Flmeter 20 meters of flexible piping (10000 F) labour (20000 F) and storks beak (15000 F) The price of a Yacoli pwnp installed by SODECI is 15 million F and the cost of a linear meter of a SODECI connection is 2000 F

Regional WsbtlInd SlInlllltJon Goup - WUt AfrkJs

7 Conclusion It appears that a solution to the problem of water supply to low-income groups must be found by

interfacing public institutions the population and private entrepreneurs in low-income neighbourhoods

The solution of shared management would be profitable for all the parties concerned the water companies who would retain a monopoly only over the portion of the water sector which is profitable acshycording to their operating methods and their standards for equipment for the vendors or infonnal sector disshytributors who would no longer have to work in a semi-clandestine way risking the periodic destruction of their installations and for the poor population who could obtain better service at a more reasonable price thanks to the stimulation of competition due to the recognition of the infonnal re-distribution system for drinking water

Water supply from a tap and storage in barrels in order to

conlTolconsumpnon (Abidjan)

Waiting at a public tap in Boulbinet

(Conakry)

Water supply In Iow-lncome urlJBn SnlSS

References 1 Antoine Dubresson Manou-Savina Abidjan cote cours Ed KarthalalOrstom 1987

2 Jaglin Sylvy Pouvoirs urbains et gestion partagee aOuagadougou equipements et services de proximite dans les peripheries Doctoral dissertation in Uman Studies and Planning University of Paris VJll 1991

3 Regional Water and Sanitation Group - West Africa Enquete sur la volonte de payer en assainisshysement Commune de Port Bouet Abidjan 1993

4 Morel A IHuissier Economie de fa distribution de I eau aux populations urbaines aJaible reveshynu dans les pays en voie de developpement Doctoral dissertation Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussees Paris 1990

List of abbreviations DWS Drinking water supply

EDM Energie du Mali (Mali Power Company)

FCFA Franc ofthe financial community ofWest Africa (1 USS= about 530 FCFA)

IWSP Independent water supply point

NGO Non-govemmental organisation

PVC Polyvinyl chloride

SODECI Societe des Eaux de Cote dIvoire (Ivorian Water Utility)

Printed in Abidjan COte divoire December 1994

Title of the original French document Laimentation en eau en milieu urbain dans les quartiers defavorises Une question de partage

Djenne Koro Banconi Bolibana

WstBr upply In 1ow-lntJOmfl urlNln fires

Flexible pipe from the connection to the compound (Abidjan)

Filling up ofwater barrels in the compound (Abidjan)

Water transported by vending systems gets to the consumer at much higher prices than the rates for private connections or at the public tap (Figure 4) In low-income areas even those covered by the public water supply netwOIk sale ofwater is still very frequent For example in one-storey communal compounds in Abidjan when the owner of the compound (or a tenant household) has a private connection the water is often sold to other households in the compound

FCFA 1

Official price Price at public tap bull Price delivered to customers home

figure 4 price of cubic meter of water at various stages in the distribution network12

12 Prices given for Djenne Koro and Banconi (Mali) are those noted before devaluation of the CFA franc For Bolibana (Abidjan) the price given is that following devaluation

Regional Water andSanltlJtJon Groupmiddot West Africa

34 Questionable water quality

Whatever the source of water supply transport transfer and storage of water in various containers (often to better limit consumption) multiply the potential sources ofcontamination

A study carried out in a small city in Kivu (Zaire) in 1989 showed that the number of episodes of dianhoea per year for children aged two to three years increased in proportion to the distance from the gubshylic tap the risks are triple for a child living more than five minutes walking distance from the public tap 3

In Ouagadougou the variations in the rate of residual chlorine between the water source (public tap) and the storage container were measured taking into account the duration of storage

l4 These observations

showed that the rate of residual chlorine was very variable at the same point in the network and fluctuated widely over time over a period of three days variations of 0 to 13 mgll were noted Chlorine breaks down rapidly in clay jars thus a concentration of 05 mgll of chlorine at the beginning of the storage period is not sufficient since it is rapidly degraded by the multiple contaminations which take place during transport and storage of water at the home After four hours of storage the chlorine had practically disappeared from all the containers (Figure 5)

The duration of water storage in the home varies from 4 to 29 hours with an average duration of 16 hours At this point chlorine has disappeared completely from all the containers For 26 containers analysed and used to store water for more than four hours 85 were contaminated and only 15 met the drinkin~ water standards (0 faecal coliform per 100 mi) The percentage of contaminated containers rises over time I

RM ___MH bullbullbullbull______H__bullbullH _____H____________bullbull__bullbullbull_______ _____________bull___________________________bullbull____________ ___bull ____________H___H _________

06

05

04

03

02

01

~ - -~ - - -shy

- - - ~ - - - - - - - - - - -

- - - - - -- ~ - - - - - - - - - - - - shy

-ltgt-Sample 1

-O-Sample2

- fs -Sample 3

--------A--------------shy shyshy

------------~---~---------------- - o +---------~--------~--------~---------Q

Network TO TO + 2 h TO +4 h TO + 8 h

figure 5 variation in rate of residual chlorine in water stored in the home (mgl)

13 ZairelUSA SANRU project Results othe Kirotshe Impact Study 1989

14 Empereur-BissonnetP L eau de boisson en milieu rural africain evaluation des methodes destinees II ameliorer la qualite micro-biologique Medecine thesis Paris 1989

15 Cf Note 14

4 Social policy regarding water and constraints of poor populations

Water companies have tried several solutions for improving water supply in low-income areas These approaches based on a generous principle of facilitating access to the drinking water supply network for poor populations however face difficulties and perverse effects which limit or even aggravate the situashytion in precarious areas

41 Public taps

Supply from a hand pump in an outlying area (Ouagadougou)

Public taps installed during the colonial period or shortly after independence where water was disshytributed free of charge have been progressively done away with in most of the countries of the sub-region 16

City districts which were responsible for managing these public taps and for covering the cost of the water consumed have experienced greater and greater difficulties in paying the water bills Where public taps still exist their management has been privati sed which has usually given positive results Awareness of the value of water has increased among the authorities who have accepted the principle of privatisation of pubshylic taps as well as among the population who consent to pay for water at the taps

The proportion ofthe population directly served by public taps is however quite small In Bamako only 20 of the population is directly served by public taps or by independent water supply points In Abidjan as of 1994 there were 290 public taps ie a service rate of about 5 of the population 17 and with 30 of the households not connected to the public water supply network

Because of their cost public taps which are generally installed within projects financed by develshyopment organisations or NGOs are relatively few and require their users to transport water over quite large distances Their number is insufficient to constitute any real competition for water vendors or to reduce the price ofwater delivered directly to the home

Improvements wished for by consumers are mainly an increase in water flow at the tap or an inshycrease in the number of faucets (in order to reduce waiting time) and better disposition or installation of taps related to the method oftransporting water (installation ofplatforms height of faucets)

16 Except in Conakry where the numerous public taps in the district ofKaloum continue to distribute water free of charge in spite of an agreement to privatise them endorsed by the national and local authorities and the water company

17 Estimate based on an average quantity of 200 cubic meters distributed per month and per tap and a consumption rate of 20 lIdayinhabitant

Rfl[JlonMMttertmd 8tMJtIIIItM GnHJp bull ~

42 Subsidised water supply for low-income groups Does a so~led social policy based on the argument of income distribution (whereby huge conshy

sumers subsidise small ones) really help the poorest ofthe poor

It has been shown in the preceding paragraphs that the majority of residents of poor areas purchase water from vendors A water vendor consumes a large quantity of water and thus pays the rate applicable to high water consumption His high unit purchase price is thus passed on to his customers although they are in the lowest income group

If we take Cote dIvoire as an example

[J break-even price ofml ofwater 180 F

[J subsidised rate 159 F

[J household rate (avemge consumption 91-300 ml) 368F

[J average price paid by the population 750F

For the 750 F paid by the poor users for a cubic meter of water the SODECI receives 368 F This figure can be broken down as follows (See Figure 6) break-even price (180 F) + subsidy (x F) + profit margin of vendor (y F) Thus the poor population is paying for a subsidy which they should theoretically receive but which they never do

Poor population 382 Fm3 Vendor---750 Fm3 I------~

Subsidies Water

reak-even price + other company

figure 6 who is subsidising whom

A study carried out in Kumasi (Ghana)18 also showed the negative effects of a progressive tariff on the poor population of this city for two reasons first of all in densely populated areas several low-income households (eleven or more households on the avemge) frequently living in the same building share a water connection located in the courtyard and divide the water bill according to the size of the household number of rooms occupied and so forth The progressive tariff applied results in a situation where these households pay more for water than a household which has its own water connection In addition many poor houseshyholds who cannot afford to have a private or collective connection purchase water from their neighbours thus increasing the consumption of the connection and consequently the unit price ofwater which is passed on to the purchaser

Thus it is clear that the poor finance in part the subsidy of the progIessive tariff which is intended for their benefit and from which wealthier people profit as well as extensions of the distribution network which are not in their neighbowhoods (Figure 6)

We need to question the faimess of social policies as long as a large proportion of the population does not have private connections

111 Whittington Dale Possible advene effects ofincrea8ing block water tarlffi in developing ccnmtriel The University ofChi~ 01992

WtBr supply In fow-inCOllHl urblln I11f1II8

43 Subsidised water connections 19

This type of connection consists in having the conswner pay the cost of papershywork the cost of installing the water meter and an advance on conswnption while the connecshytion is generally paid for through a developshyment fund or external subsidies After the deshyvaluation several countries again reduced the cost of subsidised connections In Cote dIvoire for example only the advance on conswnption and the cost of paperwork are paid by the conswner ie 18750 F as a lump

22swn payment

Looking at household inshycome the majority of households living in precarious housing seem to have little access to subsidised conshynections especially if we consider that for this segment of the populashytion food purchases constitute about 80 ofexpenditures

The limits of social approaches which have been proposed up to the present are as follows

Cl Public and collective solushytions are too few when comshypared to the needs in poor arshyeas (long waiting periods long distances to water points)

Lack of flexibility in payment methods for connections and water bills Whatever solushytions are proposed to reduce the cost of connections poor households do not have easy access to them In addition the due dates for bills (every two or even three months)

Resale ofwater make it difficult for houseshyfrom a connection holds with only small and irshyin a compound (Abidjan) regular incomes to make the

payments A private connecshytion also implies an increase

19 This reasoning can also be applied to connections carried out on credit proposed in Senegal Cameroon and Gabon

w Direction et Contr61e des Grands Travaux Direction des etudes et projets mbains Atelier dmbanisme dAbidjan Analyse des filieres de prodllction de terrains ll1bains et de logements caracterisation de fa demande de logements reSllltats de Ienquite socio-economique OIlpreS des menages (the results are from a survey carried out in October 1993) June 1994

21 BURGEAP Caisse Fran~aise de Developpement EtIlde de cas SIlr leOll et la sante dons les qIlQrtiers Ilrbains defavorises March 1994

n Before the devaluation the price paid by the conswner for a free connection amounted to 22000 F (installation of meter 7000 F Pape1Work 2000 F advance on conswnption 13000 F)

in metered water consumption and as a result an increase in expenses

Current approaches imply an ability to save money which low-income groups do not have The study carried out in August through October 1993 on 5441 households in Abidjan23 emphasised that 62 of households throughout the city said that they are unable to save money In precarious housing areas or poor neighbourhoods 70 of household heads stated that they are unable to save any money For those who are able to save the average amount saved is 9600 FCFA per month In compound housing 65 of heads ofhouseholds stated that they are unable to save at all Those who are able to save save an average of 16400 FCFA

Table 4 Cost ofwater connection compared to main monthly income ofa tenant head ofhousehold in Abidjan24 (FCFA)

Improvised housing

Evolving housing

37750F

60000F

18750 F

18750 F

2500 F

2500 F

497

313

66

42

Water supply from a well in an area with a superficial ground water table (Abidjan)

23 cr Note 20 24 cr Note 20

Water supply In IoWwincomll urblln IIrBlIS

5 A question of adjustment

With the hope of ensuring fairness water companies and funding agencies have applied solutions which have allowed a greater proportion of households to have access to drinking water Thus even more than the water tariff which still remains an important factor in the implementation of social policy it is essential to consider the conditions ofaccess to water supply in terms ofthe daily constraints experienced by the population of poor neighbourhoods

51 The willingness to pay of low-income groups is real

They are not asking for free water Several examples show that the myth of free water has been declining over the last few years

Il In Bangui a pilot project in 1986 installed six public taps (where water would be paid for) in two neighbourhoods of the city In 1987 a political decision made these taps free of charge This decision led to a degradation in the functioning of the water supply and less flexibility in supply in particular regarding operating hours The residents themselves quickly protested against the situation which eventually led to re-instating the fees one month after they were suspended

Although the income allocated to payment of water bills represents a large proportion of the budget of low-income families the price does not seem to be perceived as a limiting factor by the population of peri-urban areas or poor neighbourhoods A study carried out in six semi-urban areas in Mali

25 showed that the highest consumption per resident was in the city of Nara (1511inhabishy

tantJday as compared to 65 VinhabitantJday on average for the six cities) however the unit price is highest in Nara (750 to 1500 F in Nara as compared to 500 to 1000 F in the other cities)

When one adds up the amounts spent daily poor sections of the population pay proportionally more for access to good drinking water as compared to their incomes They therefore have access to monetary resources but lack ways to mobilise them effectively

52 Purchase of small quantities but every day

Households purchase water daily since their incomes are small as well as irregular which does not allow them to save money in order to pay for a private connection or to pay a bill every two or three months Daily purchase of water also allows the possibility of reducing expenditures whenever possible people make use of other sources of water (rainwater collection for example) water bought on a daily basis is stored in metal or pottery containers which allows better control over the quantity consumed and thus avoids waste

The notion of effort rate often used in socio-economic studies to better define demand and the financial capacity of households only has meaning for the segment of the population whose income is high enough and regular enough to allow them to save money Mechanisms for deduction in advance presuppose an effort rate and a capacity to save while the effort rate of the poor varies from day to day Mechanisms for saving money used by the poorest segment of the population make use of informal systems which bypass the formal banking system which is also inaccessible to the poorest of the poor

53 Demand for service at home

By developing a flexible commercial service private water vendors make things easier for their customers and thus know how to mobilise the resources ofpoor populations

Il prices vary according to distance (and thus the effort required) and households consent to pay high daily rates in exchange for water delivered to their doorstep

a wide range of service levels is offered according to the economic capacity and needs of the population

25 Gauff Ingenieure Programme de rehabilitation de IAEP de 6 centres semi-urbains - Rapport socio-economique May 1993

[J methods ofpayment are variable by the day or by the week monthly payments are rare since there is a lack of trust between vendors and customers over a relatively long period of time The vendor also bas financial constraints since he must make short-tenn payments within the infonnal economy

[J the number of vendors varies according to demand (more during the dry season in the Sahel countries)

[J supply distances are reduced by means of flexible pipes which allow home delivery and thus do away with long waiting periods

Independent water supply point (Ouagadougou)

Wstlsupply In Iow-income urblln s

Table 5 Comparison ofdistribution network and re-distribution network26

Coverage

Broad geographic coverage

Coverage

Covers space left over by distribution network

Investments

Q High investment

Q Amortisation over several decades

Q Investments spatially fIXed

Q Centralised network plan

eclllmcal systems

Q Electricity

Q Insufficient service at public taps long waiting periods

Investments

Q Moderate investment

Q Light material (stork beak flexible piping various containers vehicles frequently second-hand equipment

Q Configuration of network constantly altered alternative solutions constantly sought

systems

Q Animal or human energy

Q Better service coverage more vendors than public taps home delivery

Administrative system

Q Salaried employees for the most part

Q Impersonal relationship with customers usually by administrative procedures (billing)

Q Advertising necessary

Administrative system

Q No of employed is variable low pay often employs family members

Q Direct personalised relationship no administrative procedures

Q No advertising

Financial systems

Q Fixed rates payment upon receipt of bill (every 2-3 months)

Q Low profit margin per unit but high terms of volume

Q Access to modern credit

in

Financial systems

Q Possibility of flexible payment system (per day per week less often per month)

Q High profrt margin per unit but low in terms of volume

Q No access to modern credit

Indeed the re-distribution system is quite mobile and flexible able to respond to demand The administrative freedom of the re-distribution system allows it to constantly adapt to variable consumption and to changing economic conditions as opposed to the functional rigidity of the water companies27

Public taps (Ouagadougou)

~orel A IHuissier Economie de la distribution de eau aux populations whaines afaible revenu dans les pays en voie de developpement Doctoral Dissertation Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Cbaussees December 1990

27cr Note 8

6 A question of sharing 28

How is this adjustment possible Should the solutions proposed by infonnal sector agents be tolershyated temporarily or on the contrary should they be considered as an integral part of the urban distribution network

61 From community participation to shared management One approach which has been tried out for development of different types of infrastructure and

services in low-income areas is community participation This concept has most often been used to obtain the populations support for govemment programs and thus to help meet institutional standards and make up for the lack of facilities and services The population has usually been encouraged to participate in project implementation by contributions in kind financial contributions or sometimes labour These operations are rarely accompanied by an actual transfer of responsibility so problems in managing the facility installed remain after the implementation ofthe project

It also appears that this concept minimises the various relationships or dynamics existing within a neighbouIhood where the population as a whole is far from homogeneous the failure of numerous management committees set up in several projects is an example ofthis

Lastly failure to take into account the other institutional partners (centralised administrations water companies local collectivities) during the implementation of projects aimed at community participation is undoubtedly one of the reasons for the low sustainability noticed in most of these projects Attempts to set up structures for local management of services within a neighbouIhood without involving relevant institushytions have shown their limitations in the long tenn

Negotiation among the various partners (community suppliers of services public administration) is indeed necessary in order to agree on a definition of their respective roles and on the areas of intervention An approach to partnership needs to be found which will encourage actions undertaken by local communishyties at the neighbouIhood level

62 Management methods When we look at the water supply situation in low-income areas we note that there is a real demand

for home delivery or more accurately for water within the multi-family compound There is a willingness to pay for such a service providing that it is actually rendered The installations and the methods used by venshydors or distributors within the infonnal sector are located at the point where economic feasibility and minishymal obligatory standards converge This management method constitutes a technological and institutional alternative which responds to the demand of communities in precarious areas Can we make allowances for the operational pragmatism of small private entrepreneurs acting at the neighbouIhood level Can we make allowances for unconventional management methods Should services be entirely dependent on national companies

Examples of local management of services (water household waste) are numerous but in most cases this is allowed to occur due to the laxity on the part of the authorities other than a conscious process by the authorities to transfer responsibility In Bamako since 1990 the Governers office has issued a numshyber of pennits to private entrepreneurs living in neighbouIhoods not serviced by the public water system to undertake the extension of the drinking water supply network and to distribute water from public taps loshycated in public areas Extension of the system and installation of the meter are covered in full by the entreshypreneur for fees that are sometimes quite high (1 million FCFA for about 150 meters of piping) Lack of clear role definition among the various institutional agents able to furnish services in the neighbouIhood ofshyten leads to additional fees for the private investors who must pay a lot of commissions in order to obtain the necessary pennits

Small private investors acting at the neighbouIhood level play an important role in furnishing servshyices and seem to have resolved the problems ofcost recovery at their level This situation is advantageous in that it succeeds in covering a part of the demand for water which the state can not afford to satisfy as effishycientlyas it would like to

~or additional information on the concept of shared management see the dissertation of Sylvy JagIin Cf Note 8

Water supply In low-Income urban sress

Water storage in the compound with half-buried clay jars (Ouagadougou)

63 Alternative technologies Can specialised public services allow the exisshy

tence of alternative technologies Have the technologies used and their applicability to conditions in developing countries been questioned

In Ouagadougou distribution via public taps inshydependent water points and vendors represents an examshyple of shared management This distribution method is approved by the administration satisfies in part the deshymands of the population and makes use of local skills In Bamako a pilot water supply project is being impleshymented in the peri-urban areas Small independent netshyworks supplied from boreholes are being built in four neighbourhoods these systems are being managed by local associations This solution was jointly endorsed by the population of the neighbourhoods covered the municipal authorities and centralised technical services because the water company was unable to extend its network to this suburb

29The cost of the connection can be broken down as follows 260 meters of piping at 150 Flmeter 20 meters of flexible piping (10000 F) labour (20000 F) and storks beak (15000 F) The price of a Yacoli pwnp installed by SODECI is 15 million F and the cost of a linear meter of a SODECI connection is 2000 F

Regional WsbtlInd SlInlllltJon Goup - WUt AfrkJs

7 Conclusion It appears that a solution to the problem of water supply to low-income groups must be found by

interfacing public institutions the population and private entrepreneurs in low-income neighbourhoods

The solution of shared management would be profitable for all the parties concerned the water companies who would retain a monopoly only over the portion of the water sector which is profitable acshycording to their operating methods and their standards for equipment for the vendors or infonnal sector disshytributors who would no longer have to work in a semi-clandestine way risking the periodic destruction of their installations and for the poor population who could obtain better service at a more reasonable price thanks to the stimulation of competition due to the recognition of the infonnal re-distribution system for drinking water

Water supply from a tap and storage in barrels in order to

conlTolconsumpnon (Abidjan)

Waiting at a public tap in Boulbinet

(Conakry)

Water supply In Iow-lncome urlJBn SnlSS

References 1 Antoine Dubresson Manou-Savina Abidjan cote cours Ed KarthalalOrstom 1987

2 Jaglin Sylvy Pouvoirs urbains et gestion partagee aOuagadougou equipements et services de proximite dans les peripheries Doctoral dissertation in Uman Studies and Planning University of Paris VJll 1991

3 Regional Water and Sanitation Group - West Africa Enquete sur la volonte de payer en assainisshysement Commune de Port Bouet Abidjan 1993

4 Morel A IHuissier Economie de fa distribution de I eau aux populations urbaines aJaible reveshynu dans les pays en voie de developpement Doctoral dissertation Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussees Paris 1990

List of abbreviations DWS Drinking water supply

EDM Energie du Mali (Mali Power Company)

FCFA Franc ofthe financial community ofWest Africa (1 USS= about 530 FCFA)

IWSP Independent water supply point

NGO Non-govemmental organisation

PVC Polyvinyl chloride

SODECI Societe des Eaux de Cote dIvoire (Ivorian Water Utility)

Printed in Abidjan COte divoire December 1994

Title of the original French document Laimentation en eau en milieu urbain dans les quartiers defavorises Une question de partage

Regional Water andSanltlJtJon Groupmiddot West Africa

34 Questionable water quality

Whatever the source of water supply transport transfer and storage of water in various containers (often to better limit consumption) multiply the potential sources ofcontamination

A study carried out in a small city in Kivu (Zaire) in 1989 showed that the number of episodes of dianhoea per year for children aged two to three years increased in proportion to the distance from the gubshylic tap the risks are triple for a child living more than five minutes walking distance from the public tap 3

In Ouagadougou the variations in the rate of residual chlorine between the water source (public tap) and the storage container were measured taking into account the duration of storage

l4 These observations

showed that the rate of residual chlorine was very variable at the same point in the network and fluctuated widely over time over a period of three days variations of 0 to 13 mgll were noted Chlorine breaks down rapidly in clay jars thus a concentration of 05 mgll of chlorine at the beginning of the storage period is not sufficient since it is rapidly degraded by the multiple contaminations which take place during transport and storage of water at the home After four hours of storage the chlorine had practically disappeared from all the containers (Figure 5)

The duration of water storage in the home varies from 4 to 29 hours with an average duration of 16 hours At this point chlorine has disappeared completely from all the containers For 26 containers analysed and used to store water for more than four hours 85 were contaminated and only 15 met the drinkin~ water standards (0 faecal coliform per 100 mi) The percentage of contaminated containers rises over time I

RM ___MH bullbullbullbull______H__bullbullH _____H____________bullbull__bullbullbull_______ _____________bull___________________________bullbull____________ ___bull ____________H___H _________

06

05

04

03

02

01

~ - -~ - - -shy

- - - ~ - - - - - - - - - - -

- - - - - -- ~ - - - - - - - - - - - - shy

-ltgt-Sample 1

-O-Sample2

- fs -Sample 3

--------A--------------shy shyshy

------------~---~---------------- - o +---------~--------~--------~---------Q

Network TO TO + 2 h TO +4 h TO + 8 h

figure 5 variation in rate of residual chlorine in water stored in the home (mgl)

13 ZairelUSA SANRU project Results othe Kirotshe Impact Study 1989

14 Empereur-BissonnetP L eau de boisson en milieu rural africain evaluation des methodes destinees II ameliorer la qualite micro-biologique Medecine thesis Paris 1989

15 Cf Note 14

4 Social policy regarding water and constraints of poor populations

Water companies have tried several solutions for improving water supply in low-income areas These approaches based on a generous principle of facilitating access to the drinking water supply network for poor populations however face difficulties and perverse effects which limit or even aggravate the situashytion in precarious areas

41 Public taps

Supply from a hand pump in an outlying area (Ouagadougou)

Public taps installed during the colonial period or shortly after independence where water was disshytributed free of charge have been progressively done away with in most of the countries of the sub-region 16

City districts which were responsible for managing these public taps and for covering the cost of the water consumed have experienced greater and greater difficulties in paying the water bills Where public taps still exist their management has been privati sed which has usually given positive results Awareness of the value of water has increased among the authorities who have accepted the principle of privatisation of pubshylic taps as well as among the population who consent to pay for water at the taps

The proportion ofthe population directly served by public taps is however quite small In Bamako only 20 of the population is directly served by public taps or by independent water supply points In Abidjan as of 1994 there were 290 public taps ie a service rate of about 5 of the population 17 and with 30 of the households not connected to the public water supply network

Because of their cost public taps which are generally installed within projects financed by develshyopment organisations or NGOs are relatively few and require their users to transport water over quite large distances Their number is insufficient to constitute any real competition for water vendors or to reduce the price ofwater delivered directly to the home

Improvements wished for by consumers are mainly an increase in water flow at the tap or an inshycrease in the number of faucets (in order to reduce waiting time) and better disposition or installation of taps related to the method oftransporting water (installation ofplatforms height of faucets)

16 Except in Conakry where the numerous public taps in the district ofKaloum continue to distribute water free of charge in spite of an agreement to privatise them endorsed by the national and local authorities and the water company

17 Estimate based on an average quantity of 200 cubic meters distributed per month and per tap and a consumption rate of 20 lIdayinhabitant

Rfl[JlonMMttertmd 8tMJtIIIItM GnHJp bull ~

42 Subsidised water supply for low-income groups Does a so~led social policy based on the argument of income distribution (whereby huge conshy

sumers subsidise small ones) really help the poorest ofthe poor

It has been shown in the preceding paragraphs that the majority of residents of poor areas purchase water from vendors A water vendor consumes a large quantity of water and thus pays the rate applicable to high water consumption His high unit purchase price is thus passed on to his customers although they are in the lowest income group

If we take Cote dIvoire as an example

[J break-even price ofml ofwater 180 F

[J subsidised rate 159 F

[J household rate (avemge consumption 91-300 ml) 368F

[J average price paid by the population 750F

For the 750 F paid by the poor users for a cubic meter of water the SODECI receives 368 F This figure can be broken down as follows (See Figure 6) break-even price (180 F) + subsidy (x F) + profit margin of vendor (y F) Thus the poor population is paying for a subsidy which they should theoretically receive but which they never do

Poor population 382 Fm3 Vendor---750 Fm3 I------~

Subsidies Water

reak-even price + other company

figure 6 who is subsidising whom

A study carried out in Kumasi (Ghana)18 also showed the negative effects of a progressive tariff on the poor population of this city for two reasons first of all in densely populated areas several low-income households (eleven or more households on the avemge) frequently living in the same building share a water connection located in the courtyard and divide the water bill according to the size of the household number of rooms occupied and so forth The progressive tariff applied results in a situation where these households pay more for water than a household which has its own water connection In addition many poor houseshyholds who cannot afford to have a private or collective connection purchase water from their neighbours thus increasing the consumption of the connection and consequently the unit price ofwater which is passed on to the purchaser

Thus it is clear that the poor finance in part the subsidy of the progIessive tariff which is intended for their benefit and from which wealthier people profit as well as extensions of the distribution network which are not in their neighbowhoods (Figure 6)

We need to question the faimess of social policies as long as a large proportion of the population does not have private connections

111 Whittington Dale Possible advene effects ofincrea8ing block water tarlffi in developing ccnmtriel The University ofChi~ 01992

WtBr supply In fow-inCOllHl urblln I11f1II8

43 Subsidised water connections 19

This type of connection consists in having the conswner pay the cost of papershywork the cost of installing the water meter and an advance on conswnption while the connecshytion is generally paid for through a developshyment fund or external subsidies After the deshyvaluation several countries again reduced the cost of subsidised connections In Cote dIvoire for example only the advance on conswnption and the cost of paperwork are paid by the conswner ie 18750 F as a lump

22swn payment

Looking at household inshycome the majority of households living in precarious housing seem to have little access to subsidised conshynections especially if we consider that for this segment of the populashytion food purchases constitute about 80 ofexpenditures

The limits of social approaches which have been proposed up to the present are as follows

Cl Public and collective solushytions are too few when comshypared to the needs in poor arshyeas (long waiting periods long distances to water points)

Lack of flexibility in payment methods for connections and water bills Whatever solushytions are proposed to reduce the cost of connections poor households do not have easy access to them In addition the due dates for bills (every two or even three months)

Resale ofwater make it difficult for houseshyfrom a connection holds with only small and irshyin a compound (Abidjan) regular incomes to make the

payments A private connecshytion also implies an increase

19 This reasoning can also be applied to connections carried out on credit proposed in Senegal Cameroon and Gabon

w Direction et Contr61e des Grands Travaux Direction des etudes et projets mbains Atelier dmbanisme dAbidjan Analyse des filieres de prodllction de terrains ll1bains et de logements caracterisation de fa demande de logements reSllltats de Ienquite socio-economique OIlpreS des menages (the results are from a survey carried out in October 1993) June 1994

21 BURGEAP Caisse Fran~aise de Developpement EtIlde de cas SIlr leOll et la sante dons les qIlQrtiers Ilrbains defavorises March 1994

n Before the devaluation the price paid by the conswner for a free connection amounted to 22000 F (installation of meter 7000 F Pape1Work 2000 F advance on conswnption 13000 F)

in metered water consumption and as a result an increase in expenses

Current approaches imply an ability to save money which low-income groups do not have The study carried out in August through October 1993 on 5441 households in Abidjan23 emphasised that 62 of households throughout the city said that they are unable to save money In precarious housing areas or poor neighbourhoods 70 of household heads stated that they are unable to save any money For those who are able to save the average amount saved is 9600 FCFA per month In compound housing 65 of heads ofhouseholds stated that they are unable to save at all Those who are able to save save an average of 16400 FCFA

Table 4 Cost ofwater connection compared to main monthly income ofa tenant head ofhousehold in Abidjan24 (FCFA)

Improvised housing

Evolving housing

37750F

60000F

18750 F

18750 F

2500 F

2500 F

497

313

66

42

Water supply from a well in an area with a superficial ground water table (Abidjan)

23 cr Note 20 24 cr Note 20

Water supply In IoWwincomll urblln IIrBlIS

5 A question of adjustment

With the hope of ensuring fairness water companies and funding agencies have applied solutions which have allowed a greater proportion of households to have access to drinking water Thus even more than the water tariff which still remains an important factor in the implementation of social policy it is essential to consider the conditions ofaccess to water supply in terms ofthe daily constraints experienced by the population of poor neighbourhoods

51 The willingness to pay of low-income groups is real

They are not asking for free water Several examples show that the myth of free water has been declining over the last few years

Il In Bangui a pilot project in 1986 installed six public taps (where water would be paid for) in two neighbourhoods of the city In 1987 a political decision made these taps free of charge This decision led to a degradation in the functioning of the water supply and less flexibility in supply in particular regarding operating hours The residents themselves quickly protested against the situation which eventually led to re-instating the fees one month after they were suspended

Although the income allocated to payment of water bills represents a large proportion of the budget of low-income families the price does not seem to be perceived as a limiting factor by the population of peri-urban areas or poor neighbourhoods A study carried out in six semi-urban areas in Mali

25 showed that the highest consumption per resident was in the city of Nara (1511inhabishy

tantJday as compared to 65 VinhabitantJday on average for the six cities) however the unit price is highest in Nara (750 to 1500 F in Nara as compared to 500 to 1000 F in the other cities)

When one adds up the amounts spent daily poor sections of the population pay proportionally more for access to good drinking water as compared to their incomes They therefore have access to monetary resources but lack ways to mobilise them effectively

52 Purchase of small quantities but every day

Households purchase water daily since their incomes are small as well as irregular which does not allow them to save money in order to pay for a private connection or to pay a bill every two or three months Daily purchase of water also allows the possibility of reducing expenditures whenever possible people make use of other sources of water (rainwater collection for example) water bought on a daily basis is stored in metal or pottery containers which allows better control over the quantity consumed and thus avoids waste

The notion of effort rate often used in socio-economic studies to better define demand and the financial capacity of households only has meaning for the segment of the population whose income is high enough and regular enough to allow them to save money Mechanisms for deduction in advance presuppose an effort rate and a capacity to save while the effort rate of the poor varies from day to day Mechanisms for saving money used by the poorest segment of the population make use of informal systems which bypass the formal banking system which is also inaccessible to the poorest of the poor

53 Demand for service at home

By developing a flexible commercial service private water vendors make things easier for their customers and thus know how to mobilise the resources ofpoor populations

Il prices vary according to distance (and thus the effort required) and households consent to pay high daily rates in exchange for water delivered to their doorstep

a wide range of service levels is offered according to the economic capacity and needs of the population

25 Gauff Ingenieure Programme de rehabilitation de IAEP de 6 centres semi-urbains - Rapport socio-economique May 1993

[J methods ofpayment are variable by the day or by the week monthly payments are rare since there is a lack of trust between vendors and customers over a relatively long period of time The vendor also bas financial constraints since he must make short-tenn payments within the infonnal economy

[J the number of vendors varies according to demand (more during the dry season in the Sahel countries)

[J supply distances are reduced by means of flexible pipes which allow home delivery and thus do away with long waiting periods

Independent water supply point (Ouagadougou)

Wstlsupply In Iow-income urblln s

Table 5 Comparison ofdistribution network and re-distribution network26

Coverage

Broad geographic coverage

Coverage

Covers space left over by distribution network

Investments

Q High investment

Q Amortisation over several decades

Q Investments spatially fIXed

Q Centralised network plan

eclllmcal systems

Q Electricity

Q Insufficient service at public taps long waiting periods

Investments

Q Moderate investment

Q Light material (stork beak flexible piping various containers vehicles frequently second-hand equipment

Q Configuration of network constantly altered alternative solutions constantly sought

systems

Q Animal or human energy

Q Better service coverage more vendors than public taps home delivery

Administrative system

Q Salaried employees for the most part

Q Impersonal relationship with customers usually by administrative procedures (billing)

Q Advertising necessary

Administrative system

Q No of employed is variable low pay often employs family members

Q Direct personalised relationship no administrative procedures

Q No advertising

Financial systems

Q Fixed rates payment upon receipt of bill (every 2-3 months)

Q Low profit margin per unit but high terms of volume

Q Access to modern credit

in

Financial systems

Q Possibility of flexible payment system (per day per week less often per month)

Q High profrt margin per unit but low in terms of volume

Q No access to modern credit

Indeed the re-distribution system is quite mobile and flexible able to respond to demand The administrative freedom of the re-distribution system allows it to constantly adapt to variable consumption and to changing economic conditions as opposed to the functional rigidity of the water companies27

Public taps (Ouagadougou)

~orel A IHuissier Economie de la distribution de eau aux populations whaines afaible revenu dans les pays en voie de developpement Doctoral Dissertation Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Cbaussees December 1990

27cr Note 8

6 A question of sharing 28

How is this adjustment possible Should the solutions proposed by infonnal sector agents be tolershyated temporarily or on the contrary should they be considered as an integral part of the urban distribution network

61 From community participation to shared management One approach which has been tried out for development of different types of infrastructure and

services in low-income areas is community participation This concept has most often been used to obtain the populations support for govemment programs and thus to help meet institutional standards and make up for the lack of facilities and services The population has usually been encouraged to participate in project implementation by contributions in kind financial contributions or sometimes labour These operations are rarely accompanied by an actual transfer of responsibility so problems in managing the facility installed remain after the implementation ofthe project

It also appears that this concept minimises the various relationships or dynamics existing within a neighbouIhood where the population as a whole is far from homogeneous the failure of numerous management committees set up in several projects is an example ofthis

Lastly failure to take into account the other institutional partners (centralised administrations water companies local collectivities) during the implementation of projects aimed at community participation is undoubtedly one of the reasons for the low sustainability noticed in most of these projects Attempts to set up structures for local management of services within a neighbouIhood without involving relevant institushytions have shown their limitations in the long tenn

Negotiation among the various partners (community suppliers of services public administration) is indeed necessary in order to agree on a definition of their respective roles and on the areas of intervention An approach to partnership needs to be found which will encourage actions undertaken by local communishyties at the neighbouIhood level

62 Management methods When we look at the water supply situation in low-income areas we note that there is a real demand

for home delivery or more accurately for water within the multi-family compound There is a willingness to pay for such a service providing that it is actually rendered The installations and the methods used by venshydors or distributors within the infonnal sector are located at the point where economic feasibility and minishymal obligatory standards converge This management method constitutes a technological and institutional alternative which responds to the demand of communities in precarious areas Can we make allowances for the operational pragmatism of small private entrepreneurs acting at the neighbouIhood level Can we make allowances for unconventional management methods Should services be entirely dependent on national companies

Examples of local management of services (water household waste) are numerous but in most cases this is allowed to occur due to the laxity on the part of the authorities other than a conscious process by the authorities to transfer responsibility In Bamako since 1990 the Governers office has issued a numshyber of pennits to private entrepreneurs living in neighbouIhoods not serviced by the public water system to undertake the extension of the drinking water supply network and to distribute water from public taps loshycated in public areas Extension of the system and installation of the meter are covered in full by the entreshypreneur for fees that are sometimes quite high (1 million FCFA for about 150 meters of piping) Lack of clear role definition among the various institutional agents able to furnish services in the neighbouIhood ofshyten leads to additional fees for the private investors who must pay a lot of commissions in order to obtain the necessary pennits

Small private investors acting at the neighbouIhood level play an important role in furnishing servshyices and seem to have resolved the problems ofcost recovery at their level This situation is advantageous in that it succeeds in covering a part of the demand for water which the state can not afford to satisfy as effishycientlyas it would like to

~or additional information on the concept of shared management see the dissertation of Sylvy JagIin Cf Note 8

Water supply In low-Income urban sress

Water storage in the compound with half-buried clay jars (Ouagadougou)

63 Alternative technologies Can specialised public services allow the exisshy

tence of alternative technologies Have the technologies used and their applicability to conditions in developing countries been questioned

In Ouagadougou distribution via public taps inshydependent water points and vendors represents an examshyple of shared management This distribution method is approved by the administration satisfies in part the deshymands of the population and makes use of local skills In Bamako a pilot water supply project is being impleshymented in the peri-urban areas Small independent netshyworks supplied from boreholes are being built in four neighbourhoods these systems are being managed by local associations This solution was jointly endorsed by the population of the neighbourhoods covered the municipal authorities and centralised technical services because the water company was unable to extend its network to this suburb

29The cost of the connection can be broken down as follows 260 meters of piping at 150 Flmeter 20 meters of flexible piping (10000 F) labour (20000 F) and storks beak (15000 F) The price of a Yacoli pwnp installed by SODECI is 15 million F and the cost of a linear meter of a SODECI connection is 2000 F

Regional WsbtlInd SlInlllltJon Goup - WUt AfrkJs

7 Conclusion It appears that a solution to the problem of water supply to low-income groups must be found by

interfacing public institutions the population and private entrepreneurs in low-income neighbourhoods

The solution of shared management would be profitable for all the parties concerned the water companies who would retain a monopoly only over the portion of the water sector which is profitable acshycording to their operating methods and their standards for equipment for the vendors or infonnal sector disshytributors who would no longer have to work in a semi-clandestine way risking the periodic destruction of their installations and for the poor population who could obtain better service at a more reasonable price thanks to the stimulation of competition due to the recognition of the infonnal re-distribution system for drinking water

Water supply from a tap and storage in barrels in order to

conlTolconsumpnon (Abidjan)

Waiting at a public tap in Boulbinet

(Conakry)

Water supply In Iow-lncome urlJBn SnlSS

References 1 Antoine Dubresson Manou-Savina Abidjan cote cours Ed KarthalalOrstom 1987

2 Jaglin Sylvy Pouvoirs urbains et gestion partagee aOuagadougou equipements et services de proximite dans les peripheries Doctoral dissertation in Uman Studies and Planning University of Paris VJll 1991

3 Regional Water and Sanitation Group - West Africa Enquete sur la volonte de payer en assainisshysement Commune de Port Bouet Abidjan 1993

4 Morel A IHuissier Economie de fa distribution de I eau aux populations urbaines aJaible reveshynu dans les pays en voie de developpement Doctoral dissertation Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussees Paris 1990

List of abbreviations DWS Drinking water supply

EDM Energie du Mali (Mali Power Company)

FCFA Franc ofthe financial community ofWest Africa (1 USS= about 530 FCFA)

IWSP Independent water supply point

NGO Non-govemmental organisation

PVC Polyvinyl chloride

SODECI Societe des Eaux de Cote dIvoire (Ivorian Water Utility)

Printed in Abidjan COte divoire December 1994

Title of the original French document Laimentation en eau en milieu urbain dans les quartiers defavorises Une question de partage

4 Social policy regarding water and constraints of poor populations

Water companies have tried several solutions for improving water supply in low-income areas These approaches based on a generous principle of facilitating access to the drinking water supply network for poor populations however face difficulties and perverse effects which limit or even aggravate the situashytion in precarious areas

41 Public taps

Supply from a hand pump in an outlying area (Ouagadougou)

Public taps installed during the colonial period or shortly after independence where water was disshytributed free of charge have been progressively done away with in most of the countries of the sub-region 16

City districts which were responsible for managing these public taps and for covering the cost of the water consumed have experienced greater and greater difficulties in paying the water bills Where public taps still exist their management has been privati sed which has usually given positive results Awareness of the value of water has increased among the authorities who have accepted the principle of privatisation of pubshylic taps as well as among the population who consent to pay for water at the taps

The proportion ofthe population directly served by public taps is however quite small In Bamako only 20 of the population is directly served by public taps or by independent water supply points In Abidjan as of 1994 there were 290 public taps ie a service rate of about 5 of the population 17 and with 30 of the households not connected to the public water supply network

Because of their cost public taps which are generally installed within projects financed by develshyopment organisations or NGOs are relatively few and require their users to transport water over quite large distances Their number is insufficient to constitute any real competition for water vendors or to reduce the price ofwater delivered directly to the home

Improvements wished for by consumers are mainly an increase in water flow at the tap or an inshycrease in the number of faucets (in order to reduce waiting time) and better disposition or installation of taps related to the method oftransporting water (installation ofplatforms height of faucets)

16 Except in Conakry where the numerous public taps in the district ofKaloum continue to distribute water free of charge in spite of an agreement to privatise them endorsed by the national and local authorities and the water company

17 Estimate based on an average quantity of 200 cubic meters distributed per month and per tap and a consumption rate of 20 lIdayinhabitant

Rfl[JlonMMttertmd 8tMJtIIIItM GnHJp bull ~

42 Subsidised water supply for low-income groups Does a so~led social policy based on the argument of income distribution (whereby huge conshy

sumers subsidise small ones) really help the poorest ofthe poor

It has been shown in the preceding paragraphs that the majority of residents of poor areas purchase water from vendors A water vendor consumes a large quantity of water and thus pays the rate applicable to high water consumption His high unit purchase price is thus passed on to his customers although they are in the lowest income group

If we take Cote dIvoire as an example

[J break-even price ofml ofwater 180 F

[J subsidised rate 159 F

[J household rate (avemge consumption 91-300 ml) 368F

[J average price paid by the population 750F

For the 750 F paid by the poor users for a cubic meter of water the SODECI receives 368 F This figure can be broken down as follows (See Figure 6) break-even price (180 F) + subsidy (x F) + profit margin of vendor (y F) Thus the poor population is paying for a subsidy which they should theoretically receive but which they never do

Poor population 382 Fm3 Vendor---750 Fm3 I------~

Subsidies Water

reak-even price + other company

figure 6 who is subsidising whom

A study carried out in Kumasi (Ghana)18 also showed the negative effects of a progressive tariff on the poor population of this city for two reasons first of all in densely populated areas several low-income households (eleven or more households on the avemge) frequently living in the same building share a water connection located in the courtyard and divide the water bill according to the size of the household number of rooms occupied and so forth The progressive tariff applied results in a situation where these households pay more for water than a household which has its own water connection In addition many poor houseshyholds who cannot afford to have a private or collective connection purchase water from their neighbours thus increasing the consumption of the connection and consequently the unit price ofwater which is passed on to the purchaser

Thus it is clear that the poor finance in part the subsidy of the progIessive tariff which is intended for their benefit and from which wealthier people profit as well as extensions of the distribution network which are not in their neighbowhoods (Figure 6)

We need to question the faimess of social policies as long as a large proportion of the population does not have private connections

111 Whittington Dale Possible advene effects ofincrea8ing block water tarlffi in developing ccnmtriel The University ofChi~ 01992

WtBr supply In fow-inCOllHl urblln I11f1II8

43 Subsidised water connections 19

This type of connection consists in having the conswner pay the cost of papershywork the cost of installing the water meter and an advance on conswnption while the connecshytion is generally paid for through a developshyment fund or external subsidies After the deshyvaluation several countries again reduced the cost of subsidised connections In Cote dIvoire for example only the advance on conswnption and the cost of paperwork are paid by the conswner ie 18750 F as a lump

22swn payment

Looking at household inshycome the majority of households living in precarious housing seem to have little access to subsidised conshynections especially if we consider that for this segment of the populashytion food purchases constitute about 80 ofexpenditures

The limits of social approaches which have been proposed up to the present are as follows

Cl Public and collective solushytions are too few when comshypared to the needs in poor arshyeas (long waiting periods long distances to water points)

Lack of flexibility in payment methods for connections and water bills Whatever solushytions are proposed to reduce the cost of connections poor households do not have easy access to them In addition the due dates for bills (every two or even three months)

Resale ofwater make it difficult for houseshyfrom a connection holds with only small and irshyin a compound (Abidjan) regular incomes to make the

payments A private connecshytion also implies an increase

19 This reasoning can also be applied to connections carried out on credit proposed in Senegal Cameroon and Gabon

w Direction et Contr61e des Grands Travaux Direction des etudes et projets mbains Atelier dmbanisme dAbidjan Analyse des filieres de prodllction de terrains ll1bains et de logements caracterisation de fa demande de logements reSllltats de Ienquite socio-economique OIlpreS des menages (the results are from a survey carried out in October 1993) June 1994

21 BURGEAP Caisse Fran~aise de Developpement EtIlde de cas SIlr leOll et la sante dons les qIlQrtiers Ilrbains defavorises March 1994

n Before the devaluation the price paid by the conswner for a free connection amounted to 22000 F (installation of meter 7000 F Pape1Work 2000 F advance on conswnption 13000 F)

in metered water consumption and as a result an increase in expenses

Current approaches imply an ability to save money which low-income groups do not have The study carried out in August through October 1993 on 5441 households in Abidjan23 emphasised that 62 of households throughout the city said that they are unable to save money In precarious housing areas or poor neighbourhoods 70 of household heads stated that they are unable to save any money For those who are able to save the average amount saved is 9600 FCFA per month In compound housing 65 of heads ofhouseholds stated that they are unable to save at all Those who are able to save save an average of 16400 FCFA

Table 4 Cost ofwater connection compared to main monthly income ofa tenant head ofhousehold in Abidjan24 (FCFA)

Improvised housing

Evolving housing

37750F

60000F

18750 F

18750 F

2500 F

2500 F

497

313

66

42

Water supply from a well in an area with a superficial ground water table (Abidjan)

23 cr Note 20 24 cr Note 20

Water supply In IoWwincomll urblln IIrBlIS

5 A question of adjustment

With the hope of ensuring fairness water companies and funding agencies have applied solutions which have allowed a greater proportion of households to have access to drinking water Thus even more than the water tariff which still remains an important factor in the implementation of social policy it is essential to consider the conditions ofaccess to water supply in terms ofthe daily constraints experienced by the population of poor neighbourhoods

51 The willingness to pay of low-income groups is real

They are not asking for free water Several examples show that the myth of free water has been declining over the last few years

Il In Bangui a pilot project in 1986 installed six public taps (where water would be paid for) in two neighbourhoods of the city In 1987 a political decision made these taps free of charge This decision led to a degradation in the functioning of the water supply and less flexibility in supply in particular regarding operating hours The residents themselves quickly protested against the situation which eventually led to re-instating the fees one month after they were suspended

Although the income allocated to payment of water bills represents a large proportion of the budget of low-income families the price does not seem to be perceived as a limiting factor by the population of peri-urban areas or poor neighbourhoods A study carried out in six semi-urban areas in Mali

25 showed that the highest consumption per resident was in the city of Nara (1511inhabishy

tantJday as compared to 65 VinhabitantJday on average for the six cities) however the unit price is highest in Nara (750 to 1500 F in Nara as compared to 500 to 1000 F in the other cities)

When one adds up the amounts spent daily poor sections of the population pay proportionally more for access to good drinking water as compared to their incomes They therefore have access to monetary resources but lack ways to mobilise them effectively

52 Purchase of small quantities but every day

Households purchase water daily since their incomes are small as well as irregular which does not allow them to save money in order to pay for a private connection or to pay a bill every two or three months Daily purchase of water also allows the possibility of reducing expenditures whenever possible people make use of other sources of water (rainwater collection for example) water bought on a daily basis is stored in metal or pottery containers which allows better control over the quantity consumed and thus avoids waste

The notion of effort rate often used in socio-economic studies to better define demand and the financial capacity of households only has meaning for the segment of the population whose income is high enough and regular enough to allow them to save money Mechanisms for deduction in advance presuppose an effort rate and a capacity to save while the effort rate of the poor varies from day to day Mechanisms for saving money used by the poorest segment of the population make use of informal systems which bypass the formal banking system which is also inaccessible to the poorest of the poor

53 Demand for service at home

By developing a flexible commercial service private water vendors make things easier for their customers and thus know how to mobilise the resources ofpoor populations

Il prices vary according to distance (and thus the effort required) and households consent to pay high daily rates in exchange for water delivered to their doorstep

a wide range of service levels is offered according to the economic capacity and needs of the population

25 Gauff Ingenieure Programme de rehabilitation de IAEP de 6 centres semi-urbains - Rapport socio-economique May 1993

[J methods ofpayment are variable by the day or by the week monthly payments are rare since there is a lack of trust between vendors and customers over a relatively long period of time The vendor also bas financial constraints since he must make short-tenn payments within the infonnal economy

[J the number of vendors varies according to demand (more during the dry season in the Sahel countries)

[J supply distances are reduced by means of flexible pipes which allow home delivery and thus do away with long waiting periods

Independent water supply point (Ouagadougou)

Wstlsupply In Iow-income urblln s

Table 5 Comparison ofdistribution network and re-distribution network26

Coverage

Broad geographic coverage

Coverage

Covers space left over by distribution network

Investments

Q High investment

Q Amortisation over several decades

Q Investments spatially fIXed

Q Centralised network plan

eclllmcal systems

Q Electricity

Q Insufficient service at public taps long waiting periods

Investments

Q Moderate investment

Q Light material (stork beak flexible piping various containers vehicles frequently second-hand equipment

Q Configuration of network constantly altered alternative solutions constantly sought

systems

Q Animal or human energy

Q Better service coverage more vendors than public taps home delivery

Administrative system

Q Salaried employees for the most part

Q Impersonal relationship with customers usually by administrative procedures (billing)

Q Advertising necessary

Administrative system

Q No of employed is variable low pay often employs family members

Q Direct personalised relationship no administrative procedures

Q No advertising

Financial systems

Q Fixed rates payment upon receipt of bill (every 2-3 months)

Q Low profit margin per unit but high terms of volume

Q Access to modern credit

in

Financial systems

Q Possibility of flexible payment system (per day per week less often per month)

Q High profrt margin per unit but low in terms of volume

Q No access to modern credit

Indeed the re-distribution system is quite mobile and flexible able to respond to demand The administrative freedom of the re-distribution system allows it to constantly adapt to variable consumption and to changing economic conditions as opposed to the functional rigidity of the water companies27

Public taps (Ouagadougou)

~orel A IHuissier Economie de la distribution de eau aux populations whaines afaible revenu dans les pays en voie de developpement Doctoral Dissertation Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Cbaussees December 1990

27cr Note 8

6 A question of sharing 28

How is this adjustment possible Should the solutions proposed by infonnal sector agents be tolershyated temporarily or on the contrary should they be considered as an integral part of the urban distribution network

61 From community participation to shared management One approach which has been tried out for development of different types of infrastructure and

services in low-income areas is community participation This concept has most often been used to obtain the populations support for govemment programs and thus to help meet institutional standards and make up for the lack of facilities and services The population has usually been encouraged to participate in project implementation by contributions in kind financial contributions or sometimes labour These operations are rarely accompanied by an actual transfer of responsibility so problems in managing the facility installed remain after the implementation ofthe project

It also appears that this concept minimises the various relationships or dynamics existing within a neighbouIhood where the population as a whole is far from homogeneous the failure of numerous management committees set up in several projects is an example ofthis

Lastly failure to take into account the other institutional partners (centralised administrations water companies local collectivities) during the implementation of projects aimed at community participation is undoubtedly one of the reasons for the low sustainability noticed in most of these projects Attempts to set up structures for local management of services within a neighbouIhood without involving relevant institushytions have shown their limitations in the long tenn

Negotiation among the various partners (community suppliers of services public administration) is indeed necessary in order to agree on a definition of their respective roles and on the areas of intervention An approach to partnership needs to be found which will encourage actions undertaken by local communishyties at the neighbouIhood level

62 Management methods When we look at the water supply situation in low-income areas we note that there is a real demand

for home delivery or more accurately for water within the multi-family compound There is a willingness to pay for such a service providing that it is actually rendered The installations and the methods used by venshydors or distributors within the infonnal sector are located at the point where economic feasibility and minishymal obligatory standards converge This management method constitutes a technological and institutional alternative which responds to the demand of communities in precarious areas Can we make allowances for the operational pragmatism of small private entrepreneurs acting at the neighbouIhood level Can we make allowances for unconventional management methods Should services be entirely dependent on national companies

Examples of local management of services (water household waste) are numerous but in most cases this is allowed to occur due to the laxity on the part of the authorities other than a conscious process by the authorities to transfer responsibility In Bamako since 1990 the Governers office has issued a numshyber of pennits to private entrepreneurs living in neighbouIhoods not serviced by the public water system to undertake the extension of the drinking water supply network and to distribute water from public taps loshycated in public areas Extension of the system and installation of the meter are covered in full by the entreshypreneur for fees that are sometimes quite high (1 million FCFA for about 150 meters of piping) Lack of clear role definition among the various institutional agents able to furnish services in the neighbouIhood ofshyten leads to additional fees for the private investors who must pay a lot of commissions in order to obtain the necessary pennits

Small private investors acting at the neighbouIhood level play an important role in furnishing servshyices and seem to have resolved the problems ofcost recovery at their level This situation is advantageous in that it succeeds in covering a part of the demand for water which the state can not afford to satisfy as effishycientlyas it would like to

~or additional information on the concept of shared management see the dissertation of Sylvy JagIin Cf Note 8

Water supply In low-Income urban sress

Water storage in the compound with half-buried clay jars (Ouagadougou)

63 Alternative technologies Can specialised public services allow the exisshy

tence of alternative technologies Have the technologies used and their applicability to conditions in developing countries been questioned

In Ouagadougou distribution via public taps inshydependent water points and vendors represents an examshyple of shared management This distribution method is approved by the administration satisfies in part the deshymands of the population and makes use of local skills In Bamako a pilot water supply project is being impleshymented in the peri-urban areas Small independent netshyworks supplied from boreholes are being built in four neighbourhoods these systems are being managed by local associations This solution was jointly endorsed by the population of the neighbourhoods covered the municipal authorities and centralised technical services because the water company was unable to extend its network to this suburb

29The cost of the connection can be broken down as follows 260 meters of piping at 150 Flmeter 20 meters of flexible piping (10000 F) labour (20000 F) and storks beak (15000 F) The price of a Yacoli pwnp installed by SODECI is 15 million F and the cost of a linear meter of a SODECI connection is 2000 F

Regional WsbtlInd SlInlllltJon Goup - WUt AfrkJs

7 Conclusion It appears that a solution to the problem of water supply to low-income groups must be found by

interfacing public institutions the population and private entrepreneurs in low-income neighbourhoods

The solution of shared management would be profitable for all the parties concerned the water companies who would retain a monopoly only over the portion of the water sector which is profitable acshycording to their operating methods and their standards for equipment for the vendors or infonnal sector disshytributors who would no longer have to work in a semi-clandestine way risking the periodic destruction of their installations and for the poor population who could obtain better service at a more reasonable price thanks to the stimulation of competition due to the recognition of the infonnal re-distribution system for drinking water

Water supply from a tap and storage in barrels in order to

conlTolconsumpnon (Abidjan)

Waiting at a public tap in Boulbinet

(Conakry)

Water supply In Iow-lncome urlJBn SnlSS

References 1 Antoine Dubresson Manou-Savina Abidjan cote cours Ed KarthalalOrstom 1987

2 Jaglin Sylvy Pouvoirs urbains et gestion partagee aOuagadougou equipements et services de proximite dans les peripheries Doctoral dissertation in Uman Studies and Planning University of Paris VJll 1991

3 Regional Water and Sanitation Group - West Africa Enquete sur la volonte de payer en assainisshysement Commune de Port Bouet Abidjan 1993

4 Morel A IHuissier Economie de fa distribution de I eau aux populations urbaines aJaible reveshynu dans les pays en voie de developpement Doctoral dissertation Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussees Paris 1990

List of abbreviations DWS Drinking water supply

EDM Energie du Mali (Mali Power Company)

FCFA Franc ofthe financial community ofWest Africa (1 USS= about 530 FCFA)

IWSP Independent water supply point

NGO Non-govemmental organisation

PVC Polyvinyl chloride

SODECI Societe des Eaux de Cote dIvoire (Ivorian Water Utility)

Printed in Abidjan COte divoire December 1994

Title of the original French document Laimentation en eau en milieu urbain dans les quartiers defavorises Une question de partage

Rfl[JlonMMttertmd 8tMJtIIIItM GnHJp bull ~

42 Subsidised water supply for low-income groups Does a so~led social policy based on the argument of income distribution (whereby huge conshy

sumers subsidise small ones) really help the poorest ofthe poor

It has been shown in the preceding paragraphs that the majority of residents of poor areas purchase water from vendors A water vendor consumes a large quantity of water and thus pays the rate applicable to high water consumption His high unit purchase price is thus passed on to his customers although they are in the lowest income group

If we take Cote dIvoire as an example

[J break-even price ofml ofwater 180 F

[J subsidised rate 159 F

[J household rate (avemge consumption 91-300 ml) 368F

[J average price paid by the population 750F

For the 750 F paid by the poor users for a cubic meter of water the SODECI receives 368 F This figure can be broken down as follows (See Figure 6) break-even price (180 F) + subsidy (x F) + profit margin of vendor (y F) Thus the poor population is paying for a subsidy which they should theoretically receive but which they never do

Poor population 382 Fm3 Vendor---750 Fm3 I------~

Subsidies Water

reak-even price + other company

figure 6 who is subsidising whom

A study carried out in Kumasi (Ghana)18 also showed the negative effects of a progressive tariff on the poor population of this city for two reasons first of all in densely populated areas several low-income households (eleven or more households on the avemge) frequently living in the same building share a water connection located in the courtyard and divide the water bill according to the size of the household number of rooms occupied and so forth The progressive tariff applied results in a situation where these households pay more for water than a household which has its own water connection In addition many poor houseshyholds who cannot afford to have a private or collective connection purchase water from their neighbours thus increasing the consumption of the connection and consequently the unit price ofwater which is passed on to the purchaser

Thus it is clear that the poor finance in part the subsidy of the progIessive tariff which is intended for their benefit and from which wealthier people profit as well as extensions of the distribution network which are not in their neighbowhoods (Figure 6)

We need to question the faimess of social policies as long as a large proportion of the population does not have private connections

111 Whittington Dale Possible advene effects ofincrea8ing block water tarlffi in developing ccnmtriel The University ofChi~ 01992

WtBr supply In fow-inCOllHl urblln I11f1II8

43 Subsidised water connections 19

This type of connection consists in having the conswner pay the cost of papershywork the cost of installing the water meter and an advance on conswnption while the connecshytion is generally paid for through a developshyment fund or external subsidies After the deshyvaluation several countries again reduced the cost of subsidised connections In Cote dIvoire for example only the advance on conswnption and the cost of paperwork are paid by the conswner ie 18750 F as a lump

22swn payment

Looking at household inshycome the majority of households living in precarious housing seem to have little access to subsidised conshynections especially if we consider that for this segment of the populashytion food purchases constitute about 80 ofexpenditures

The limits of social approaches which have been proposed up to the present are as follows

Cl Public and collective solushytions are too few when comshypared to the needs in poor arshyeas (long waiting periods long distances to water points)

Lack of flexibility in payment methods for connections and water bills Whatever solushytions are proposed to reduce the cost of connections poor households do not have easy access to them In addition the due dates for bills (every two or even three months)

Resale ofwater make it difficult for houseshyfrom a connection holds with only small and irshyin a compound (Abidjan) regular incomes to make the

payments A private connecshytion also implies an increase

19 This reasoning can also be applied to connections carried out on credit proposed in Senegal Cameroon and Gabon

w Direction et Contr61e des Grands Travaux Direction des etudes et projets mbains Atelier dmbanisme dAbidjan Analyse des filieres de prodllction de terrains ll1bains et de logements caracterisation de fa demande de logements reSllltats de Ienquite socio-economique OIlpreS des menages (the results are from a survey carried out in October 1993) June 1994

21 BURGEAP Caisse Fran~aise de Developpement EtIlde de cas SIlr leOll et la sante dons les qIlQrtiers Ilrbains defavorises March 1994

n Before the devaluation the price paid by the conswner for a free connection amounted to 22000 F (installation of meter 7000 F Pape1Work 2000 F advance on conswnption 13000 F)

in metered water consumption and as a result an increase in expenses

Current approaches imply an ability to save money which low-income groups do not have The study carried out in August through October 1993 on 5441 households in Abidjan23 emphasised that 62 of households throughout the city said that they are unable to save money In precarious housing areas or poor neighbourhoods 70 of household heads stated that they are unable to save any money For those who are able to save the average amount saved is 9600 FCFA per month In compound housing 65 of heads ofhouseholds stated that they are unable to save at all Those who are able to save save an average of 16400 FCFA

Table 4 Cost ofwater connection compared to main monthly income ofa tenant head ofhousehold in Abidjan24 (FCFA)

Improvised housing

Evolving housing

37750F

60000F

18750 F

18750 F

2500 F

2500 F

497

313

66

42

Water supply from a well in an area with a superficial ground water table (Abidjan)

23 cr Note 20 24 cr Note 20

Water supply In IoWwincomll urblln IIrBlIS

5 A question of adjustment

With the hope of ensuring fairness water companies and funding agencies have applied solutions which have allowed a greater proportion of households to have access to drinking water Thus even more than the water tariff which still remains an important factor in the implementation of social policy it is essential to consider the conditions ofaccess to water supply in terms ofthe daily constraints experienced by the population of poor neighbourhoods

51 The willingness to pay of low-income groups is real

They are not asking for free water Several examples show that the myth of free water has been declining over the last few years

Il In Bangui a pilot project in 1986 installed six public taps (where water would be paid for) in two neighbourhoods of the city In 1987 a political decision made these taps free of charge This decision led to a degradation in the functioning of the water supply and less flexibility in supply in particular regarding operating hours The residents themselves quickly protested against the situation which eventually led to re-instating the fees one month after they were suspended

Although the income allocated to payment of water bills represents a large proportion of the budget of low-income families the price does not seem to be perceived as a limiting factor by the population of peri-urban areas or poor neighbourhoods A study carried out in six semi-urban areas in Mali

25 showed that the highest consumption per resident was in the city of Nara (1511inhabishy

tantJday as compared to 65 VinhabitantJday on average for the six cities) however the unit price is highest in Nara (750 to 1500 F in Nara as compared to 500 to 1000 F in the other cities)

When one adds up the amounts spent daily poor sections of the population pay proportionally more for access to good drinking water as compared to their incomes They therefore have access to monetary resources but lack ways to mobilise them effectively

52 Purchase of small quantities but every day

Households purchase water daily since their incomes are small as well as irregular which does not allow them to save money in order to pay for a private connection or to pay a bill every two or three months Daily purchase of water also allows the possibility of reducing expenditures whenever possible people make use of other sources of water (rainwater collection for example) water bought on a daily basis is stored in metal or pottery containers which allows better control over the quantity consumed and thus avoids waste

The notion of effort rate often used in socio-economic studies to better define demand and the financial capacity of households only has meaning for the segment of the population whose income is high enough and regular enough to allow them to save money Mechanisms for deduction in advance presuppose an effort rate and a capacity to save while the effort rate of the poor varies from day to day Mechanisms for saving money used by the poorest segment of the population make use of informal systems which bypass the formal banking system which is also inaccessible to the poorest of the poor

53 Demand for service at home

By developing a flexible commercial service private water vendors make things easier for their customers and thus know how to mobilise the resources ofpoor populations

Il prices vary according to distance (and thus the effort required) and households consent to pay high daily rates in exchange for water delivered to their doorstep

a wide range of service levels is offered according to the economic capacity and needs of the population

25 Gauff Ingenieure Programme de rehabilitation de IAEP de 6 centres semi-urbains - Rapport socio-economique May 1993

[J methods ofpayment are variable by the day or by the week monthly payments are rare since there is a lack of trust between vendors and customers over a relatively long period of time The vendor also bas financial constraints since he must make short-tenn payments within the infonnal economy

[J the number of vendors varies according to demand (more during the dry season in the Sahel countries)

[J supply distances are reduced by means of flexible pipes which allow home delivery and thus do away with long waiting periods

Independent water supply point (Ouagadougou)

Wstlsupply In Iow-income urblln s

Table 5 Comparison ofdistribution network and re-distribution network26

Coverage

Broad geographic coverage

Coverage

Covers space left over by distribution network

Investments

Q High investment

Q Amortisation over several decades

Q Investments spatially fIXed

Q Centralised network plan

eclllmcal systems

Q Electricity

Q Insufficient service at public taps long waiting periods

Investments

Q Moderate investment

Q Light material (stork beak flexible piping various containers vehicles frequently second-hand equipment

Q Configuration of network constantly altered alternative solutions constantly sought

systems

Q Animal or human energy

Q Better service coverage more vendors than public taps home delivery

Administrative system

Q Salaried employees for the most part

Q Impersonal relationship with customers usually by administrative procedures (billing)

Q Advertising necessary

Administrative system

Q No of employed is variable low pay often employs family members

Q Direct personalised relationship no administrative procedures

Q No advertising

Financial systems

Q Fixed rates payment upon receipt of bill (every 2-3 months)

Q Low profit margin per unit but high terms of volume

Q Access to modern credit

in

Financial systems

Q Possibility of flexible payment system (per day per week less often per month)

Q High profrt margin per unit but low in terms of volume

Q No access to modern credit

Indeed the re-distribution system is quite mobile and flexible able to respond to demand The administrative freedom of the re-distribution system allows it to constantly adapt to variable consumption and to changing economic conditions as opposed to the functional rigidity of the water companies27

Public taps (Ouagadougou)

~orel A IHuissier Economie de la distribution de eau aux populations whaines afaible revenu dans les pays en voie de developpement Doctoral Dissertation Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Cbaussees December 1990

27cr Note 8

6 A question of sharing 28

How is this adjustment possible Should the solutions proposed by infonnal sector agents be tolershyated temporarily or on the contrary should they be considered as an integral part of the urban distribution network

61 From community participation to shared management One approach which has been tried out for development of different types of infrastructure and

services in low-income areas is community participation This concept has most often been used to obtain the populations support for govemment programs and thus to help meet institutional standards and make up for the lack of facilities and services The population has usually been encouraged to participate in project implementation by contributions in kind financial contributions or sometimes labour These operations are rarely accompanied by an actual transfer of responsibility so problems in managing the facility installed remain after the implementation ofthe project

It also appears that this concept minimises the various relationships or dynamics existing within a neighbouIhood where the population as a whole is far from homogeneous the failure of numerous management committees set up in several projects is an example ofthis

Lastly failure to take into account the other institutional partners (centralised administrations water companies local collectivities) during the implementation of projects aimed at community participation is undoubtedly one of the reasons for the low sustainability noticed in most of these projects Attempts to set up structures for local management of services within a neighbouIhood without involving relevant institushytions have shown their limitations in the long tenn

Negotiation among the various partners (community suppliers of services public administration) is indeed necessary in order to agree on a definition of their respective roles and on the areas of intervention An approach to partnership needs to be found which will encourage actions undertaken by local communishyties at the neighbouIhood level

62 Management methods When we look at the water supply situation in low-income areas we note that there is a real demand

for home delivery or more accurately for water within the multi-family compound There is a willingness to pay for such a service providing that it is actually rendered The installations and the methods used by venshydors or distributors within the infonnal sector are located at the point where economic feasibility and minishymal obligatory standards converge This management method constitutes a technological and institutional alternative which responds to the demand of communities in precarious areas Can we make allowances for the operational pragmatism of small private entrepreneurs acting at the neighbouIhood level Can we make allowances for unconventional management methods Should services be entirely dependent on national companies

Examples of local management of services (water household waste) are numerous but in most cases this is allowed to occur due to the laxity on the part of the authorities other than a conscious process by the authorities to transfer responsibility In Bamako since 1990 the Governers office has issued a numshyber of pennits to private entrepreneurs living in neighbouIhoods not serviced by the public water system to undertake the extension of the drinking water supply network and to distribute water from public taps loshycated in public areas Extension of the system and installation of the meter are covered in full by the entreshypreneur for fees that are sometimes quite high (1 million FCFA for about 150 meters of piping) Lack of clear role definition among the various institutional agents able to furnish services in the neighbouIhood ofshyten leads to additional fees for the private investors who must pay a lot of commissions in order to obtain the necessary pennits

Small private investors acting at the neighbouIhood level play an important role in furnishing servshyices and seem to have resolved the problems ofcost recovery at their level This situation is advantageous in that it succeeds in covering a part of the demand for water which the state can not afford to satisfy as effishycientlyas it would like to

~or additional information on the concept of shared management see the dissertation of Sylvy JagIin Cf Note 8

Water supply In low-Income urban sress

Water storage in the compound with half-buried clay jars (Ouagadougou)

63 Alternative technologies Can specialised public services allow the exisshy

tence of alternative technologies Have the technologies used and their applicability to conditions in developing countries been questioned

In Ouagadougou distribution via public taps inshydependent water points and vendors represents an examshyple of shared management This distribution method is approved by the administration satisfies in part the deshymands of the population and makes use of local skills In Bamako a pilot water supply project is being impleshymented in the peri-urban areas Small independent netshyworks supplied from boreholes are being built in four neighbourhoods these systems are being managed by local associations This solution was jointly endorsed by the population of the neighbourhoods covered the municipal authorities and centralised technical services because the water company was unable to extend its network to this suburb

29The cost of the connection can be broken down as follows 260 meters of piping at 150 Flmeter 20 meters of flexible piping (10000 F) labour (20000 F) and storks beak (15000 F) The price of a Yacoli pwnp installed by SODECI is 15 million F and the cost of a linear meter of a SODECI connection is 2000 F

Regional WsbtlInd SlInlllltJon Goup - WUt AfrkJs

7 Conclusion It appears that a solution to the problem of water supply to low-income groups must be found by

interfacing public institutions the population and private entrepreneurs in low-income neighbourhoods

The solution of shared management would be profitable for all the parties concerned the water companies who would retain a monopoly only over the portion of the water sector which is profitable acshycording to their operating methods and their standards for equipment for the vendors or infonnal sector disshytributors who would no longer have to work in a semi-clandestine way risking the periodic destruction of their installations and for the poor population who could obtain better service at a more reasonable price thanks to the stimulation of competition due to the recognition of the infonnal re-distribution system for drinking water

Water supply from a tap and storage in barrels in order to

conlTolconsumpnon (Abidjan)

Waiting at a public tap in Boulbinet

(Conakry)

Water supply In Iow-lncome urlJBn SnlSS

References 1 Antoine Dubresson Manou-Savina Abidjan cote cours Ed KarthalalOrstom 1987

2 Jaglin Sylvy Pouvoirs urbains et gestion partagee aOuagadougou equipements et services de proximite dans les peripheries Doctoral dissertation in Uman Studies and Planning University of Paris VJll 1991

3 Regional Water and Sanitation Group - West Africa Enquete sur la volonte de payer en assainisshysement Commune de Port Bouet Abidjan 1993

4 Morel A IHuissier Economie de fa distribution de I eau aux populations urbaines aJaible reveshynu dans les pays en voie de developpement Doctoral dissertation Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussees Paris 1990

List of abbreviations DWS Drinking water supply

EDM Energie du Mali (Mali Power Company)

FCFA Franc ofthe financial community ofWest Africa (1 USS= about 530 FCFA)

IWSP Independent water supply point

NGO Non-govemmental organisation

PVC Polyvinyl chloride

SODECI Societe des Eaux de Cote dIvoire (Ivorian Water Utility)

Printed in Abidjan COte divoire December 1994

Title of the original French document Laimentation en eau en milieu urbain dans les quartiers defavorises Une question de partage

WtBr supply In fow-inCOllHl urblln I11f1II8

43 Subsidised water connections 19

This type of connection consists in having the conswner pay the cost of papershywork the cost of installing the water meter and an advance on conswnption while the connecshytion is generally paid for through a developshyment fund or external subsidies After the deshyvaluation several countries again reduced the cost of subsidised connections In Cote dIvoire for example only the advance on conswnption and the cost of paperwork are paid by the conswner ie 18750 F as a lump

22swn payment

Looking at household inshycome the majority of households living in precarious housing seem to have little access to subsidised conshynections especially if we consider that for this segment of the populashytion food purchases constitute about 80 ofexpenditures

The limits of social approaches which have been proposed up to the present are as follows

Cl Public and collective solushytions are too few when comshypared to the needs in poor arshyeas (long waiting periods long distances to water points)

Lack of flexibility in payment methods for connections and water bills Whatever solushytions are proposed to reduce the cost of connections poor households do not have easy access to them In addition the due dates for bills (every two or even three months)

Resale ofwater make it difficult for houseshyfrom a connection holds with only small and irshyin a compound (Abidjan) regular incomes to make the

payments A private connecshytion also implies an increase

19 This reasoning can also be applied to connections carried out on credit proposed in Senegal Cameroon and Gabon

w Direction et Contr61e des Grands Travaux Direction des etudes et projets mbains Atelier dmbanisme dAbidjan Analyse des filieres de prodllction de terrains ll1bains et de logements caracterisation de fa demande de logements reSllltats de Ienquite socio-economique OIlpreS des menages (the results are from a survey carried out in October 1993) June 1994

21 BURGEAP Caisse Fran~aise de Developpement EtIlde de cas SIlr leOll et la sante dons les qIlQrtiers Ilrbains defavorises March 1994

n Before the devaluation the price paid by the conswner for a free connection amounted to 22000 F (installation of meter 7000 F Pape1Work 2000 F advance on conswnption 13000 F)

in metered water consumption and as a result an increase in expenses

Current approaches imply an ability to save money which low-income groups do not have The study carried out in August through October 1993 on 5441 households in Abidjan23 emphasised that 62 of households throughout the city said that they are unable to save money In precarious housing areas or poor neighbourhoods 70 of household heads stated that they are unable to save any money For those who are able to save the average amount saved is 9600 FCFA per month In compound housing 65 of heads ofhouseholds stated that they are unable to save at all Those who are able to save save an average of 16400 FCFA

Table 4 Cost ofwater connection compared to main monthly income ofa tenant head ofhousehold in Abidjan24 (FCFA)

Improvised housing

Evolving housing

37750F

60000F

18750 F

18750 F

2500 F

2500 F

497

313

66

42

Water supply from a well in an area with a superficial ground water table (Abidjan)

23 cr Note 20 24 cr Note 20

Water supply In IoWwincomll urblln IIrBlIS

5 A question of adjustment

With the hope of ensuring fairness water companies and funding agencies have applied solutions which have allowed a greater proportion of households to have access to drinking water Thus even more than the water tariff which still remains an important factor in the implementation of social policy it is essential to consider the conditions ofaccess to water supply in terms ofthe daily constraints experienced by the population of poor neighbourhoods

51 The willingness to pay of low-income groups is real

They are not asking for free water Several examples show that the myth of free water has been declining over the last few years

Il In Bangui a pilot project in 1986 installed six public taps (where water would be paid for) in two neighbourhoods of the city In 1987 a political decision made these taps free of charge This decision led to a degradation in the functioning of the water supply and less flexibility in supply in particular regarding operating hours The residents themselves quickly protested against the situation which eventually led to re-instating the fees one month after they were suspended

Although the income allocated to payment of water bills represents a large proportion of the budget of low-income families the price does not seem to be perceived as a limiting factor by the population of peri-urban areas or poor neighbourhoods A study carried out in six semi-urban areas in Mali

25 showed that the highest consumption per resident was in the city of Nara (1511inhabishy

tantJday as compared to 65 VinhabitantJday on average for the six cities) however the unit price is highest in Nara (750 to 1500 F in Nara as compared to 500 to 1000 F in the other cities)

When one adds up the amounts spent daily poor sections of the population pay proportionally more for access to good drinking water as compared to their incomes They therefore have access to monetary resources but lack ways to mobilise them effectively

52 Purchase of small quantities but every day

Households purchase water daily since their incomes are small as well as irregular which does not allow them to save money in order to pay for a private connection or to pay a bill every two or three months Daily purchase of water also allows the possibility of reducing expenditures whenever possible people make use of other sources of water (rainwater collection for example) water bought on a daily basis is stored in metal or pottery containers which allows better control over the quantity consumed and thus avoids waste

The notion of effort rate often used in socio-economic studies to better define demand and the financial capacity of households only has meaning for the segment of the population whose income is high enough and regular enough to allow them to save money Mechanisms for deduction in advance presuppose an effort rate and a capacity to save while the effort rate of the poor varies from day to day Mechanisms for saving money used by the poorest segment of the population make use of informal systems which bypass the formal banking system which is also inaccessible to the poorest of the poor

53 Demand for service at home

By developing a flexible commercial service private water vendors make things easier for their customers and thus know how to mobilise the resources ofpoor populations

Il prices vary according to distance (and thus the effort required) and households consent to pay high daily rates in exchange for water delivered to their doorstep

a wide range of service levels is offered according to the economic capacity and needs of the population

25 Gauff Ingenieure Programme de rehabilitation de IAEP de 6 centres semi-urbains - Rapport socio-economique May 1993

[J methods ofpayment are variable by the day or by the week monthly payments are rare since there is a lack of trust between vendors and customers over a relatively long period of time The vendor also bas financial constraints since he must make short-tenn payments within the infonnal economy

[J the number of vendors varies according to demand (more during the dry season in the Sahel countries)

[J supply distances are reduced by means of flexible pipes which allow home delivery and thus do away with long waiting periods

Independent water supply point (Ouagadougou)

Wstlsupply In Iow-income urblln s

Table 5 Comparison ofdistribution network and re-distribution network26

Coverage

Broad geographic coverage

Coverage

Covers space left over by distribution network

Investments

Q High investment

Q Amortisation over several decades

Q Investments spatially fIXed

Q Centralised network plan

eclllmcal systems

Q Electricity

Q Insufficient service at public taps long waiting periods

Investments

Q Moderate investment

Q Light material (stork beak flexible piping various containers vehicles frequently second-hand equipment

Q Configuration of network constantly altered alternative solutions constantly sought

systems

Q Animal or human energy

Q Better service coverage more vendors than public taps home delivery

Administrative system

Q Salaried employees for the most part

Q Impersonal relationship with customers usually by administrative procedures (billing)

Q Advertising necessary

Administrative system

Q No of employed is variable low pay often employs family members

Q Direct personalised relationship no administrative procedures

Q No advertising

Financial systems

Q Fixed rates payment upon receipt of bill (every 2-3 months)

Q Low profit margin per unit but high terms of volume

Q Access to modern credit

in

Financial systems

Q Possibility of flexible payment system (per day per week less often per month)

Q High profrt margin per unit but low in terms of volume

Q No access to modern credit

Indeed the re-distribution system is quite mobile and flexible able to respond to demand The administrative freedom of the re-distribution system allows it to constantly adapt to variable consumption and to changing economic conditions as opposed to the functional rigidity of the water companies27

Public taps (Ouagadougou)

~orel A IHuissier Economie de la distribution de eau aux populations whaines afaible revenu dans les pays en voie de developpement Doctoral Dissertation Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Cbaussees December 1990

27cr Note 8

6 A question of sharing 28

How is this adjustment possible Should the solutions proposed by infonnal sector agents be tolershyated temporarily or on the contrary should they be considered as an integral part of the urban distribution network

61 From community participation to shared management One approach which has been tried out for development of different types of infrastructure and

services in low-income areas is community participation This concept has most often been used to obtain the populations support for govemment programs and thus to help meet institutional standards and make up for the lack of facilities and services The population has usually been encouraged to participate in project implementation by contributions in kind financial contributions or sometimes labour These operations are rarely accompanied by an actual transfer of responsibility so problems in managing the facility installed remain after the implementation ofthe project

It also appears that this concept minimises the various relationships or dynamics existing within a neighbouIhood where the population as a whole is far from homogeneous the failure of numerous management committees set up in several projects is an example ofthis

Lastly failure to take into account the other institutional partners (centralised administrations water companies local collectivities) during the implementation of projects aimed at community participation is undoubtedly one of the reasons for the low sustainability noticed in most of these projects Attempts to set up structures for local management of services within a neighbouIhood without involving relevant institushytions have shown their limitations in the long tenn

Negotiation among the various partners (community suppliers of services public administration) is indeed necessary in order to agree on a definition of their respective roles and on the areas of intervention An approach to partnership needs to be found which will encourage actions undertaken by local communishyties at the neighbouIhood level

62 Management methods When we look at the water supply situation in low-income areas we note that there is a real demand

for home delivery or more accurately for water within the multi-family compound There is a willingness to pay for such a service providing that it is actually rendered The installations and the methods used by venshydors or distributors within the infonnal sector are located at the point where economic feasibility and minishymal obligatory standards converge This management method constitutes a technological and institutional alternative which responds to the demand of communities in precarious areas Can we make allowances for the operational pragmatism of small private entrepreneurs acting at the neighbouIhood level Can we make allowances for unconventional management methods Should services be entirely dependent on national companies

Examples of local management of services (water household waste) are numerous but in most cases this is allowed to occur due to the laxity on the part of the authorities other than a conscious process by the authorities to transfer responsibility In Bamako since 1990 the Governers office has issued a numshyber of pennits to private entrepreneurs living in neighbouIhoods not serviced by the public water system to undertake the extension of the drinking water supply network and to distribute water from public taps loshycated in public areas Extension of the system and installation of the meter are covered in full by the entreshypreneur for fees that are sometimes quite high (1 million FCFA for about 150 meters of piping) Lack of clear role definition among the various institutional agents able to furnish services in the neighbouIhood ofshyten leads to additional fees for the private investors who must pay a lot of commissions in order to obtain the necessary pennits

Small private investors acting at the neighbouIhood level play an important role in furnishing servshyices and seem to have resolved the problems ofcost recovery at their level This situation is advantageous in that it succeeds in covering a part of the demand for water which the state can not afford to satisfy as effishycientlyas it would like to

~or additional information on the concept of shared management see the dissertation of Sylvy JagIin Cf Note 8

Water supply In low-Income urban sress

Water storage in the compound with half-buried clay jars (Ouagadougou)

63 Alternative technologies Can specialised public services allow the exisshy

tence of alternative technologies Have the technologies used and their applicability to conditions in developing countries been questioned

In Ouagadougou distribution via public taps inshydependent water points and vendors represents an examshyple of shared management This distribution method is approved by the administration satisfies in part the deshymands of the population and makes use of local skills In Bamako a pilot water supply project is being impleshymented in the peri-urban areas Small independent netshyworks supplied from boreholes are being built in four neighbourhoods these systems are being managed by local associations This solution was jointly endorsed by the population of the neighbourhoods covered the municipal authorities and centralised technical services because the water company was unable to extend its network to this suburb

29The cost of the connection can be broken down as follows 260 meters of piping at 150 Flmeter 20 meters of flexible piping (10000 F) labour (20000 F) and storks beak (15000 F) The price of a Yacoli pwnp installed by SODECI is 15 million F and the cost of a linear meter of a SODECI connection is 2000 F

Regional WsbtlInd SlInlllltJon Goup - WUt AfrkJs

7 Conclusion It appears that a solution to the problem of water supply to low-income groups must be found by

interfacing public institutions the population and private entrepreneurs in low-income neighbourhoods

The solution of shared management would be profitable for all the parties concerned the water companies who would retain a monopoly only over the portion of the water sector which is profitable acshycording to their operating methods and their standards for equipment for the vendors or infonnal sector disshytributors who would no longer have to work in a semi-clandestine way risking the periodic destruction of their installations and for the poor population who could obtain better service at a more reasonable price thanks to the stimulation of competition due to the recognition of the infonnal re-distribution system for drinking water

Water supply from a tap and storage in barrels in order to

conlTolconsumpnon (Abidjan)

Waiting at a public tap in Boulbinet

(Conakry)

Water supply In Iow-lncome urlJBn SnlSS

References 1 Antoine Dubresson Manou-Savina Abidjan cote cours Ed KarthalalOrstom 1987

2 Jaglin Sylvy Pouvoirs urbains et gestion partagee aOuagadougou equipements et services de proximite dans les peripheries Doctoral dissertation in Uman Studies and Planning University of Paris VJll 1991

3 Regional Water and Sanitation Group - West Africa Enquete sur la volonte de payer en assainisshysement Commune de Port Bouet Abidjan 1993

4 Morel A IHuissier Economie de fa distribution de I eau aux populations urbaines aJaible reveshynu dans les pays en voie de developpement Doctoral dissertation Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussees Paris 1990

List of abbreviations DWS Drinking water supply

EDM Energie du Mali (Mali Power Company)

FCFA Franc ofthe financial community ofWest Africa (1 USS= about 530 FCFA)

IWSP Independent water supply point

NGO Non-govemmental organisation

PVC Polyvinyl chloride

SODECI Societe des Eaux de Cote dIvoire (Ivorian Water Utility)

Printed in Abidjan COte divoire December 1994

Title of the original French document Laimentation en eau en milieu urbain dans les quartiers defavorises Une question de partage

in metered water consumption and as a result an increase in expenses

Current approaches imply an ability to save money which low-income groups do not have The study carried out in August through October 1993 on 5441 households in Abidjan23 emphasised that 62 of households throughout the city said that they are unable to save money In precarious housing areas or poor neighbourhoods 70 of household heads stated that they are unable to save any money For those who are able to save the average amount saved is 9600 FCFA per month In compound housing 65 of heads ofhouseholds stated that they are unable to save at all Those who are able to save save an average of 16400 FCFA

Table 4 Cost ofwater connection compared to main monthly income ofa tenant head ofhousehold in Abidjan24 (FCFA)

Improvised housing

Evolving housing

37750F

60000F

18750 F

18750 F

2500 F

2500 F

497

313

66

42

Water supply from a well in an area with a superficial ground water table (Abidjan)

23 cr Note 20 24 cr Note 20

Water supply In IoWwincomll urblln IIrBlIS

5 A question of adjustment

With the hope of ensuring fairness water companies and funding agencies have applied solutions which have allowed a greater proportion of households to have access to drinking water Thus even more than the water tariff which still remains an important factor in the implementation of social policy it is essential to consider the conditions ofaccess to water supply in terms ofthe daily constraints experienced by the population of poor neighbourhoods

51 The willingness to pay of low-income groups is real

They are not asking for free water Several examples show that the myth of free water has been declining over the last few years

Il In Bangui a pilot project in 1986 installed six public taps (where water would be paid for) in two neighbourhoods of the city In 1987 a political decision made these taps free of charge This decision led to a degradation in the functioning of the water supply and less flexibility in supply in particular regarding operating hours The residents themselves quickly protested against the situation which eventually led to re-instating the fees one month after they were suspended

Although the income allocated to payment of water bills represents a large proportion of the budget of low-income families the price does not seem to be perceived as a limiting factor by the population of peri-urban areas or poor neighbourhoods A study carried out in six semi-urban areas in Mali

25 showed that the highest consumption per resident was in the city of Nara (1511inhabishy

tantJday as compared to 65 VinhabitantJday on average for the six cities) however the unit price is highest in Nara (750 to 1500 F in Nara as compared to 500 to 1000 F in the other cities)

When one adds up the amounts spent daily poor sections of the population pay proportionally more for access to good drinking water as compared to their incomes They therefore have access to monetary resources but lack ways to mobilise them effectively

52 Purchase of small quantities but every day

Households purchase water daily since their incomes are small as well as irregular which does not allow them to save money in order to pay for a private connection or to pay a bill every two or three months Daily purchase of water also allows the possibility of reducing expenditures whenever possible people make use of other sources of water (rainwater collection for example) water bought on a daily basis is stored in metal or pottery containers which allows better control over the quantity consumed and thus avoids waste

The notion of effort rate often used in socio-economic studies to better define demand and the financial capacity of households only has meaning for the segment of the population whose income is high enough and regular enough to allow them to save money Mechanisms for deduction in advance presuppose an effort rate and a capacity to save while the effort rate of the poor varies from day to day Mechanisms for saving money used by the poorest segment of the population make use of informal systems which bypass the formal banking system which is also inaccessible to the poorest of the poor

53 Demand for service at home

By developing a flexible commercial service private water vendors make things easier for their customers and thus know how to mobilise the resources ofpoor populations

Il prices vary according to distance (and thus the effort required) and households consent to pay high daily rates in exchange for water delivered to their doorstep

a wide range of service levels is offered according to the economic capacity and needs of the population

25 Gauff Ingenieure Programme de rehabilitation de IAEP de 6 centres semi-urbains - Rapport socio-economique May 1993

[J methods ofpayment are variable by the day or by the week monthly payments are rare since there is a lack of trust between vendors and customers over a relatively long period of time The vendor also bas financial constraints since he must make short-tenn payments within the infonnal economy

[J the number of vendors varies according to demand (more during the dry season in the Sahel countries)

[J supply distances are reduced by means of flexible pipes which allow home delivery and thus do away with long waiting periods

Independent water supply point (Ouagadougou)

Wstlsupply In Iow-income urblln s

Table 5 Comparison ofdistribution network and re-distribution network26

Coverage

Broad geographic coverage

Coverage

Covers space left over by distribution network

Investments

Q High investment

Q Amortisation over several decades

Q Investments spatially fIXed

Q Centralised network plan

eclllmcal systems

Q Electricity

Q Insufficient service at public taps long waiting periods

Investments

Q Moderate investment

Q Light material (stork beak flexible piping various containers vehicles frequently second-hand equipment

Q Configuration of network constantly altered alternative solutions constantly sought

systems

Q Animal or human energy

Q Better service coverage more vendors than public taps home delivery

Administrative system

Q Salaried employees for the most part

Q Impersonal relationship with customers usually by administrative procedures (billing)

Q Advertising necessary

Administrative system

Q No of employed is variable low pay often employs family members

Q Direct personalised relationship no administrative procedures

Q No advertising

Financial systems

Q Fixed rates payment upon receipt of bill (every 2-3 months)

Q Low profit margin per unit but high terms of volume

Q Access to modern credit

in

Financial systems

Q Possibility of flexible payment system (per day per week less often per month)

Q High profrt margin per unit but low in terms of volume

Q No access to modern credit

Indeed the re-distribution system is quite mobile and flexible able to respond to demand The administrative freedom of the re-distribution system allows it to constantly adapt to variable consumption and to changing economic conditions as opposed to the functional rigidity of the water companies27

Public taps (Ouagadougou)

~orel A IHuissier Economie de la distribution de eau aux populations whaines afaible revenu dans les pays en voie de developpement Doctoral Dissertation Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Cbaussees December 1990

27cr Note 8

6 A question of sharing 28

How is this adjustment possible Should the solutions proposed by infonnal sector agents be tolershyated temporarily or on the contrary should they be considered as an integral part of the urban distribution network

61 From community participation to shared management One approach which has been tried out for development of different types of infrastructure and

services in low-income areas is community participation This concept has most often been used to obtain the populations support for govemment programs and thus to help meet institutional standards and make up for the lack of facilities and services The population has usually been encouraged to participate in project implementation by contributions in kind financial contributions or sometimes labour These operations are rarely accompanied by an actual transfer of responsibility so problems in managing the facility installed remain after the implementation ofthe project

It also appears that this concept minimises the various relationships or dynamics existing within a neighbouIhood where the population as a whole is far from homogeneous the failure of numerous management committees set up in several projects is an example ofthis

Lastly failure to take into account the other institutional partners (centralised administrations water companies local collectivities) during the implementation of projects aimed at community participation is undoubtedly one of the reasons for the low sustainability noticed in most of these projects Attempts to set up structures for local management of services within a neighbouIhood without involving relevant institushytions have shown their limitations in the long tenn

Negotiation among the various partners (community suppliers of services public administration) is indeed necessary in order to agree on a definition of their respective roles and on the areas of intervention An approach to partnership needs to be found which will encourage actions undertaken by local communishyties at the neighbouIhood level

62 Management methods When we look at the water supply situation in low-income areas we note that there is a real demand

for home delivery or more accurately for water within the multi-family compound There is a willingness to pay for such a service providing that it is actually rendered The installations and the methods used by venshydors or distributors within the infonnal sector are located at the point where economic feasibility and minishymal obligatory standards converge This management method constitutes a technological and institutional alternative which responds to the demand of communities in precarious areas Can we make allowances for the operational pragmatism of small private entrepreneurs acting at the neighbouIhood level Can we make allowances for unconventional management methods Should services be entirely dependent on national companies

Examples of local management of services (water household waste) are numerous but in most cases this is allowed to occur due to the laxity on the part of the authorities other than a conscious process by the authorities to transfer responsibility In Bamako since 1990 the Governers office has issued a numshyber of pennits to private entrepreneurs living in neighbouIhoods not serviced by the public water system to undertake the extension of the drinking water supply network and to distribute water from public taps loshycated in public areas Extension of the system and installation of the meter are covered in full by the entreshypreneur for fees that are sometimes quite high (1 million FCFA for about 150 meters of piping) Lack of clear role definition among the various institutional agents able to furnish services in the neighbouIhood ofshyten leads to additional fees for the private investors who must pay a lot of commissions in order to obtain the necessary pennits

Small private investors acting at the neighbouIhood level play an important role in furnishing servshyices and seem to have resolved the problems ofcost recovery at their level This situation is advantageous in that it succeeds in covering a part of the demand for water which the state can not afford to satisfy as effishycientlyas it would like to

~or additional information on the concept of shared management see the dissertation of Sylvy JagIin Cf Note 8

Water supply In low-Income urban sress

Water storage in the compound with half-buried clay jars (Ouagadougou)

63 Alternative technologies Can specialised public services allow the exisshy

tence of alternative technologies Have the technologies used and their applicability to conditions in developing countries been questioned

In Ouagadougou distribution via public taps inshydependent water points and vendors represents an examshyple of shared management This distribution method is approved by the administration satisfies in part the deshymands of the population and makes use of local skills In Bamako a pilot water supply project is being impleshymented in the peri-urban areas Small independent netshyworks supplied from boreholes are being built in four neighbourhoods these systems are being managed by local associations This solution was jointly endorsed by the population of the neighbourhoods covered the municipal authorities and centralised technical services because the water company was unable to extend its network to this suburb

29The cost of the connection can be broken down as follows 260 meters of piping at 150 Flmeter 20 meters of flexible piping (10000 F) labour (20000 F) and storks beak (15000 F) The price of a Yacoli pwnp installed by SODECI is 15 million F and the cost of a linear meter of a SODECI connection is 2000 F

Regional WsbtlInd SlInlllltJon Goup - WUt AfrkJs

7 Conclusion It appears that a solution to the problem of water supply to low-income groups must be found by

interfacing public institutions the population and private entrepreneurs in low-income neighbourhoods

The solution of shared management would be profitable for all the parties concerned the water companies who would retain a monopoly only over the portion of the water sector which is profitable acshycording to their operating methods and their standards for equipment for the vendors or infonnal sector disshytributors who would no longer have to work in a semi-clandestine way risking the periodic destruction of their installations and for the poor population who could obtain better service at a more reasonable price thanks to the stimulation of competition due to the recognition of the infonnal re-distribution system for drinking water

Water supply from a tap and storage in barrels in order to

conlTolconsumpnon (Abidjan)

Waiting at a public tap in Boulbinet

(Conakry)

Water supply In Iow-lncome urlJBn SnlSS

References 1 Antoine Dubresson Manou-Savina Abidjan cote cours Ed KarthalalOrstom 1987

2 Jaglin Sylvy Pouvoirs urbains et gestion partagee aOuagadougou equipements et services de proximite dans les peripheries Doctoral dissertation in Uman Studies and Planning University of Paris VJll 1991

3 Regional Water and Sanitation Group - West Africa Enquete sur la volonte de payer en assainisshysement Commune de Port Bouet Abidjan 1993

4 Morel A IHuissier Economie de fa distribution de I eau aux populations urbaines aJaible reveshynu dans les pays en voie de developpement Doctoral dissertation Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussees Paris 1990

List of abbreviations DWS Drinking water supply

EDM Energie du Mali (Mali Power Company)

FCFA Franc ofthe financial community ofWest Africa (1 USS= about 530 FCFA)

IWSP Independent water supply point

NGO Non-govemmental organisation

PVC Polyvinyl chloride

SODECI Societe des Eaux de Cote dIvoire (Ivorian Water Utility)

Printed in Abidjan COte divoire December 1994

Title of the original French document Laimentation en eau en milieu urbain dans les quartiers defavorises Une question de partage

Water supply In IoWwincomll urblln IIrBlIS

5 A question of adjustment

With the hope of ensuring fairness water companies and funding agencies have applied solutions which have allowed a greater proportion of households to have access to drinking water Thus even more than the water tariff which still remains an important factor in the implementation of social policy it is essential to consider the conditions ofaccess to water supply in terms ofthe daily constraints experienced by the population of poor neighbourhoods

51 The willingness to pay of low-income groups is real

They are not asking for free water Several examples show that the myth of free water has been declining over the last few years

Il In Bangui a pilot project in 1986 installed six public taps (where water would be paid for) in two neighbourhoods of the city In 1987 a political decision made these taps free of charge This decision led to a degradation in the functioning of the water supply and less flexibility in supply in particular regarding operating hours The residents themselves quickly protested against the situation which eventually led to re-instating the fees one month after they were suspended

Although the income allocated to payment of water bills represents a large proportion of the budget of low-income families the price does not seem to be perceived as a limiting factor by the population of peri-urban areas or poor neighbourhoods A study carried out in six semi-urban areas in Mali

25 showed that the highest consumption per resident was in the city of Nara (1511inhabishy

tantJday as compared to 65 VinhabitantJday on average for the six cities) however the unit price is highest in Nara (750 to 1500 F in Nara as compared to 500 to 1000 F in the other cities)

When one adds up the amounts spent daily poor sections of the population pay proportionally more for access to good drinking water as compared to their incomes They therefore have access to monetary resources but lack ways to mobilise them effectively

52 Purchase of small quantities but every day

Households purchase water daily since their incomes are small as well as irregular which does not allow them to save money in order to pay for a private connection or to pay a bill every two or three months Daily purchase of water also allows the possibility of reducing expenditures whenever possible people make use of other sources of water (rainwater collection for example) water bought on a daily basis is stored in metal or pottery containers which allows better control over the quantity consumed and thus avoids waste

The notion of effort rate often used in socio-economic studies to better define demand and the financial capacity of households only has meaning for the segment of the population whose income is high enough and regular enough to allow them to save money Mechanisms for deduction in advance presuppose an effort rate and a capacity to save while the effort rate of the poor varies from day to day Mechanisms for saving money used by the poorest segment of the population make use of informal systems which bypass the formal banking system which is also inaccessible to the poorest of the poor

53 Demand for service at home

By developing a flexible commercial service private water vendors make things easier for their customers and thus know how to mobilise the resources ofpoor populations

Il prices vary according to distance (and thus the effort required) and households consent to pay high daily rates in exchange for water delivered to their doorstep

a wide range of service levels is offered according to the economic capacity and needs of the population

25 Gauff Ingenieure Programme de rehabilitation de IAEP de 6 centres semi-urbains - Rapport socio-economique May 1993

[J methods ofpayment are variable by the day or by the week monthly payments are rare since there is a lack of trust between vendors and customers over a relatively long period of time The vendor also bas financial constraints since he must make short-tenn payments within the infonnal economy

[J the number of vendors varies according to demand (more during the dry season in the Sahel countries)

[J supply distances are reduced by means of flexible pipes which allow home delivery and thus do away with long waiting periods

Independent water supply point (Ouagadougou)

Wstlsupply In Iow-income urblln s

Table 5 Comparison ofdistribution network and re-distribution network26

Coverage

Broad geographic coverage

Coverage

Covers space left over by distribution network

Investments

Q High investment

Q Amortisation over several decades

Q Investments spatially fIXed

Q Centralised network plan

eclllmcal systems

Q Electricity

Q Insufficient service at public taps long waiting periods

Investments

Q Moderate investment

Q Light material (stork beak flexible piping various containers vehicles frequently second-hand equipment

Q Configuration of network constantly altered alternative solutions constantly sought

systems

Q Animal or human energy

Q Better service coverage more vendors than public taps home delivery

Administrative system

Q Salaried employees for the most part

Q Impersonal relationship with customers usually by administrative procedures (billing)

Q Advertising necessary

Administrative system

Q No of employed is variable low pay often employs family members

Q Direct personalised relationship no administrative procedures

Q No advertising

Financial systems

Q Fixed rates payment upon receipt of bill (every 2-3 months)

Q Low profit margin per unit but high terms of volume

Q Access to modern credit

in

Financial systems

Q Possibility of flexible payment system (per day per week less often per month)

Q High profrt margin per unit but low in terms of volume

Q No access to modern credit

Indeed the re-distribution system is quite mobile and flexible able to respond to demand The administrative freedom of the re-distribution system allows it to constantly adapt to variable consumption and to changing economic conditions as opposed to the functional rigidity of the water companies27

Public taps (Ouagadougou)

~orel A IHuissier Economie de la distribution de eau aux populations whaines afaible revenu dans les pays en voie de developpement Doctoral Dissertation Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Cbaussees December 1990

27cr Note 8

6 A question of sharing 28

How is this adjustment possible Should the solutions proposed by infonnal sector agents be tolershyated temporarily or on the contrary should they be considered as an integral part of the urban distribution network

61 From community participation to shared management One approach which has been tried out for development of different types of infrastructure and

services in low-income areas is community participation This concept has most often been used to obtain the populations support for govemment programs and thus to help meet institutional standards and make up for the lack of facilities and services The population has usually been encouraged to participate in project implementation by contributions in kind financial contributions or sometimes labour These operations are rarely accompanied by an actual transfer of responsibility so problems in managing the facility installed remain after the implementation ofthe project

It also appears that this concept minimises the various relationships or dynamics existing within a neighbouIhood where the population as a whole is far from homogeneous the failure of numerous management committees set up in several projects is an example ofthis

Lastly failure to take into account the other institutional partners (centralised administrations water companies local collectivities) during the implementation of projects aimed at community participation is undoubtedly one of the reasons for the low sustainability noticed in most of these projects Attempts to set up structures for local management of services within a neighbouIhood without involving relevant institushytions have shown their limitations in the long tenn

Negotiation among the various partners (community suppliers of services public administration) is indeed necessary in order to agree on a definition of their respective roles and on the areas of intervention An approach to partnership needs to be found which will encourage actions undertaken by local communishyties at the neighbouIhood level

62 Management methods When we look at the water supply situation in low-income areas we note that there is a real demand

for home delivery or more accurately for water within the multi-family compound There is a willingness to pay for such a service providing that it is actually rendered The installations and the methods used by venshydors or distributors within the infonnal sector are located at the point where economic feasibility and minishymal obligatory standards converge This management method constitutes a technological and institutional alternative which responds to the demand of communities in precarious areas Can we make allowances for the operational pragmatism of small private entrepreneurs acting at the neighbouIhood level Can we make allowances for unconventional management methods Should services be entirely dependent on national companies

Examples of local management of services (water household waste) are numerous but in most cases this is allowed to occur due to the laxity on the part of the authorities other than a conscious process by the authorities to transfer responsibility In Bamako since 1990 the Governers office has issued a numshyber of pennits to private entrepreneurs living in neighbouIhoods not serviced by the public water system to undertake the extension of the drinking water supply network and to distribute water from public taps loshycated in public areas Extension of the system and installation of the meter are covered in full by the entreshypreneur for fees that are sometimes quite high (1 million FCFA for about 150 meters of piping) Lack of clear role definition among the various institutional agents able to furnish services in the neighbouIhood ofshyten leads to additional fees for the private investors who must pay a lot of commissions in order to obtain the necessary pennits

Small private investors acting at the neighbouIhood level play an important role in furnishing servshyices and seem to have resolved the problems ofcost recovery at their level This situation is advantageous in that it succeeds in covering a part of the demand for water which the state can not afford to satisfy as effishycientlyas it would like to

~or additional information on the concept of shared management see the dissertation of Sylvy JagIin Cf Note 8

Water supply In low-Income urban sress

Water storage in the compound with half-buried clay jars (Ouagadougou)

63 Alternative technologies Can specialised public services allow the exisshy

tence of alternative technologies Have the technologies used and their applicability to conditions in developing countries been questioned

In Ouagadougou distribution via public taps inshydependent water points and vendors represents an examshyple of shared management This distribution method is approved by the administration satisfies in part the deshymands of the population and makes use of local skills In Bamako a pilot water supply project is being impleshymented in the peri-urban areas Small independent netshyworks supplied from boreholes are being built in four neighbourhoods these systems are being managed by local associations This solution was jointly endorsed by the population of the neighbourhoods covered the municipal authorities and centralised technical services because the water company was unable to extend its network to this suburb

29The cost of the connection can be broken down as follows 260 meters of piping at 150 Flmeter 20 meters of flexible piping (10000 F) labour (20000 F) and storks beak (15000 F) The price of a Yacoli pwnp installed by SODECI is 15 million F and the cost of a linear meter of a SODECI connection is 2000 F

Regional WsbtlInd SlInlllltJon Goup - WUt AfrkJs

7 Conclusion It appears that a solution to the problem of water supply to low-income groups must be found by

interfacing public institutions the population and private entrepreneurs in low-income neighbourhoods

The solution of shared management would be profitable for all the parties concerned the water companies who would retain a monopoly only over the portion of the water sector which is profitable acshycording to their operating methods and their standards for equipment for the vendors or infonnal sector disshytributors who would no longer have to work in a semi-clandestine way risking the periodic destruction of their installations and for the poor population who could obtain better service at a more reasonable price thanks to the stimulation of competition due to the recognition of the infonnal re-distribution system for drinking water

Water supply from a tap and storage in barrels in order to

conlTolconsumpnon (Abidjan)

Waiting at a public tap in Boulbinet

(Conakry)

Water supply In Iow-lncome urlJBn SnlSS

References 1 Antoine Dubresson Manou-Savina Abidjan cote cours Ed KarthalalOrstom 1987

2 Jaglin Sylvy Pouvoirs urbains et gestion partagee aOuagadougou equipements et services de proximite dans les peripheries Doctoral dissertation in Uman Studies and Planning University of Paris VJll 1991

3 Regional Water and Sanitation Group - West Africa Enquete sur la volonte de payer en assainisshysement Commune de Port Bouet Abidjan 1993

4 Morel A IHuissier Economie de fa distribution de I eau aux populations urbaines aJaible reveshynu dans les pays en voie de developpement Doctoral dissertation Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussees Paris 1990

List of abbreviations DWS Drinking water supply

EDM Energie du Mali (Mali Power Company)

FCFA Franc ofthe financial community ofWest Africa (1 USS= about 530 FCFA)

IWSP Independent water supply point

NGO Non-govemmental organisation

PVC Polyvinyl chloride

SODECI Societe des Eaux de Cote dIvoire (Ivorian Water Utility)

Printed in Abidjan COte divoire December 1994

Title of the original French document Laimentation en eau en milieu urbain dans les quartiers defavorises Une question de partage

[J methods ofpayment are variable by the day or by the week monthly payments are rare since there is a lack of trust between vendors and customers over a relatively long period of time The vendor also bas financial constraints since he must make short-tenn payments within the infonnal economy

[J the number of vendors varies according to demand (more during the dry season in the Sahel countries)

[J supply distances are reduced by means of flexible pipes which allow home delivery and thus do away with long waiting periods

Independent water supply point (Ouagadougou)

Wstlsupply In Iow-income urblln s

Table 5 Comparison ofdistribution network and re-distribution network26

Coverage

Broad geographic coverage

Coverage

Covers space left over by distribution network

Investments

Q High investment

Q Amortisation over several decades

Q Investments spatially fIXed

Q Centralised network plan

eclllmcal systems

Q Electricity

Q Insufficient service at public taps long waiting periods

Investments

Q Moderate investment

Q Light material (stork beak flexible piping various containers vehicles frequently second-hand equipment

Q Configuration of network constantly altered alternative solutions constantly sought

systems

Q Animal or human energy

Q Better service coverage more vendors than public taps home delivery

Administrative system

Q Salaried employees for the most part

Q Impersonal relationship with customers usually by administrative procedures (billing)

Q Advertising necessary

Administrative system

Q No of employed is variable low pay often employs family members

Q Direct personalised relationship no administrative procedures

Q No advertising

Financial systems

Q Fixed rates payment upon receipt of bill (every 2-3 months)

Q Low profit margin per unit but high terms of volume

Q Access to modern credit

in

Financial systems

Q Possibility of flexible payment system (per day per week less often per month)

Q High profrt margin per unit but low in terms of volume

Q No access to modern credit

Indeed the re-distribution system is quite mobile and flexible able to respond to demand The administrative freedom of the re-distribution system allows it to constantly adapt to variable consumption and to changing economic conditions as opposed to the functional rigidity of the water companies27

Public taps (Ouagadougou)

~orel A IHuissier Economie de la distribution de eau aux populations whaines afaible revenu dans les pays en voie de developpement Doctoral Dissertation Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Cbaussees December 1990

27cr Note 8

6 A question of sharing 28

How is this adjustment possible Should the solutions proposed by infonnal sector agents be tolershyated temporarily or on the contrary should they be considered as an integral part of the urban distribution network

61 From community participation to shared management One approach which has been tried out for development of different types of infrastructure and

services in low-income areas is community participation This concept has most often been used to obtain the populations support for govemment programs and thus to help meet institutional standards and make up for the lack of facilities and services The population has usually been encouraged to participate in project implementation by contributions in kind financial contributions or sometimes labour These operations are rarely accompanied by an actual transfer of responsibility so problems in managing the facility installed remain after the implementation ofthe project

It also appears that this concept minimises the various relationships or dynamics existing within a neighbouIhood where the population as a whole is far from homogeneous the failure of numerous management committees set up in several projects is an example ofthis

Lastly failure to take into account the other institutional partners (centralised administrations water companies local collectivities) during the implementation of projects aimed at community participation is undoubtedly one of the reasons for the low sustainability noticed in most of these projects Attempts to set up structures for local management of services within a neighbouIhood without involving relevant institushytions have shown their limitations in the long tenn

Negotiation among the various partners (community suppliers of services public administration) is indeed necessary in order to agree on a definition of their respective roles and on the areas of intervention An approach to partnership needs to be found which will encourage actions undertaken by local communishyties at the neighbouIhood level

62 Management methods When we look at the water supply situation in low-income areas we note that there is a real demand

for home delivery or more accurately for water within the multi-family compound There is a willingness to pay for such a service providing that it is actually rendered The installations and the methods used by venshydors or distributors within the infonnal sector are located at the point where economic feasibility and minishymal obligatory standards converge This management method constitutes a technological and institutional alternative which responds to the demand of communities in precarious areas Can we make allowances for the operational pragmatism of small private entrepreneurs acting at the neighbouIhood level Can we make allowances for unconventional management methods Should services be entirely dependent on national companies

Examples of local management of services (water household waste) are numerous but in most cases this is allowed to occur due to the laxity on the part of the authorities other than a conscious process by the authorities to transfer responsibility In Bamako since 1990 the Governers office has issued a numshyber of pennits to private entrepreneurs living in neighbouIhoods not serviced by the public water system to undertake the extension of the drinking water supply network and to distribute water from public taps loshycated in public areas Extension of the system and installation of the meter are covered in full by the entreshypreneur for fees that are sometimes quite high (1 million FCFA for about 150 meters of piping) Lack of clear role definition among the various institutional agents able to furnish services in the neighbouIhood ofshyten leads to additional fees for the private investors who must pay a lot of commissions in order to obtain the necessary pennits

Small private investors acting at the neighbouIhood level play an important role in furnishing servshyices and seem to have resolved the problems ofcost recovery at their level This situation is advantageous in that it succeeds in covering a part of the demand for water which the state can not afford to satisfy as effishycientlyas it would like to

~or additional information on the concept of shared management see the dissertation of Sylvy JagIin Cf Note 8

Water supply In low-Income urban sress

Water storage in the compound with half-buried clay jars (Ouagadougou)

63 Alternative technologies Can specialised public services allow the exisshy

tence of alternative technologies Have the technologies used and their applicability to conditions in developing countries been questioned

In Ouagadougou distribution via public taps inshydependent water points and vendors represents an examshyple of shared management This distribution method is approved by the administration satisfies in part the deshymands of the population and makes use of local skills In Bamako a pilot water supply project is being impleshymented in the peri-urban areas Small independent netshyworks supplied from boreholes are being built in four neighbourhoods these systems are being managed by local associations This solution was jointly endorsed by the population of the neighbourhoods covered the municipal authorities and centralised technical services because the water company was unable to extend its network to this suburb

29The cost of the connection can be broken down as follows 260 meters of piping at 150 Flmeter 20 meters of flexible piping (10000 F) labour (20000 F) and storks beak (15000 F) The price of a Yacoli pwnp installed by SODECI is 15 million F and the cost of a linear meter of a SODECI connection is 2000 F

Regional WsbtlInd SlInlllltJon Goup - WUt AfrkJs

7 Conclusion It appears that a solution to the problem of water supply to low-income groups must be found by

interfacing public institutions the population and private entrepreneurs in low-income neighbourhoods

The solution of shared management would be profitable for all the parties concerned the water companies who would retain a monopoly only over the portion of the water sector which is profitable acshycording to their operating methods and their standards for equipment for the vendors or infonnal sector disshytributors who would no longer have to work in a semi-clandestine way risking the periodic destruction of their installations and for the poor population who could obtain better service at a more reasonable price thanks to the stimulation of competition due to the recognition of the infonnal re-distribution system for drinking water

Water supply from a tap and storage in barrels in order to

conlTolconsumpnon (Abidjan)

Waiting at a public tap in Boulbinet

(Conakry)

Water supply In Iow-lncome urlJBn SnlSS

References 1 Antoine Dubresson Manou-Savina Abidjan cote cours Ed KarthalalOrstom 1987

2 Jaglin Sylvy Pouvoirs urbains et gestion partagee aOuagadougou equipements et services de proximite dans les peripheries Doctoral dissertation in Uman Studies and Planning University of Paris VJll 1991

3 Regional Water and Sanitation Group - West Africa Enquete sur la volonte de payer en assainisshysement Commune de Port Bouet Abidjan 1993

4 Morel A IHuissier Economie de fa distribution de I eau aux populations urbaines aJaible reveshynu dans les pays en voie de developpement Doctoral dissertation Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussees Paris 1990

List of abbreviations DWS Drinking water supply

EDM Energie du Mali (Mali Power Company)

FCFA Franc ofthe financial community ofWest Africa (1 USS= about 530 FCFA)

IWSP Independent water supply point

NGO Non-govemmental organisation

PVC Polyvinyl chloride

SODECI Societe des Eaux de Cote dIvoire (Ivorian Water Utility)

Printed in Abidjan COte divoire December 1994

Title of the original French document Laimentation en eau en milieu urbain dans les quartiers defavorises Une question de partage

Wstlsupply In Iow-income urblln s

Table 5 Comparison ofdistribution network and re-distribution network26

Coverage

Broad geographic coverage

Coverage

Covers space left over by distribution network

Investments

Q High investment

Q Amortisation over several decades

Q Investments spatially fIXed

Q Centralised network plan

eclllmcal systems

Q Electricity

Q Insufficient service at public taps long waiting periods

Investments

Q Moderate investment

Q Light material (stork beak flexible piping various containers vehicles frequently second-hand equipment

Q Configuration of network constantly altered alternative solutions constantly sought

systems

Q Animal or human energy

Q Better service coverage more vendors than public taps home delivery

Administrative system

Q Salaried employees for the most part

Q Impersonal relationship with customers usually by administrative procedures (billing)

Q Advertising necessary

Administrative system

Q No of employed is variable low pay often employs family members

Q Direct personalised relationship no administrative procedures

Q No advertising

Financial systems

Q Fixed rates payment upon receipt of bill (every 2-3 months)

Q Low profit margin per unit but high terms of volume

Q Access to modern credit

in

Financial systems

Q Possibility of flexible payment system (per day per week less often per month)

Q High profrt margin per unit but low in terms of volume

Q No access to modern credit

Indeed the re-distribution system is quite mobile and flexible able to respond to demand The administrative freedom of the re-distribution system allows it to constantly adapt to variable consumption and to changing economic conditions as opposed to the functional rigidity of the water companies27

Public taps (Ouagadougou)

~orel A IHuissier Economie de la distribution de eau aux populations whaines afaible revenu dans les pays en voie de developpement Doctoral Dissertation Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Cbaussees December 1990

27cr Note 8

6 A question of sharing 28

How is this adjustment possible Should the solutions proposed by infonnal sector agents be tolershyated temporarily or on the contrary should they be considered as an integral part of the urban distribution network

61 From community participation to shared management One approach which has been tried out for development of different types of infrastructure and

services in low-income areas is community participation This concept has most often been used to obtain the populations support for govemment programs and thus to help meet institutional standards and make up for the lack of facilities and services The population has usually been encouraged to participate in project implementation by contributions in kind financial contributions or sometimes labour These operations are rarely accompanied by an actual transfer of responsibility so problems in managing the facility installed remain after the implementation ofthe project

It also appears that this concept minimises the various relationships or dynamics existing within a neighbouIhood where the population as a whole is far from homogeneous the failure of numerous management committees set up in several projects is an example ofthis

Lastly failure to take into account the other institutional partners (centralised administrations water companies local collectivities) during the implementation of projects aimed at community participation is undoubtedly one of the reasons for the low sustainability noticed in most of these projects Attempts to set up structures for local management of services within a neighbouIhood without involving relevant institushytions have shown their limitations in the long tenn

Negotiation among the various partners (community suppliers of services public administration) is indeed necessary in order to agree on a definition of their respective roles and on the areas of intervention An approach to partnership needs to be found which will encourage actions undertaken by local communishyties at the neighbouIhood level

62 Management methods When we look at the water supply situation in low-income areas we note that there is a real demand

for home delivery or more accurately for water within the multi-family compound There is a willingness to pay for such a service providing that it is actually rendered The installations and the methods used by venshydors or distributors within the infonnal sector are located at the point where economic feasibility and minishymal obligatory standards converge This management method constitutes a technological and institutional alternative which responds to the demand of communities in precarious areas Can we make allowances for the operational pragmatism of small private entrepreneurs acting at the neighbouIhood level Can we make allowances for unconventional management methods Should services be entirely dependent on national companies

Examples of local management of services (water household waste) are numerous but in most cases this is allowed to occur due to the laxity on the part of the authorities other than a conscious process by the authorities to transfer responsibility In Bamako since 1990 the Governers office has issued a numshyber of pennits to private entrepreneurs living in neighbouIhoods not serviced by the public water system to undertake the extension of the drinking water supply network and to distribute water from public taps loshycated in public areas Extension of the system and installation of the meter are covered in full by the entreshypreneur for fees that are sometimes quite high (1 million FCFA for about 150 meters of piping) Lack of clear role definition among the various institutional agents able to furnish services in the neighbouIhood ofshyten leads to additional fees for the private investors who must pay a lot of commissions in order to obtain the necessary pennits

Small private investors acting at the neighbouIhood level play an important role in furnishing servshyices and seem to have resolved the problems ofcost recovery at their level This situation is advantageous in that it succeeds in covering a part of the demand for water which the state can not afford to satisfy as effishycientlyas it would like to

~or additional information on the concept of shared management see the dissertation of Sylvy JagIin Cf Note 8

Water supply In low-Income urban sress

Water storage in the compound with half-buried clay jars (Ouagadougou)

63 Alternative technologies Can specialised public services allow the exisshy

tence of alternative technologies Have the technologies used and their applicability to conditions in developing countries been questioned

In Ouagadougou distribution via public taps inshydependent water points and vendors represents an examshyple of shared management This distribution method is approved by the administration satisfies in part the deshymands of the population and makes use of local skills In Bamako a pilot water supply project is being impleshymented in the peri-urban areas Small independent netshyworks supplied from boreholes are being built in four neighbourhoods these systems are being managed by local associations This solution was jointly endorsed by the population of the neighbourhoods covered the municipal authorities and centralised technical services because the water company was unable to extend its network to this suburb

29The cost of the connection can be broken down as follows 260 meters of piping at 150 Flmeter 20 meters of flexible piping (10000 F) labour (20000 F) and storks beak (15000 F) The price of a Yacoli pwnp installed by SODECI is 15 million F and the cost of a linear meter of a SODECI connection is 2000 F

Regional WsbtlInd SlInlllltJon Goup - WUt AfrkJs

7 Conclusion It appears that a solution to the problem of water supply to low-income groups must be found by

interfacing public institutions the population and private entrepreneurs in low-income neighbourhoods

The solution of shared management would be profitable for all the parties concerned the water companies who would retain a monopoly only over the portion of the water sector which is profitable acshycording to their operating methods and their standards for equipment for the vendors or infonnal sector disshytributors who would no longer have to work in a semi-clandestine way risking the periodic destruction of their installations and for the poor population who could obtain better service at a more reasonable price thanks to the stimulation of competition due to the recognition of the infonnal re-distribution system for drinking water

Water supply from a tap and storage in barrels in order to

conlTolconsumpnon (Abidjan)

Waiting at a public tap in Boulbinet

(Conakry)

Water supply In Iow-lncome urlJBn SnlSS

References 1 Antoine Dubresson Manou-Savina Abidjan cote cours Ed KarthalalOrstom 1987

2 Jaglin Sylvy Pouvoirs urbains et gestion partagee aOuagadougou equipements et services de proximite dans les peripheries Doctoral dissertation in Uman Studies and Planning University of Paris VJll 1991

3 Regional Water and Sanitation Group - West Africa Enquete sur la volonte de payer en assainisshysement Commune de Port Bouet Abidjan 1993

4 Morel A IHuissier Economie de fa distribution de I eau aux populations urbaines aJaible reveshynu dans les pays en voie de developpement Doctoral dissertation Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussees Paris 1990

List of abbreviations DWS Drinking water supply

EDM Energie du Mali (Mali Power Company)

FCFA Franc ofthe financial community ofWest Africa (1 USS= about 530 FCFA)

IWSP Independent water supply point

NGO Non-govemmental organisation

PVC Polyvinyl chloride

SODECI Societe des Eaux de Cote dIvoire (Ivorian Water Utility)

Printed in Abidjan COte divoire December 1994

Title of the original French document Laimentation en eau en milieu urbain dans les quartiers defavorises Une question de partage

6 A question of sharing 28

How is this adjustment possible Should the solutions proposed by infonnal sector agents be tolershyated temporarily or on the contrary should they be considered as an integral part of the urban distribution network

61 From community participation to shared management One approach which has been tried out for development of different types of infrastructure and

services in low-income areas is community participation This concept has most often been used to obtain the populations support for govemment programs and thus to help meet institutional standards and make up for the lack of facilities and services The population has usually been encouraged to participate in project implementation by contributions in kind financial contributions or sometimes labour These operations are rarely accompanied by an actual transfer of responsibility so problems in managing the facility installed remain after the implementation ofthe project

It also appears that this concept minimises the various relationships or dynamics existing within a neighbouIhood where the population as a whole is far from homogeneous the failure of numerous management committees set up in several projects is an example ofthis

Lastly failure to take into account the other institutional partners (centralised administrations water companies local collectivities) during the implementation of projects aimed at community participation is undoubtedly one of the reasons for the low sustainability noticed in most of these projects Attempts to set up structures for local management of services within a neighbouIhood without involving relevant institushytions have shown their limitations in the long tenn

Negotiation among the various partners (community suppliers of services public administration) is indeed necessary in order to agree on a definition of their respective roles and on the areas of intervention An approach to partnership needs to be found which will encourage actions undertaken by local communishyties at the neighbouIhood level

62 Management methods When we look at the water supply situation in low-income areas we note that there is a real demand

for home delivery or more accurately for water within the multi-family compound There is a willingness to pay for such a service providing that it is actually rendered The installations and the methods used by venshydors or distributors within the infonnal sector are located at the point where economic feasibility and minishymal obligatory standards converge This management method constitutes a technological and institutional alternative which responds to the demand of communities in precarious areas Can we make allowances for the operational pragmatism of small private entrepreneurs acting at the neighbouIhood level Can we make allowances for unconventional management methods Should services be entirely dependent on national companies

Examples of local management of services (water household waste) are numerous but in most cases this is allowed to occur due to the laxity on the part of the authorities other than a conscious process by the authorities to transfer responsibility In Bamako since 1990 the Governers office has issued a numshyber of pennits to private entrepreneurs living in neighbouIhoods not serviced by the public water system to undertake the extension of the drinking water supply network and to distribute water from public taps loshycated in public areas Extension of the system and installation of the meter are covered in full by the entreshypreneur for fees that are sometimes quite high (1 million FCFA for about 150 meters of piping) Lack of clear role definition among the various institutional agents able to furnish services in the neighbouIhood ofshyten leads to additional fees for the private investors who must pay a lot of commissions in order to obtain the necessary pennits

Small private investors acting at the neighbouIhood level play an important role in furnishing servshyices and seem to have resolved the problems ofcost recovery at their level This situation is advantageous in that it succeeds in covering a part of the demand for water which the state can not afford to satisfy as effishycientlyas it would like to

~or additional information on the concept of shared management see the dissertation of Sylvy JagIin Cf Note 8

Water supply In low-Income urban sress

Water storage in the compound with half-buried clay jars (Ouagadougou)

63 Alternative technologies Can specialised public services allow the exisshy

tence of alternative technologies Have the technologies used and their applicability to conditions in developing countries been questioned

In Ouagadougou distribution via public taps inshydependent water points and vendors represents an examshyple of shared management This distribution method is approved by the administration satisfies in part the deshymands of the population and makes use of local skills In Bamako a pilot water supply project is being impleshymented in the peri-urban areas Small independent netshyworks supplied from boreholes are being built in four neighbourhoods these systems are being managed by local associations This solution was jointly endorsed by the population of the neighbourhoods covered the municipal authorities and centralised technical services because the water company was unable to extend its network to this suburb

29The cost of the connection can be broken down as follows 260 meters of piping at 150 Flmeter 20 meters of flexible piping (10000 F) labour (20000 F) and storks beak (15000 F) The price of a Yacoli pwnp installed by SODECI is 15 million F and the cost of a linear meter of a SODECI connection is 2000 F

Regional WsbtlInd SlInlllltJon Goup - WUt AfrkJs

7 Conclusion It appears that a solution to the problem of water supply to low-income groups must be found by

interfacing public institutions the population and private entrepreneurs in low-income neighbourhoods

The solution of shared management would be profitable for all the parties concerned the water companies who would retain a monopoly only over the portion of the water sector which is profitable acshycording to their operating methods and their standards for equipment for the vendors or infonnal sector disshytributors who would no longer have to work in a semi-clandestine way risking the periodic destruction of their installations and for the poor population who could obtain better service at a more reasonable price thanks to the stimulation of competition due to the recognition of the infonnal re-distribution system for drinking water

Water supply from a tap and storage in barrels in order to

conlTolconsumpnon (Abidjan)

Waiting at a public tap in Boulbinet

(Conakry)

Water supply In Iow-lncome urlJBn SnlSS

References 1 Antoine Dubresson Manou-Savina Abidjan cote cours Ed KarthalalOrstom 1987

2 Jaglin Sylvy Pouvoirs urbains et gestion partagee aOuagadougou equipements et services de proximite dans les peripheries Doctoral dissertation in Uman Studies and Planning University of Paris VJll 1991

3 Regional Water and Sanitation Group - West Africa Enquete sur la volonte de payer en assainisshysement Commune de Port Bouet Abidjan 1993

4 Morel A IHuissier Economie de fa distribution de I eau aux populations urbaines aJaible reveshynu dans les pays en voie de developpement Doctoral dissertation Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussees Paris 1990

List of abbreviations DWS Drinking water supply

EDM Energie du Mali (Mali Power Company)

FCFA Franc ofthe financial community ofWest Africa (1 USS= about 530 FCFA)

IWSP Independent water supply point

NGO Non-govemmental organisation

PVC Polyvinyl chloride

SODECI Societe des Eaux de Cote dIvoire (Ivorian Water Utility)

Printed in Abidjan COte divoire December 1994

Title of the original French document Laimentation en eau en milieu urbain dans les quartiers defavorises Une question de partage

Water supply In low-Income urban sress

Water storage in the compound with half-buried clay jars (Ouagadougou)

63 Alternative technologies Can specialised public services allow the exisshy

tence of alternative technologies Have the technologies used and their applicability to conditions in developing countries been questioned

In Ouagadougou distribution via public taps inshydependent water points and vendors represents an examshyple of shared management This distribution method is approved by the administration satisfies in part the deshymands of the population and makes use of local skills In Bamako a pilot water supply project is being impleshymented in the peri-urban areas Small independent netshyworks supplied from boreholes are being built in four neighbourhoods these systems are being managed by local associations This solution was jointly endorsed by the population of the neighbourhoods covered the municipal authorities and centralised technical services because the water company was unable to extend its network to this suburb

29The cost of the connection can be broken down as follows 260 meters of piping at 150 Flmeter 20 meters of flexible piping (10000 F) labour (20000 F) and storks beak (15000 F) The price of a Yacoli pwnp installed by SODECI is 15 million F and the cost of a linear meter of a SODECI connection is 2000 F

Regional WsbtlInd SlInlllltJon Goup - WUt AfrkJs

7 Conclusion It appears that a solution to the problem of water supply to low-income groups must be found by

interfacing public institutions the population and private entrepreneurs in low-income neighbourhoods

The solution of shared management would be profitable for all the parties concerned the water companies who would retain a monopoly only over the portion of the water sector which is profitable acshycording to their operating methods and their standards for equipment for the vendors or infonnal sector disshytributors who would no longer have to work in a semi-clandestine way risking the periodic destruction of their installations and for the poor population who could obtain better service at a more reasonable price thanks to the stimulation of competition due to the recognition of the infonnal re-distribution system for drinking water

Water supply from a tap and storage in barrels in order to

conlTolconsumpnon (Abidjan)

Waiting at a public tap in Boulbinet

(Conakry)

Water supply In Iow-lncome urlJBn SnlSS

References 1 Antoine Dubresson Manou-Savina Abidjan cote cours Ed KarthalalOrstom 1987

2 Jaglin Sylvy Pouvoirs urbains et gestion partagee aOuagadougou equipements et services de proximite dans les peripheries Doctoral dissertation in Uman Studies and Planning University of Paris VJll 1991

3 Regional Water and Sanitation Group - West Africa Enquete sur la volonte de payer en assainisshysement Commune de Port Bouet Abidjan 1993

4 Morel A IHuissier Economie de fa distribution de I eau aux populations urbaines aJaible reveshynu dans les pays en voie de developpement Doctoral dissertation Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussees Paris 1990

List of abbreviations DWS Drinking water supply

EDM Energie du Mali (Mali Power Company)

FCFA Franc ofthe financial community ofWest Africa (1 USS= about 530 FCFA)

IWSP Independent water supply point

NGO Non-govemmental organisation

PVC Polyvinyl chloride

SODECI Societe des Eaux de Cote dIvoire (Ivorian Water Utility)

Printed in Abidjan COte divoire December 1994

Title of the original French document Laimentation en eau en milieu urbain dans les quartiers defavorises Une question de partage

Regional WsbtlInd SlInlllltJon Goup - WUt AfrkJs

7 Conclusion It appears that a solution to the problem of water supply to low-income groups must be found by

interfacing public institutions the population and private entrepreneurs in low-income neighbourhoods

The solution of shared management would be profitable for all the parties concerned the water companies who would retain a monopoly only over the portion of the water sector which is profitable acshycording to their operating methods and their standards for equipment for the vendors or infonnal sector disshytributors who would no longer have to work in a semi-clandestine way risking the periodic destruction of their installations and for the poor population who could obtain better service at a more reasonable price thanks to the stimulation of competition due to the recognition of the infonnal re-distribution system for drinking water

Water supply from a tap and storage in barrels in order to

conlTolconsumpnon (Abidjan)

Waiting at a public tap in Boulbinet

(Conakry)

Water supply In Iow-lncome urlJBn SnlSS

References 1 Antoine Dubresson Manou-Savina Abidjan cote cours Ed KarthalalOrstom 1987

2 Jaglin Sylvy Pouvoirs urbains et gestion partagee aOuagadougou equipements et services de proximite dans les peripheries Doctoral dissertation in Uman Studies and Planning University of Paris VJll 1991

3 Regional Water and Sanitation Group - West Africa Enquete sur la volonte de payer en assainisshysement Commune de Port Bouet Abidjan 1993

4 Morel A IHuissier Economie de fa distribution de I eau aux populations urbaines aJaible reveshynu dans les pays en voie de developpement Doctoral dissertation Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussees Paris 1990

List of abbreviations DWS Drinking water supply

EDM Energie du Mali (Mali Power Company)

FCFA Franc ofthe financial community ofWest Africa (1 USS= about 530 FCFA)

IWSP Independent water supply point

NGO Non-govemmental organisation

PVC Polyvinyl chloride

SODECI Societe des Eaux de Cote dIvoire (Ivorian Water Utility)

Printed in Abidjan COte divoire December 1994

Title of the original French document Laimentation en eau en milieu urbain dans les quartiers defavorises Une question de partage

Water supply In Iow-lncome urlJBn SnlSS

References 1 Antoine Dubresson Manou-Savina Abidjan cote cours Ed KarthalalOrstom 1987

2 Jaglin Sylvy Pouvoirs urbains et gestion partagee aOuagadougou equipements et services de proximite dans les peripheries Doctoral dissertation in Uman Studies and Planning University of Paris VJll 1991

3 Regional Water and Sanitation Group - West Africa Enquete sur la volonte de payer en assainisshysement Commune de Port Bouet Abidjan 1993

4 Morel A IHuissier Economie de fa distribution de I eau aux populations urbaines aJaible reveshynu dans les pays en voie de developpement Doctoral dissertation Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussees Paris 1990

List of abbreviations DWS Drinking water supply

EDM Energie du Mali (Mali Power Company)

FCFA Franc ofthe financial community ofWest Africa (1 USS= about 530 FCFA)

IWSP Independent water supply point

NGO Non-govemmental organisation

PVC Polyvinyl chloride

SODECI Societe des Eaux de Cote dIvoire (Ivorian Water Utility)

Printed in Abidjan COte divoire December 1994

Title of the original French document Laimentation en eau en milieu urbain dans les quartiers defavorises Une question de partage