Environment and Infrastructure Division
Factsheet
Country: Benin
Project: Rural and Urban Water Supply Programme
Term: 2004 – 2008
Total funding: € 7,000,000
Rural and Urban Water Supply Programme
Context
Despite abundant water resources,
water in Benin is unequally distributed
within different regions and varies
considerably during the annual sea-
sons. Seven million inhabitants lack
safe water supply and basic sanita-
tion. Even with steady investment
over the past 30 years more than
40 % of urban and 60 % of rural popu-
lation do not have access to safe
drinking water. Many rural water sup-
plies lack regular replacement of vital
components and do not have proper
operation and maintenance systems
(O&M). Especially in growing urban
and peri-urban areas there is a high
demand for water supply coverage
and therefore increased investment.
commissioned by:
On national level legal and institu-
tional frameworks are currently adap-
ted to meet the present challenges.
Important components are:
< Introduction of Integrated Water
Resources Management (IWRM)
< Enhancement of local authorities’
capacities to pilot planning
< Implementation and monitoring of
water and sanitation facilities
< Mobilisation of private sector par-
ticipation
< Modernisation of the public water
utility Société Nationale des Eaux
du Bénin (SONEB).
Strategies for rural and urban wa-
ter supply are already available. The
Water Act of 1987 is currently under
revision.
For further enhancement of the
sector and technical coordination the
water administration has been linked
with different development partners.
Major international donors support
the implementation of the sector
programme.
Project
German Development Cooperation
has been supporting the implementa-
tion of rural water supply since 1996.
This cooperation was based on the
country’s rural water strategy. At the
same time improvement of planning
and management tools as well as
institutional reforms have been ad-
dressed in the urban sector. Tradition-
ally, water supply systems were
extended in medium and small towns
to increase service levels.
In 2003, the Ministry responsible for
water and its German partners agreed
to add a technical assistance compo-
nent on ministry level into the coop-
eration. This assistance should back

institutional and conceptual changes
in relation to IWRM, the introduction
of budget support and the strength-
ening of local governments. New con-
cepts generated at the operational
level may now be directly linked to the
policy level. This enables change
management in water supply and
sanitation, including new experiences.
Société Nationale des Eaux du Bénin
(SONEB) was founded in 2004 as a
new utility for the urban sector. The
intention of the assistance to SONEB
is to establish a sound organisation
structure, a new billing system, a Man-
agement Information System and to
consolidate the investment planning
process. The company’s vision is to
improve its efficiency, increase invest-
Imprint
For further information:
Programme d‘Approvisionnement en Eau
potable en milieu rural et urbain (PEP)
c/o Bureau de la GTZ à Cotonou
08 B.P. 1132 tri postal
Cotonou
Republique du Benin
Phone: +229 21 31 64 41
Fax: +229 21 30 13 65
conrad.thombansen@gtz.de
Construction of a water
tower in a rural area
Water testing and metering
in a treatment plant
ment and realise the necessary
projects to fulfil the goals of the
MDGs (i.e. 80% coverage by 2015).
Therefore a sound business plan is
currently developed. A big emphasis
is given to the urban poor through
baseline studies and a pro-poor ori-
ented review of the tariff system.
In rural areas the water administra-
tion and German Development Coop-
eration assist local authorities with
the rehabilitation of existing schemes,
construction of new water supply
systems and sanitation infrastructure.
This also includes awareness raising
for sustainable water consumption.
The target area covers 6 out of the
country’s 11 provinces with approxi-
mately 3 million inhabitants.
Published by:
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische
Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH
Water and Sanitation Section
PO Box 5180
65726 Eschborn, Germany
Phone: +49 6196 79 -1327
Fax: +49 6196 79 -80 1327
wasser@gtz.de
www.gtz.de/water
Impact
Since the water programme started in
September 2004, the development of
a new strategy for urban water supply
was supported on the strategic advi-
sory level. Studies have been con-
ducted to enhance IWRM and to fa-
cilitate the installation of a water sec-
retariat, which is the basis for the fu-
ture National Water Council. The
development of tools for water and
sanitation management for the local
authorities is in progress. This will en-
able them to take responsibility and
fulfil their role.
In the rural areas of the target re-
gion over 150 water points have been
realised and 38.000 inhabitants
served. The local committees have
submitted further requests for addi-
tional 150 water points, after they had
been trained to set up their initial
management systems.
In urban areas SONEB has realised
12.000 new household connections
serving an estimated 144.000 people.
Improved water and sanitation ser-
vices have a high potential to reduce
water borne diseases and thus house-
hold expenses for medical treatment.
They also provide time for more
productive purposes, especially for
women and children.
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Status: 12/2005
 Environment and Infrastructure Division

Factsheet

Country: Ghana

Project: Improvement of Water Supply

in the Volta and Eastern Regions

Term: 1998 – 2007

Total funding: € 6,200,000

Improvement of Water Supply

in the Volta and Eastern Regions
Context

In line with the MDGs and the Ghana
Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS)
the Government of Ghana is commit-
ted to provide access to safe drinking
water and sanitation facilities for all
Ghanaians with special emphasis on
the poor and vulnerable.
Sector reforms have been carried
out, to promote a sector approach
and to render efforts more focused
and efficient. The new National Water
Policy strengthens the Water Directo-
rate (WD) and its mandate to monitor
sector strategies and to coordinate
key stakeholders and donors within
the national policy framework.
The National Community Water
and Sanitation Programme (NCWSP),
with the Community Water and Sani-
tation Agency (CWSA) as facilitator
and regulator for rural and small
town water supply, is guided by the
Government’s decentralisation poli-
cy. The District Assemblies (DAs) are
responsible for planning, implemen-
tation and monitoring of water facili-
ties. However, DAs often lack finan-
cial and human resources to meet
these challenges. As legal owners
of the water infrastructures they
transfer the operation and manage-
ment to the communities and their
Water and Sanitation Development
Boards (WSDBs).
Project
The project offers safe drinking water
for 29 selected small towns. GTZ pro-
vides capacity building for CWSA,
DAs and communities to ensure sus-
tainable operation and maintenance
(O&M) of the water facilities and the
improvement of their sanitation con-
ditions. Complementary, KfW financ-
es the rehabilitation of existing water
pipe-systems and the construction of
new ones.
The WSDBs, elected by their com-
munities, operate the systems through
employed technical staff. Emphasis is
put on a full cost-recovery water tariff,
a reinvestment fund, preventive and
curative maintenance. Maintenance
contracts with local firms are pro-
moted.
Appropriate technical and financial
O&M instruments have been devel-
oped. WSDB members and staff are
assisted in its use to improve effi-
ciency. Operational DAs receive ca-
pacity building to sustain their moni-
toring and evaluation (M&E) activities.
Together with the Danish Develop-
ment Cooperation (DANIDA), CWSA
is strengthened through participatory
organisational development and
change management to play its role
as facilitator and regulator.
Special attention is laid on hygiene
and sanitation promotion. Hygiene
education tools have been developed,

commissioned by:

Social Volunteers have been appoin-
ted and trained. They inform the pop-
ulation about the coherences between
water, hygiene and health and advise
them how to behave appropriately.
HIV/AIDS is always included.
Dialogue, promotion and sharing of
available knowledge (knowledge man-
agement) with other stakeholders al-
low best practices to be used and
multiplied. This led to a harmonised
monitoring, operation and manage-
ment system for regional CWSAs, and
the development of CWSA database
compatible with the national M&E
system. The WD as focal point for
sector coordination and monitoring of
GPRS/MDG targets is supported by
the implementation of the national
policy and the creation of the neces-
sary legal framework for small town
water systems (e.g. legal status of
WSDBs and the use of revenues from
water sale).
The team of the Water Board in Asesewa
Imprint
For further information:
Eastern and Volta Region Assistance
Project (EVORAP)
P.O. Box 9698 KIA
Accra, Ghana
Phone: +233 21 225 602
Fax: +233 21 225 602
evorapfi@gh.com
Motto: Water is Life, Money &
Development
Good cooperation between
Water Board and standpipe
attendant
Hygiene education
through “Social Volunteers”
Impact
Water supply for about 250 000 peo-
ple in 29 small towns has improved.
All communities apply a full-cost-re-
covery tariff, preventive and curative
maintenance and have opened two
bank accounts, one for running costs
and one for reinvestments.
Expenditures comprise 30% of the
sales revenue. The reinvestment funds
increase about 10% monthly. 90% of
consumed water is paid for. Statistics
of the Ministry of Health show that
water-borne diseases like guinea
worms did reduce in project towns
since operation of the new systems.
The acceptance of the new systems
among the population is high. Users
are willing to pay more for reliably op-
erated systems, and use the product
‘water’ cost-consciously (seasonal
fluctuations). The regular use of the
O&M instruments provides the WSDBs
daily/monthly with the necessary tech-
Published by:
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische
Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH
Water and Sanitation Section
PO Box 5180, 65726 Eschborn, Germany
Phone: +49 6196 79 -1327
Fax: +49 6196 79 -80 1327
wasser@gtz.de
www.gtz.de/water
nical and financial information. The
electronic M&E database allows the
DAs a timely monitoring.
Efficient operation of the systems
leads to client satisfaction. However,
a sustainable community based man-
agement of water facilities needs also
a well functioning water service sys-
tem at district, regional and national
levels within a legal and institutional
framework. The nation wide harmo-
nised operation, management, moni-
toring and evaluation system is based
on best practices and contributes to
the sustainability of water systems
and services.
A milestone is the ratification of the
water policy and its implementation.
Water policy and sector reform have
established the link with good gov-
ernance, political and fiscal decen-
tralisation, prerequisites to meet the
MDG targets and to reduce poverty.
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Status: 12/2005
 Environment and Infrastructure Division

Factsheet
Country: Kenya

Project: Ministry of Water and Irrigation / GTZ

Water Sector Reform Programme WI / GTZ WSRP

Term: 2003 – 2013

Total funding:
€ 5,000,000 for phase 2 (2005 – 2007)

Water Sector Reform Programme

Context

Inadequate access to safe and effi-
ciently managed water supplies and
sanitation is the main challenge fac-
ing the Kenyan water sector. Prior to
reforms the ineffectiveness of the
sector has been attributed to several
factors including a centrally oriented
structure in which responsibilities
have been unclear, little attention has
been given to water resource man-
agement, and there has been little in-
centive for better performance.
The Kenyan government passed a
new Water Act in 2002 with the inten-
tion of improving the sector through
extensive reform. The reforms will
< decentralise the current structure
so that responsibilities clearly lie at
the regional and local levels
< separate policy functions and regu-
lation, as well as ownership of as-
sets and water services
< separate water supply and sewer-
age operations and water resource
management
< commercialise water supply and viding technical support to WSPs.
sewerage operations to give pro- The WSBs operate under a license
viders incentives for better service. issued by the Water Services Regula-
tory Board. The regulator determines
For the implementation of these the overall regulatory framework un-
reforms a number of institutions have der which the WSB and the WSP op-
been established. On the water re- erate, give guidance on sector issues,
sources side, the regional offices of determine standards, set tariff guide-
the Water Resources Management lines and advise on sector policy is-
Authority are supported by Catch- sues.
ment Area Advisory Committees with
the aim of bringing together different The Water Act also creates an Ap-
stakeholder interests and represent- peals Board, which handles appeals
ing the interests of Water Resources and disputes in the sector.
User Associations.
On the water services side, regional
water services boards (WSB) are en-
trusted with the overall responsibility
of service provision. They are re-
quired, however, to use water service
providers (WSP) as agents for direct
service delivery. The WSB is limited to
managing and developing assets,
monitoring the performance of WSPs
and – in defined circumstances – pro-

commissioned by:
 Water quality testing by
water service provider
Water supply services
at a water kiosk
Water hyacinth at Nairobi dam
Project
The Water Sector Reform Programme
(WSRP) assists new institutions estab-
lished under the Water Act in getting
operational and becoming effective. It
also helps to develop and enforce the
rules that govern the provision of serv-
ices and management of resources.
The WSRP applies a multi-level ap-
proach and operates at national, re-
gional and local levels. To achieve
tangible impacts at the regional and
local levels, the WSRP focuses its
activities in the Western and Central
Regions of Kenya. The Programme
consists of 4 components:
< Policy development, regulation
and institutional reform of the
water and sanitation sub-sector.
The Programme advises on reform
implementation, supports the de-
velopment and enforcement of an
effective regulatory framework for
providing effective and efficient wa-
ter services and the establishment
of regional institutions.
< Commercialisation of water sup-
ply and sewerage companies.
The WSRP seeks to create susta-
inable services by supporting
the establishment of commercially
oriented and autonomous water
service providers.
Imprint
For further information:
GTZ-Water Sector Reform
Programme (WSRP)
Ministry of Water & Irrigation
Maji House, 4th floor
Ngong Road
P0 Box 19512
00202 Nairobi, Kenya
wsrp@gtz-wrp.or.ke
< Water resource management. The
Programme helps the Catchment
Area Advisory Committees in two
basins to develop and implement
catchment management strategies
effectively. Community participa-
tion is at the core of their activities.
< Public relations and communica-
tion. The WSRP assists sector in-
stitutions in planning and imple-
menting communication activities,
which build broad agreement and
support for the reforms and the
activities of the new institutions.
Impact
The Water Sector Reform Programme
is currently in its second phase. Phase
one lasted from 2003 to 2004.
The WSRP has had much success
so far. All three of the currently
supported regional water services
boards have signed performance
agreements with water services pro-
viders that are bound by legitimate
minimal standards.
As a water services provider, the
new Nzoia Water and Sewerage Com-
pany now solely manages services
Published by:
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische
Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH
Water and Sanitation Section
PO Box 5180, 65726 Eschborn, Germany
Phone: +49 6196 79 -1327
Fax: +49 6196 79 -80 1327
wasser@gtz.de
www.gtz.de/water
that were previously managed by four
local authorities. Also, two of the wa-
ter services providers that had been
supported in commercialising water
services under previous programmes
can now meet their operation and
maintenance costs.
In the water resources manage-
ment sector, the WSRP lent its sup-
port to the development of a national
Catchment Management Strategy
(CMS) framework, paving the way for
development of CMS for respective
basins.
Consensus on the implementation
of the reform is being adopted through
information and consultation with
stakeholders. In the same way, both
the Ministry’s draft Plan of Transfer of
Water Services to Water Services
Boards document and the Model
Service Provision Agreement by the
Water Services Regulatory Board
document have been successfully re-
viewed, also backed by public con-
sultation.
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Photos: © GTZ
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Status: 12/2005

Factsheet
Country: United Republic of Tanzania
Project: Support to the Water Sector Reform
Term: 2002 – 2011
Total funding:
€ 4,825,000 for phase 2 (2004 – 2006)
Support to the Water Sector Reform Programme
Context
The sector has maintained coverage
of access to water in urban centres at
73.5% in 2004 for the second con-
secutive year, and has raised the
sewerage service coverage from 10%
in June 2000 to 17% in June 2004.
This coverage enables about 25% of
the waste water generated daily to be
collected and disposed through sew-
erage systems.
Rural water supply service cover-
age has increased from 48.5% in the
year 2000 to 53.5% in the year 2004,
which is below the 2003 Poverty
Reduction target of 55%. The sanita-
tion coverage levels for Tanzania re-
mained at 85% according to the
Household Budget Survey of
2000/2001. However, health educa-
tion and hygiene practices among
communities are poor.
The framework for water sector de-
velopment in Tanzania is derived from
the Vision 2025, the Millennium
commissioned by:
Development Goals (2015), the
Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper
(PRSP) and the National Strategy for
Growth and Reduction of Poverty
(MKUKUTA) respectively, and the
National Water Policy.
The main aim of the National Water
Policy, 2002, is to develop a compre-
hensive framework of sustainable
development and management of the
Nation’s water resources, in which an
effective legal and institutional frame-
work for its implementation will be
put in place.
Main problems, which are actually
hampering the development of the
water sector, are:
< Inadequate coordination of water
sector reform activities
< Fragmented financing of develop-
ment projects
< Lack of clarity with regard to small
towns development
Environment and Infrastructure Division
< Legislatory and regulatory as well
as institutional frameworks are not
compatible with new policies
< Poor consideration of sanitation
and health issues
< Lack of awareness about the new
policy approach and its conse-
quences
< Human resources capacities do not
meet the challenges
< Poor data collection, processing
and monitoring capacities.
Project
The GTZ cooperation in the water
sector has been extended and focus-
es on five major components:
< Institutional and legal reforms
< Communication and advocacy
< Capacity building
< Investment planning
< Support to water user entities.
 Impact

The overall Programme objective is
to sustainably improve drinking water
and sanitation services for the urban
and rural population.
Key methodological elements ap-
plied by the Programme include the
vertical and horizontal networking of
institutions that play an important role
in water supply and sanitation at the
local and national levels. It provides
the Ministry of Water and Livestock
Development (MoWLD) with sector-
specific and methodological advice
on implementing the water sector
policy. This covers the institutional
and legal framework conditions, pub-
lic relations measures, and upgrading
staff performance. At the local level,
the MoWLD’s reform objectives are
being implemented on exemplary ba-
sis by providing advisory services to
water utilities and associations.
The expected impact of the GTZ in-
tervention touches all aspects and all
levels of the water sector. The future
framework for sector development is
being built in a comprehensive and
coherent manner and will ultimately
lead to targeted and coordinated in-
vestment into the sector along the
lines of a sector-wide approach
(SWAp). Roles and responsibilities will
change in order to provide for ac-
countability on all levels, decentrali-
sation, empowerment of communities
and efficiency. The enabling legisla-
tion will be the tool to implement the
sector reform. Elimination of conflicts
of interest and duplication of efforts is
an important impact in the long-term
future. Government institutions will
have to adjust to the new roles and
responsibilities and implement new
organisational structures and work
procedures.
water to poor people, helping to en-
hance their living conditions in the
long-term.
Transferring responsibility to com-
munity and water-user group levels
encourages participants to take on
sole responsibility for operation and
maintenance and promote their man-
agement skills. This also has a posi-
tive impact in other areas, such as
community development activities.
The restructuring of the water sector
will provide new opportunities for
women at the local level in particular.
Mainstreaming the issue of HIV/AIDS
is expected to yield a positive health
impact in the medium term and will
help maintain human capacities in the
water sector.

The Programme plays a significant The Programme’s main intervention

role in helping to achieve Tanzanian
development objectives derived from
the MDGs and as outlined in the
MKUKUTA and the National Water
Sector Development Strategy.
focus is at the macro level. The target
group will only be reached as a result
of cooperation with intermediaries.
It is anticipated that the Programme
will improve the supply of drinking

Imprint
For further information: Published by:
Support to the Water Sector Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Design by: www.creativerepublic.net, © 2005
Reform Programme Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH Photos: © GTZ
c/o GTZ Office Dar es Salaam Water and Sanitation Section Printed on 100% recycled paper
P.O.Box 1519 PO Box 5180
Dar es Salaam 65726 Eschborn, Germany
United Republic of Tanzania Phone: +49 6196 79 -1327
Phone: +255 744 897 207 Fax: +49 6196 79 -80 1327
Fax: +255 222 139 832 wasser@gtz.de
mowld.gtz@africaonline.co.tz www.gtz.de/water Status: 12/2005
 Environment and Infrastructure Division

Factsheet

Country: Uganda

Project: Development of the Water Sector

Term: 2002 – 2008

Total funding:
€ 3,500,000 for phase 2 (2005 – 2008)

Programme for the Development of the Water Sector

Context Project

The supply of hygienically safe drink-
ing water to the urban population of
Uganda and the level of sanitation in
urban areas are poor. Currently only
67% of the urban population has ac-
cess to safe water supply and only
8% are connected to a centralised
waste water system. Despite abun-
dant water resources water is expen-
sive, primarily due to management
and governance problems. This often
leads to the highest costs for the ur-
ban poor. Therefore reforms in the
sector shall provide better access to
safe water and sanitation services,
specifically for the poor, whose living
conditions will improve. This will be
achieved through higher efficiency
and effectiveness.
The Government of Uganda through
the Ministry of Water, Lands and Envi-
ronment (MWLE) is reforming the wa-
ter and sanitation sector to address
the challenges of delivering high qual-
ity services in an equitable, affordable
and sustainable manner.
The reform initiatives directly con-
tribute towards the Government of
Uganda’s commitment to meet the
MDGs. Furthermore achievements of
strategic activities in the water sector
are linked to the Ugandan Poverty
Eradication Action Plan and the Pov-
erty Reduction Support Credit.
GTZ is supporting the reforms in
the urban water and sanitation sub-
sector since 2002 under a programme
called Reform of the Urban Water
Sector (RUWAS).
The RUWAS Programme is part of
the Sector Wide Approach (SWAp)
that was adopted in 2002. Within the
SWAp, the programme is an active
member in the Water and Sanitation
Sector Working Group, a high level
decision-making and steering com-
mittee that coordinates the work of all
stakeholders in the sector. The devel-
opment partner contributions to the
sector are coordinated through the
Water and Sanitation Sector Develop-
ment Partner Group. Sector progress
is monitored by all stakeholders bian-
nually during the Joint Sector and
Joint Technical Reviews.
The key objectives in the urban
water and sanitation sub-sector of
the RUWAS support are to:
< Strengthen the legal, institutional
and regulatory framework to en-
hance stable governance and re-
duce the financial and management
burden on Government
< Establish a clear separation of the
sector’s core functions of regula-
tion, asset management/investment
and operations

commissioned by:

< Improve the operational and finan-
cial performance of water and
sewerage utilities through the pro-
motion of private sector participa-
tion in the delivery of services
< Develop and implement pro-poor
strategies to provide affordable, eq-
uitable and sustainable access to
water and sanitation facilities and
services with the target of achieving
full coverage by the year 2015.
Assistance is provided to sector
institutions like the MWLE, the Direc-
torate of Water Development, the
National Water and Sewerage Corpo-
ration (NWSC) and the Association of
Private Water Operators. The Pro-
gramme also assists in coordinating
and utilising the different modes of
delivery of German development co-
operation in the sector.
Imprint
For further information:
RUWAS c/o GTZ Office Kampala
P.O. Box 10346
Kampala, Uganda
Phone: +256 31 263 069
+256 31 263 070
Fax: +256 41 234 685
+256 41 348 860
info@ruwas.co.ug
www.ruwas.co.ug
Water supply through a public standpipe
Improvement of operational performance
though better communication
Impact
One of the key impacts to date is the
agreement on the road maps for the
transformation of NWSC into an asset
holding authority and strengthening
of the existing regulatory framework
at the 2005 Joint Sector Review.
The water supply in towns under
NWSC clearly improved between
1998 and 2005. This was partly a re-
sult of international private sector par-
ticipation (PSP) but more significantly
due to internal reforms and the intro-
duction of the Internally Delegated
Area Management Contracts in 2004.
< The number of water connections
increased from 50,826 to 123,046
while coverage increased from 47%
to 67%
< Collection efficiency increased from
60% to 89% with the percentage of
inactive accounts decreasing from
38% to 14%
< Staff per 1000 connection fell from
36 to 9
< Operating profits (without deprecia-
tion and financing costs) rose from
UGX 1.49 billion (€ 670,000) to UGX
14.85 billion (€ 6.75 million).
Published by:
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische
Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH
Water and Sanitation Section
PO Box 5180
65726 Eschborn, Germany
Phone: +49 6196 79 -1327
Fax: +49 6196 79 -80 1327
wasser@gtz.de
www.gtz.de/water
NWSC introduced a pro-poor tariff
structure and social connection
policy. The pro-poor tariff structure is
financed by higher water tariffs for
industrial and commercial consum-
ers. The social connection policy is
funded by a 10% increase on all
water tariffs and was introduced in
2004. This allowed the average price
for new connections to be lowered
from € 112 to € 22, benefiting mainly
poor households in peri-urban areas.
The management of water supply
and sanitation in small towns im-
proved since it was delegated to the
local administrations. This was part of
the ongoing decentralisation process
and involvement of local private water
operators (LPO) between 2002/03 and
2004/05. Of 61 towns with piped
water systems and water boards, 58
(formerly 38) are operated under
management contracts by 15 LPOs.
The number of active connections
went up from 8.704 to 11.717 while
the coverage of operating costs in-
creased from 61% to 77%. Coverage
increased from 63 % to 66 %.
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Status: 12/2005

Factsheet
Country: Zambia
Project: Water Sector Reform Programme
Term: 2004 – 2012
Total funding:
€ 4,800,000 for phase 1 (2004 – 2006)
Water Sector Reform Programme
Context
Over the past decades, income pov-
erty in Zambia has increased, reach-
ing 72.9% of the population in 1998.
Extreme poverty also rose and ex-
tends to over half the population
(58.2%). Already 43% of the popula-
tion live in towns and up to 80% (3.9
million) reside in low income areas.
This is expected to increase further as
low income areas absorbing the ma-
jority of the population growth.
Although Zambia has abundant
water resources, a new detailed
baseline study indicates that only
47% of the urban population have
adequate and sustainable access to
clean drinking water and only 43% of
the urban population has access to
adequate sanitary facilities. Since
decades cholera arises regularly in
these areas, due to the fact that
waste water enters the ailing water
pipe system or pollute resources,
and natural habitats.
commissioned by:
Lack of information makes it impos-
sible to plan object-oriented. In order
to reverse these trends, the Zambian
Government embarked in 1994 on a
profound Water Sector Reform, so far
largely implemented in the urban and
to some extent rural water supply and
sanitation (WSS) sub-sector.
Project
Since the adoption of a new National
Water Policy in 1994 by the Zambian
Government, German support has
substantially increased. Currently,
GTZ supports Zambian institutions to
achieve the goals of the ongoing re-
form phase: consolidate the reform
for urban WSS, accelerate implemen-
tation of the national sector policy for
the urban poor and rural WSS as well
as for water resource management.
The focal points of the cooperation
are:
Environment and Infrastructure Division
Support of commercialisation of
WSS with establishment and capacity
building of Commercial Utilities (CU -
providers for urban and low-income
areas, shareholder companies in pub-
lic ownership), large enough to gener-
ate economies of scale in order to
offer reasonable tariffs, especially for
the poor, through cross-subsidies.
Establishment of an effective sec-
tor supervision and regulation for
urban and peri-urban WSS through
the Ministry of Local Government and
Housing (MLGH) and the regulator
National Water and Sanitation Council
(NWASCO). This includes a regulatory
regime focusing on sustainable ser-
vice provision in the sector for the en-
tire population with specific solutions
for the urban poor.
Scaling up of the Devolution Trust
Fund (DTF) (poverty basket), which
assists commercial utilities to finance
the extension of WSS services to the
urban poor and to put a sustainable
management system in place.
Setting up a sector-wide informa-
tion system (NWASCO Information
System - NIS) starting with the urban
and low-cost areas. This also includes
guidelines on countrywide reporting.
Establishment of Integrated Water
Resources Management (IWRM)
following the Johannesburg declara-
tion and SADC guidelines on river
based management through a sector
reform unit.
Support to programming in the
sector through the Sector Advisory
Group (SAG / Ministry of Energy and
Water Development - MEWD) includ-
ing the promotion of a sector wide
approach (SWAp) with the aim of
achieving coordination among the key
stakeholders.
In order to foster vertical and hori-
zontal cross-linkages in the sector the
GTZ support is targeted on national
and local level including autonomous
government institutions (statutory
bodies), the private sector (CUs) and
the two involved Ministries (MEWD,
MLGH). This is of particular impor-
tance for streamlining issues such as
poverty orientation, achievement of
MDGs, good water governance and
sustainability.
The long standing engagement and
the very close involvement in the
Zambian water sector reform enables
German agencies to understand the
local system. It also helps to identify
suitable incentive mechanisms, to as-
sess feasibility and absorption of in-
put as well as the will to reform.
Impact
The outsourcing of functions from the
Ministries to other autonomous and
professionally managed government
institutions opened a range of oppor-
tunities and improved sector perform-
ance. Additionally, stakeholder par-
ticipation was integrated into the new
structures and a strong involvement
of the private sector (commercialisa-
tion and private sector participation)
was supported. The average daily
supply time for water increased from
8 to 16 hours and the average collec-
tion rate is now over 70%. Water
quality, customer satisfaction and
cost recovery has substantially im-
proved and is still rising.
New legislation gave the institu-
tional set-up the necessary legal
backing. It enabled improvements in
governance and supported paradigm
changes on the different levels within
a relatively short period.
Pilot projects of the DTF, which
were initially supported by GTZ and
then also funded by other donors, of-
fered sustainable access to safe wa-
ter for additional 80,000 people in
low-income urban areas. In order to
achieve the MDGs for water supply
additional low-cost infrastructure for
approximately 1.75 million inhabitants
have to be put in place by 2015.
Therefore, the GTZ programme sup-
ports the DTF today to obtain and
manage the necessary financial
resources for an implementation on a
much larger scale.

Imprint
For further information: Published by:
Water Sector Reform Programme Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Design by: www.creativerepublic.net, © 2005
c/o GTZ-PAS Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH Photos: © GTZ
P.B. RW 37X Water and Sanitation Section Printed on 100% recycled paper
ZA 15102, Zambia PO Box 5180, 65726 Eschborn, Germany
Phone: +260 1 22 92 81 Phone: +49 6196 79 -1327
Fax: +260 1 22 92 81 Fax: +49 6196 79 -80 1327
gtzwater@zamnet.zm wasser@gtz.de
www.gtz.de/water Status: 12/2005