Kevin Sansom

Paying for water services: effects of household characteristics

Maximising cost recovery is currently a top priority for managers of urban water utilities in low-income countries. This research was carried out in 11 major towns of Uganda to establish which household characteristics influence payment for water services. A questionnaire was used to collect data on customer satisfaction, customer loyalty and several socio-economic variables. Using regression techniques, it was established that the following attributes of the household head moderated the satisfaction and loyalty relationship: gender, occupation and level of education. Other significant factors were household income and property tenure status. These results could be used to make water utilities customer-focused.

Utility and non-state water service provision for the urban poor

Inadequate water service provision to the urban poor remains a serious problem in low-income countries. Utilities lack the resources, obligations or incentives for service expansion and there may be a long delay before water utilities are in a position to extend services. Non-state water providers, including both formal and informal local private providers, as well as civil society institutions, play a large role in provision of services to the urban poor and are increasingly recognised as a potential effective means of service provision to the urban poor. Governments should seek to create a better enabling environment for utilities both to overcome disincentives in service provision to the poor and to seek more effective ways of engagement with the non-state providers.

Inclusion of shared sanitation in urban sanitation coverage? Evidence from Ghana and Uganda

This paper discusses the notions of ‘improved’ and ‘unimproved’ sanitation in the context of developing countries in urbanizing Africa and considers the role that shared facilities can play in this equation. It analyses current definitions and classifications used by the United Nations Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) to monitor access to shared sanitation and summarizes the recent discourse on JMPs limitations. Empirical evidence from two case studies in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) - Kampala, Uganda and Ashaiman, Ghana - is presented, showing the widespread use and limitations of the shared toilet facilities in these two cities. The empirical evidence shows that quite different types of shared sanitation facilities emerge in different cities, each influenced by the urbanization patterns, local politics and sociocultural considerations. Improving the quality of shared facilities involves the consideration of the applicability of the different types of facilities within the category ‘shared sanitation’, toge...

International water targets and national realities in Sub-Saharan Africa: the case of Uganda

ABSTRACT This article considers how to reconcile ambitious UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for universal piped water supplies with developing country realities in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). A concise process for effective reviews of medium-term national targets is proposed and is applied in an analysis of the current provision of piped water to households and shared community facilities in urban and rural settings in Uganda. Different disciplinary perspectives are adopted to review trends, the performance of key stakeholders and their scope for achieving new targets. Only about 5% of households have piped water supplies on their premises in rural areas in SSA. To achieve the SDG target of 100% coverage will, therefore, take a long time and requires continued support for the sustainability of community water facilities as a priority. The SDGs offer sensible long-term aims, but national medium-term target setting and reviewing remain critical and require realistic and systematic planning approaches, as well as careful global reporting of national performance against SDG targets. The authors argue that balanced incentives are needed to encourage stakeholders to strive for realistic targets in the medium term, without demotivating countries with limited capacities and resources.