Findings - Africa Region

Findings Infobriefs reports on Good Practice in ongoing operational, economic and sector work carried out by the World Bank and its member governments in the Africa Region. It is published monthly by the Knowledge and Learning Center on behalf of the Region. The views expressed in Findings are those of the author/s and should not be attributed to the World Bank Group

Uganda : Small Towns Water and Sanitation

The specific objectives of this project ( Credit of US$42.3 million over the period 1995-2003 ) were to : ( a) improve health conditions through better water supply, excreta disposal, waste management and public hygiene; (b) alleviate poverty and improve the lot of women; and (c) reduce environmental degradation through better waste management. The project was to provide improved and sustainable water supply and sanitation services in two groups of towns : (a) the 11 small towns ( Busia, Kalisizo, Kyotera, Lugazi, Luwero, Lyantonde, Malaba, Ntungamo, Rakai, Rukunguri and Wobulenzi ), where most of the town populations drew water from boreholes with hand pumps, springs and traditional sources such as rivers and lakes – this was to be implemented by the Directorate of Water Development ( DWD ); and (b) the rehabilitation of the water sewerage services in Jinja, to be expanded to include Njeru.- to be implemented by the National Water and Sewerage Corporation ( NWSC ).

Further, an independent participatory impact study was carried out to : (a) assess project impacts against the original objectives, (ii) identify potential aspects of the project that will impact the sustainability of the outputs and mitigation measures for consolidating project achievements, and (iii) outline lessons that will help improve the performance of the small towns water and sanitation sub-sector. Most of the outcomes identified here are sourced from this study.

Impact on the ground

The project achieved more than had been targeted in the components and provided improved water services to more people than originally planned. New water supply service was provided to 161,000 people in excess of the targeted 126,000. It improved service conditions for the estimated 30,000 people targeted.
The project completed the construction of piped water supply systems in 10 small towns, with the exception of Kyotera. Core area populations were served through 2,570 connections and 100 kiosks; populations in the fringe areas through 171 point sources.
Town residents now have better quality and a higher quantity of water supply and there has been a significant shift from point sources towards piped water usage. Only an estimated 3%, compared to 68% at the start of them project, were using unimproved point sources.
Twenty-four hour water supply is now available due to: (a) development of good quality water supply infrastructure; (b) a customer-friendly commercial and financial policy that has subsidized the installation of connections, from Uganda shillings ( Ushs) 135,000 to Ushs50,000 per connection (in 2003, 1US$ = Ushs1980 ).; (c) a flexible approach that permits a range of options to serve various types of users and responding to demand for connections; and (d) implementation of a model that ensures sustainable management of the water supply systems – operations have been contracted out to local private operators since July 2001.
The ease with which water is now obtained has simplified the task of cleaning latrines and most households do this daily. Most of the respondents were also aware of the role that good sanitation plays in the prevention of disease.
With the availability of water, the price of water per 20-liter jerrican averages Ushs 20, down from between Ushs50-200.
Due to improved access, the time spent collecting water and the distances to water have been reduced significantly. About 70% of the households now spend about 15 minutes to fetch water and are within 50m of a safe water source compared to only 13% before the project; further, only 6%, as compared to 40% of the population spend about 2.5 hours to do this.
The sale of water has provided some form of employment for town residents as caretakers of yard taps and kiosks ( Wobulenzi, which has been in operation since 1998, has 31 kiosks ). A number of such persons, especially in Wobulenzi, have acquired starting capital for small businesses such as tailoring. There has also been an increase in livestock rearing through zero grazing as well as poultry rearing. Larger investments, e.g. a meatpacking factory in Lyantonde and a bus park in Busia, were being planned.
The main drawers of water, women and children, have had their time freed to pursue social and economic activities – children now have more time to study and arrive on time at school.
The project has helped to empower women by: (a) ensuring that they are represented on the Water Supply and Sewerage Boards at the Town Councils; (b) including them in training activities; and (c) providing them with livelihood opportunities as managers/caretakers of kiosks and yard taps which has helped them diversify into other economic activities.
Substantial improvements have been made in the performance of the sewage treatment ponds in Jinja. Provision of the right equipment and routine maintenance both compliance to standards and treatment efficiency have improved.
The project also made selected sanitation improvements by financing the construction of 45 public toilets, 14 km of storm drains, provision of 44 refuse bunkers, and by supplying 3 tractors and trailers for solid waste management. Hygiene and sanitation promotion was carried out in all towns; 11 motorcycles and 33 bicycles were provided to facilitate hygiene and sanitation promotion.
Financially, all the towns, except Rakai and Malaba, have either reached or surpassed the break-even point for sustainable operations. Kampala, which constitutes 70% of NWSC’s operations, is already managed by a Private Operator ( PO ) under an enhanced management contract while all the other operational areas of NWSC are under Area Performance contracts and service contracts with existing NWSC staff.
NWSC is able to meet 21% of its capital investment program from revenues and is expected to achieve an operating profit that will fully cover asset depreciation.
The project has pioneered the separation of asset ownership, oversight management and day-to-day management of operations. Currently, all the small towns concerned have been gazetted as Urban Water and Sewerage Authorities ( UWSA ), established Town Boards responsible for oversight management, and signed management contracts with 2 local POs for day-to-day management and operations.
The project has contributed significantly to the development of a harmonized and replicable model for small towns development and management. It is also credited with contributing to the development of local private sector capacity in the management of small town water supply systems.

Lessons learned

Demand assessment is key to guiding investment planning; it also helps to define the appropriate management model from the outset and the need, or otherwise, for commercial management.
Project design and costing needs to include mechanisms for financing connections to ensure: (a ) that an adequate secondary and tertiary distribution structure is developed from the outset; (b) a large customer base; and (c) a balance between production and distribution – linking investments with cost recovery, revenue generation and debt servicing.
Small towns should be treated as simplified urban utilities rather than as upgraded rural systems. Application of the Water Users Association ( WUA ) model in urban towns is inappropriate because: (a) the demand responses in urban towns, however small, call for more commercial management of different service levels – the original design did not anticipate this; (b) governance arrangements at the Town Council level complicate the ownership of assets, management oversight and the day-to-day operation of systems; and (c) sanitation needs are more varied and complex than can be conveniently arranged with WUAs.
Providing sustainable services to the urban poor requires the establishment by the NWSC of a dedicated unit with specialized skills that can be responsive to particular needs, be responsible for the day-to-day management and co-ordination of programs, procurement, M&E, and establishment of linkages between various stakeholders.
An M&E system that caters to the needs of the NWSC, POs and town water authorities is essential to review the accuracy of data, prepare short-term financial forecasts and action plans and as a feedback mechanism to improve management.

This Inforbrief was excerpted from Implementation Completion Report No. 27529. For additional information, e-mail Solomon Alemu : salemu@worldbank.org


	No. 113 June 2005
	*Findings Infobriefs* reports on Good Practice in ongoing operational, economic and sector work carried out by the World Bank and its member governments in the Africa Region. It is published monthly by the Knowledge and Learning Center on behalf of the Region. The views expressed in Findings are those of the author/s and should not be attributed to the World Bank Group Uganda : Small Towns Water and Sanitation The specific objectives of this project ( Credit of US$42.3 million over the period 1995-2003 ) were to : ( a) improve health conditions through better water supply, excreta disposal, waste management and public hygiene; (b) alleviate poverty and improve the lot of women; and (c) reduce environmental degradation through better waste management. The project was to provide improved and sustainable water supply and sanitation services in two groups of towns : (a) the 11 small towns ( Busia, Kalisizo, Kyotera, Lugazi, Luwero, Lyantonde, Malaba, Ntungamo, Rakai, Rukunguri and Wobulenzi ), where most of the town populations drew water from boreholes with hand pumps, springs and traditional sources such as rivers and lakes – this was to be implemented by the Directorate of Water Development ( DWD ); and (b) the rehabilitation of the water sewerage services in Jinja, to be expanded to include Njeru.- to be implemented by the National Water and Sewerage Corporation ( NWSC ). Further, an independent participatory impact study was carried out to : (a) assess project impacts against the original objectives, (ii) identify potential aspects of the project that will impact the sustainability of the outputs and mitigation measures for consolidating project achievements, and (iii) outline lessons that will help improve the performance of the small towns water and sanitation sub-sector. Most of the outcomes identified here are sourced from this study. Impact on the ground The project achieved more than had been targeted in the components and provided improved water services to more people than originally planned. New water supply service was provided to 161,000 people in excess of the targeted 126,000. It improved service conditions for the estimated 30,000 people targeted. The project completed the construction of piped water supply systems in 10 small towns, with the exception of Kyotera. Core area populations were served through 2,570 connections and 100 kiosks; populations in the fringe areas through 171 point sources. Town residents now have better quality and a higher quantity of water supply and there has been a significant shift from point sources towards piped water usage. Only an estimated 3%, compared to 68% at the start of them project, were using unimproved point sources. Twenty-four hour water supply is now available due to: (a) development of good quality water supply infrastructure; (b) a customer-friendly commercial and financial policy that has subsidized the installation of connections, from Uganda shillings ( Ushs) 135,000 to Ushs50,000 per connection (in 2003, 1US$ = Ushs1980 ).; (c) a flexible approach that permits a range of options to serve various types of users and responding to demand for connections; and (d) implementation of a model that ensures sustainable management of the water supply systems – operations have been contracted out to local private operators since July 2001. The ease with which water is now obtained has simplified the task of cleaning latrines and most households do this daily. Most of the respondents were also aware of the role that good sanitation plays in the prevention of disease. With the availability of water, the price of water per 20-liter jerrican averages Ushs 20, down from between Ushs50-200. Due to improved access, the time spent collecting water and the distances to water have been reduced significantly. About 70% of the households now spend about 15 minutes to fetch water and are within 50m of a safe water source compared to only 13% before the project; further, only 6%, as compared to 40% of the population spend about 2.5 hours to do this. The sale of water has provided some form of employment for town residents as caretakers of yard taps and kiosks ( Wobulenzi, which has been in operation since 1998, has 31 kiosks ). A number of such persons, especially in Wobulenzi, have acquired starting capital for small businesses such as tailoring. There has also been an increase in livestock rearing through zero grazing as well as poultry rearing. Larger investments, e.g. a meatpacking factory in Lyantonde and a bus park in Busia, were being planned. The main drawers of water, women and children, have had their time freed to pursue social and economic activities – children now have more time to study and arrive on time at school. The project has helped to empower women by: (a) ensuring that they are represented on the Water Supply and Sewerage Boards at the Town Councils; (b) including them in training activities; and (c) providing them with livelihood opportunities as managers/caretakers of kiosks and yard taps which has helped them diversify into other economic activities. Substantial improvements have been made in the performance of the sewage treatment ponds in Jinja. Provision of the right equipment and routine maintenance both compliance to standards and treatment efficiency have improved. The project also made selected sanitation improvements by financing the construction of 45 public toilets, 14 km of storm drains, provision of 44 refuse bunkers, and by supplying 3 tractors and trailers for solid waste management. Hygiene and sanitation promotion was carried out in all towns; 11 motorcycles and 33 bicycles were provided to facilitate hygiene and sanitation promotion. Financially, all the towns, except Rakai and Malaba, have either reached or surpassed the break-even point for sustainable operations. Kampala, which constitutes 70% of NWSC’s operations, is already managed by a Private Operator ( PO ) under an enhanced management contract while all the other operational areas of NWSC are under Area Performance contracts and service contracts with existing NWSC staff. NWSC is able to meet 21% of its capital investment program from revenues and is expected to achieve an operating profit that will fully cover asset depreciation. The project has pioneered the separation of asset ownership, oversight management and day-to-day management of operations. Currently, all the small towns concerned have been gazetted as Urban Water and Sewerage Authorities ( UWSA ), established Town Boards responsible for oversight management, and signed management contracts with 2 local POs for day-to-day management and operations. The project has contributed significantly to the development of a harmonized and replicable model for small towns development and management. It is also credited with contributing to the development of local private sector capacity in the management of small town water supply systems. Lessons learned Demand assessment is key to guiding investment planning; it also helps to define the appropriate management model from the outset and the need, or otherwise, for commercial management. Project design and costing needs to include mechanisms for financing connections to ensure: (a ) that an adequate secondary and tertiary distribution structure is developed from the outset; (b) a large customer base; and (c) a balance between production and distribution – linking investments with cost recovery, revenue generation and debt servicing. Small towns should be treated as simplified urban utilities rather than as upgraded rural systems. Application of the Water Users Association ( WUA ) model in urban towns is inappropriate because: (a) the demand responses in urban towns, however small, call for more commercial management of different service levels – the original design did not anticipate this; (b) governance arrangements at the Town Council level complicate the ownership of assets, management oversight and the day-to-day operation of systems; and (c) sanitation needs are more varied and complex than can be conveniently arranged with WUAs. Providing sustainable services to the urban poor requires the establishment by the NWSC of a dedicated unit with specialized skills that can be responsive to particular needs, be responsible for the day-to-day management and co-ordination of programs, procurement, M&E, and establishment of linkages between various stakeholders. An M&E system that caters to the needs of the NWSC, POs and town water authorities is essential to review the accuracy of data, prepare short-term financial forecasts and action plans and as a feedback mechanism to improve management. This Inforbrief was excerpted from Implementation Completion Report No. 27529. For additional information, e-mail Solomon Alemu : salemu@worldbank.org