Panel 88: Urban Water and Sanitation Service Provision: Who’s in Control? Who’s Served?

Africa’s urban water and sanitation services and infrastructure have been produced by a multitude of actors, interacting in diverse constellations under different historic conditions. Piped systems have commonly been designed under colonial regimes and have consistently served elite minorities. Whereas piped systems often operate with losses and rely on international finance for investments, water deliveries to the majority are commonly carried out by local entrepreneurs.

The provisioning landscape displays a multiplicity of governance forms. Approaches range from staterun systems to independent private operations, with variegated results. The need for regulation is increasingly highlighted, with increasing focus being put on the institutional arrangements. This includes increased reliance on local actors and civil society organisations.

How are local interests and priorities captured in the new ways of providing services? Does the presence of international actors and projects by NGOs and development partners lead to improved service provision? Or do they contribute to an even more fragmented actor scene?

The present panel will explore the actual roles of the different agents involved in the new regulatory regimes that evolve. Who is actually in control of the process? Who is included, and who is not? Whose interests are served?

The panel welcomes presentations of cases from different African countries that explore and discuss the links and dynamics between international, national and local forces in the shaping of governance and institutions for the provision of urban water and sanitation services.