Increasing access to clean water for the less privileged
Mr Noel Muhangi
What you need to know:
- The aim of pro-poor strategies in the water context is to stimulate economic growth in the poorest communities using water supply as a tool/ as a solution; this is referred to as relative pro-poor growth.
Government established umbrellas of water and sanitation as a special intervention to improve operation of water schemes and accelerate water and sanitation supply in small towns and rural growth centres.
This was done to improve the living conditions of the urban poor and the less-privileged across all coverage areas. The six umbrella authorities are eastern, south-western, mid-western, north, Karamoja and central.
Some of the pro-poor initiatives include tariff subsidy at public stand posts and connections in refugee and host communities, especially in the districts of Adjumani, Yumbe, Terego and Madi-Okolo.
The pro-poor initiatives are aimed at ensuring that the less privileged communities in the regions access safe water at a relatively affordable price. For instance, under northern Uganda, a unit (1,000 litres) of water costs Shs1,500 in small towns and rural growth centres, whereas in refugee and host communities, this reduces further to about Shs500 per unit at the public stand post and an average Shs850 per unit at the yard taps in the refugee communities.
This implies that a 20-litre jerrycan of water is obtained at Shs30 in small towns, whereas the same is obtained at Shs10 and Shs17 at the public stand post yard tap, respectively, within the refugee communities. This is affordable for these communities, and it has led to the positive response to payment of water bills even with the refugee and host communities.
Other pro-poor initiatives include block tariffing introduced in Omiyanyima and Orom in the northern region and in the eastern region. Water users pay Shs1,000 for the first unit (1,000 litres) consumed in a month in areas of Irundu, Namagera, and Namwiwa. All these initiatives were aimed at ensuring that the less privileged communities get access to safe, reliable, and affordable water.
The water and sanitation services are regulated by the water utility regulation department of the Ministry of Water and Environment which strikes a balance between the commercial and social objectives of water and sanitation service provision.
The current regulation framework is by a performance contract signed between the minister of Water and the water authority responsible for the provision of water supply and sanitation services. The performance contract specifies the scope of work, rights, and obligations of each party to the contract.
Access to pro-poor water and sanitation services, contracting, approval of water tariff as well and developing regulatory tools and instruments is critical. These aid in ensuring that mostly low-income areas receive affordable water and sanitation services.
The government is interested in the pro-poor strategy/intervention because it targets the poor and thereby reduces inequality.
A typical pro-poor water and sanitation strategy is, therefore, a strategy where the ‘poor’ (people under the poverty line and without access to safe drinking water) are benefitting disproportionately more than those above the poverty line and/or with access to safe drinking water.
The aim of pro-poor strategies in the water context is to stimulate economic growth in the poorest communities using water supply as a tool/ as a solution; this is referred to as relative pro-poor growth.
The writer is a media researcher. [email protected]
