Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene 2014 Sept - Oct Vol. 9 No.5 | Page 24

Water Supply

It’s slow going for businesses aiming to tackle
Tanzania’s water problems
Private sector partnerships
A number of innovative
cross-sector partnerships
are also emerging that might
provide Tanzania’s policy
makers with inspiration.
German utility Hamburg
Wasser, for instance, is
currently working with the
country’s water and sanitation
authorities to improve water
infrastructure and services
in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania’s
largest city.
Private sector involvement
isn’t just restricted to
water companies however.
Swedish retailer H&M, for
Over one third of Tanzania is semi-arid. With few rivers and diminishing levels of clean groundwater, 48% of its citizens lack
instance, has just embarked
access to safe water. Photograph: Xan Rice
on a £811,000 project with
By Oliver Balch
UK charity WaterAid. The
three-year programme aims to improve water provision
he semi-arid country has diminishing groundwater
and sanitation facilities in 36 schools in the rural Manyara
and a lack of safe water access. New public-private
district. As well as immediate assistance, H&M hopes the
partnerships are springing up, but a lack of trust and
intervention will influence government thinking about
public awareness mean pace is slow.
water-related issues in schools.
Tanzania’s water problems are only too obvious. Over one
In a separate initiative, WaterAid is also helping to
third of East Africa’s largest country is semi-arid. With
establish a for-profit model for resolving sewerage
few rivers and diminishing levels of clean groundwater,
problems. The project, which operates in Dar Es Salaam,
48% of its 45 million citizens lack access to safe water.
sees small enterprises remove human waste from pit
The consequent productivity losses, health costs and
latrines in exchange for a small fee.
premature deaths (an estimated 26,000 Tanzanians die of
“So far there are five community based organisations that
diarrhoeal disease every year) are put at £206m – around
have started the programme and we have seen a success
1% of the country’s total GDP.
in terms of the reduction in diseases and the urban poor
Less obvious is what can be done about it. It’s not that
being able to access sanitation services”, says Christina
Tanzania has ignored the problem. The country undertook
Chacha, spokesperson for WaterAid in Tanzania.
a major reform of its water sector in 2002 and currently
WaterAid offers local entrepreneurs loan finance to buy
boasts a comprehensive strategy aimed at delivering
the equipment required for collecting and disposing of the
universal access to safe water by 2025.
The 2002 reforms opened the door to greater involvement latrine waste. The charity also operates a revolving fund
that can be used as collateral for loans from participating
of the private sector in the day-to-day business of water
local finance providers, such as the Kenya Commercial
delivery. A host of new local utilities have cropped up as a
Bank.
result. Tanzania’s water sector has also become the focus
of foreign donor support. German state aid agency Giz,
“If the private sector thinks it can make money from
for example, recently helped with the setting up of an
this … then, if we should ever decide to leave [