3 ways countries can improve water supplies in small towns
Small towns typically have not been well served by national or regional water utilities . Decentralization has become increasingly widely adopted , but even if local governments at the small town level have the power to operate a water utility , they often lack the capital and skills to do so . In response , some local governments and public institutions concentrate improvements on upgrading public utilities ’ operations or strengthening community based management . In other cases , they choose to bring in the private sector knowledge of how to get clean water and sanitation services to more people more efficiently , affordably or sustainably . There is no one solution to addressing often very complex water and sanitation challenges .
There are many ways in which the public sector can leverage its own resources through partnering with the private sector . For the domestic private sector to fully realize its potential at scale in the small town sub-sector , we found they need capable and enabled public institutions to structure the
market and regulate private operators . Lessons learned from case study countries ( Colombia , Bangladesh , Philippines , Uganda , Cambodia , Niger and Senegal ) in a new global study published by the Water Global Practice ’ s Water and Sanitation Program suggest the following three key ways to support public institutions in order to build a conducive business climate for market players in small towns Water Supply and Sanitation ( WSS ) service delivery :
1 . Increase citizen engagement : Involving civil society and other stakeholders in a well-designed and properly resourced dialogue process is crucial to address concerns and raise awareness about private sector participation issues . In Bangladesh , inadequate attention to this issue was found to be detrimental to efforts to improve water services . In contrast , the Government of the Philippines has created a Public-Private Partnership ( PPP ) Center , which acts as a knowledge centre of PPPs . The
16 Africa Water , Sanitation & Hygiene • November - December 2016