Harold LockwoodAguaconsult

Brisbane, Australia

SessionA3. A

Moving towards a solution or out-sourcing

the problem?

DECENTRALISATION OF RURAL WATER

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Broad process of transfer of authority and responsibility – transcends any one sector

Various dimensions: administrative, fiscal and political

Varying depth: deconcentration, delegation, devolution

DECENTRALISATION

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COUNTRY STUDIES

Range of sector maturity, aid dependency, business markets and reforms

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DECENTRALISATION AND SECTOR REFORM

Separation of functions policy, planning, implementation and oversight or monitoring

Strong focus on urban sector and privatisation

Rural water sector – often overlooked; CBM adopted as norm

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All countries gone or going through decentralisation processes – mixed progress – rapid/complete and phased/incomplete

Mandate is transferred but with ‘paper reforms’ leaving local government with little capacity and resources to do the job

Fiscal decentralisation tends to be last stage

Two thirds of expenditure is outside the control of local government

(Wateraid, 2008)

FINDINGS

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PROGRESS IN RURAL WATER - TRIPLE-S STUDY

Ext

ent

of

dec

entr

alis

atio

n

in r

ura

l wat

er

Ethiopia

Mozambique

Ghana

Burkina Faso

Uganda

Sri Lanka

Honduras

Thailand USA

India

Benín

GDP US$/CAP1,000 2,000 4,000 8,000 16,000 32,000 64,000

Limited

Mixed

High

Colombia

South Africa

India (Gujarat)

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ISSUES AND CONSTRAINTS

Sector reform has met resistance to change and conflict over roles: CWSA Ghana, PHEDs in some states in India, SANAA Honduras

Limited political commitment and lack of common sector investment plans

Honduras – CONASA and ERSAPS At a recent meeting of municipal leaders in Tegucigalpa many were unaware of the policy and regulatory bodies

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ISSUES AND CONSTRAINTS

Transfer of assets and/or asset ownership unclear and contested

Limited capacity of local government staff - management and technical

Burkina Faso Assets legally transferred to Communes in January 2010 Ministry of Agriculture should have rehabilitated all systems Many systems handed over in poor repair, with only €1,500 per Commune

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ISSUES AND CONSTRAINTS

In some cases donors can be part of the problem, as well as the solution

Projectised development partner support for reforms (Honduras)

Different funding channels risking fragmentation (Ghana)

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SUCCESS FACTORS

Well structured fiscal flows to lower tiers of government:

Conditional grant in Uganda

Equitable Share Grant and Municipal Infrastructure Grant (conditional) in South Africa

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Clear roles and structured support

District and sub-district water and sanitation staff

Regional Technical Support Units:

Planning Quality assurance Capacity building and training Specialised technical expertise

SUCCESS FACTORS - UGANDA

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RE-CENTRALISATION?

Evidence of re-centralisation of key functions - planning and financial allocation at Departmental level in Colombia

Formation of ‘manocomunidades’ to achieve economies of scale and technical specialisation

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CONCLUSIONS

Mixed progress in decentralisation of rural water service delivery

Many local governments still struggle with limited skills and resources - few manage to provide support to life-cycle of service delivery

Success in water sector appears to be linked to core public sector reform efforts

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CONCLUSIONS

Remember the time scales involved ….

....... it has taken many many decades in parts of Europe to achieve decentralisation and even now we still struggle!

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