Background information-Kenya 1.

Introduction Water supply and sanitation in Kenya is characterized by low levels of access, in particular in urban slums and in rural areas, as well as poor service quality in the form of intermittent water supply. Only 9 out of 55 water service providers in Kenya provide continuous water supply.[3] Seasonal and regional water scarcity exacerbates the difficulty to improve water supply. The Kenyan water sector underwent far-reaching reforms through the Water Act No. 8 of 2002. Previously service provision had been the responsibility of a single National Water Conservation and Pipeline Corporation as well as of a few local utilities established since 1996. After the passage of the act service provision was gradually decentralized to 117 Water Service Providers (WSPs). These are linked to 8 regional Water Services Boards (WSBs) in charge of asset management through Service Provision Agreements (SPAs). The Act also created a national regulatory board (WASREB) that carries out performance benchmarking and is in charge of approving SPAs and tariff adjustments. The Ministry of Water and Irrigation is in charge of policies for water supply and the Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation is in charge of policies for sanitation. Although urban water tariffs are high by regional standards (US$0.46 per m3 on average in 2007)[4] the level of cost recovery is low due to a high level of non-revenue water (average of 47%) [8] and high costs. Costs are high due to the need to tap distant water sources (e.g. Mombasa is supplied from a source located 220 km from the city) and due to high levels of staffing (11 workers per 1000 connections or more than twice the sector benchmark).[9] Investment in the sector increased fivefold from US$55m in 2004-05 to almost US$300m in 2008-09. 58% of this amount was financed by the government with its own resources, 31% by external donors and 11% was selffinanced by utilities.[6] 2. Historical overview The history of the water and sanitation sector in Kenya is characterised by institutional fragmentation that led to numerous inefficiencies and by subsequent attempts at reform. Beginnings. The history of piped water supply in Kenya can be traced back to the period of the East African Protectorate. At that time water supply was focused on the needs of colonial settlements. The administration of water supply was carried out by the Hydraulic Branch of the Public Works Department, which started operating in the coastal city of Mombasa. The construction of the Uganda Railway in 1896 provided an important impetus for the development of water pipelines in the interior of the country along the railway line. Colonial period. Between 1920 and independence in 1963 the first attempts were made at regulating water supply in the colony and protectorate of Kenya, while responsibility was shared by many institutions. In the 1950s and early 60s, responsibility for the administration of water supply was split between three institutions: the Ministry of Works operating in urban centres with centralised water service provision; Local Authorities that were deemed capable of managing water supply; and the Water Development Department, which was responsible for developing new

water supplies for urban and rural centres. Bulk water to Mombasa was provided by the Mombasa Pipeline Work, while day to day operations of water pipelines were carried out by the water department. There was no single framework for the administration and management of water. In 1952 the Water Act Cap 372 was enacted, which remained the legal basis for the water sector until 2002.[29] In the sanitation subsector there was no functioning institutional framework either. Officially, the 1921 Public Health Ordinance gave the Ministry of Health the role of administering sanitation, but it was rarely enforced. The local population, moreover, was reluctant to adopt sanitary measures imposed by the colonial government. Between 1929 and 1939 intense public health education campaigns were carried out which led to the diffusion of pit latrines. By 1954 different types of sanitation were in use in different parts of Kenya: pit latrines were in use in most native reserves, bucket type latrines prevailed in towns while waterborne sanitation was used in the European quarters of major towns. During the Mau Mau uprising Africans were concentrated in detention camps and local markets were kept closed out of fear of rebellion. This led to the neglect of adequate sanitation and in the proliferation of communal latrines.[30] Independent Kenya (19631980). As Kenya gained independence in 1963, attempts at simplifying the administration of water supply resulted in the transferral of all organisations responsible for water to the Ministry of Agriculture in 1964. The distribution of responsibilities and authority was however unclear and led to bottlenecks and inefficiencies. In 1965 the government led by Jomo Kenyatta stated in the Sessional Paper No. 10 on African Socialism and its Application to Planning in Kenya that government policy had to be directed towards the eradication of poverty, illiteracy and disease. This initiated a period of active involvement in water policy by the government, based on the principle that water is a social good to be either provided free of charge or subsidised. As a result, water tariffs between 1970 and 1981 were heavily subsidised and in contradiction with the principle of operating cost recovery. Throughout the 1960s, the Environmental Sanitation Programme supported by WHO-UNICEF was carried out in Kenya with the aims of developing water supplies for small rural communities, improving waste disposal methods and providing sanitary education for the rural population. The rural water supply schemes set up as part of the programme were operated by County Councils (under the Ministry of Local Government). In 1972 about 560 rural water supply schemes were running in Kenya and provided water to a population of about 664,000, UNICEF reported. Local communities also started developing their own water supplies and set up water committees: they received training about design systems, hydraulic calculations, costs and submission methods. A follow up study by UNICEF carried out in 1974 showed the many problems that affected these projects. In 1970 the Government of Kenya signed a credit agreement with Sweden to finance Rural Water Supply Development. The WHO was to provide a study of the water situation in the country. The study, completed in 1973, showed that in Kenya there was a major lack in senior and technical staff; while donors could provide most development funds, current expenditure could not be covered by local funds and the Government lacked a long term plan of water supply development. In response, a fully fledged Ministry of Water Resources Management and Development was created in 1974. The ministry took over government operated water schemes as well as those operated by county councils.[31] In the same year the National Water Master Plan Initiative was launched. Its primary aim was to develop new water supply schemes and secure access to potable water within

reasonable distance to all Kenyans. The initiative bore the slogan, Water for all by the year 2000.[21]

3. Difficulties and reform plans (19802002).

In the 1980s, the government began experiencing budget constraints which put strain on the ambitious projects of providing universal access to safe water and expanding the water and sewerage systems. Priority was given to the rehabilitation of existing schemes and the construction of large scale water projects such as the Baricho and Kilimanjaro water schemes. [21] In 1980 a National Sanitation Council was established to sensitise the population about the health benefits of sanitation and to advise and guide local authorities on the matter. The Council slowly faded without accomplishing its mandate.[30] In 1983 a Water Use Study carried out by SIDA confirmed that the situation was unsustainable and suggested decentralisation and removing operation and maintenance responsibilities from the Ministry. To improve falling performance and efficiency and to reduce the financial burden of the water sector, in June 1988 the National Water Conservation and Pipeline Corporation (NWCPC) was established. Its role was to operate water supply systems under state control on a commercial basis. But even this proved insufficient to revitalise the stifling water sector and in 1992 a Second National Water Master Plan was formulated, based on a demand driven approach. The need for a carefully designed, long term water policy was also expressed and its drafting begun soon afterwards. Moreover, it was recognised that stronger incentives and better management were needed in the water sector. To obtain this, there were attempts to introduce a commercial approach to service provision. In 1996 the Ministry of Local Government, through the Companies Act Cap. 486, established publicly owned water and sanitation companies where operation and management were privately run. By 2002 this scheme had only worked in Nyeri and Eldoret, whereas the companies in Kitale and Nakuru had been taken over by the government again due to financial problems.[32] In 1999, the first National Policy of Water Resources Management and Development was published. The policy stated that the government would hand over urban water systems to autonomous departments within local authorities, and rural water supply to communities. Another provision of this document was placing water and sanitation services under single utilities. While developing the National Water Policy, the Government also established a National Task Force to review the Water Act, Cap 372, and draft amendments that would result in a complete overhaul of the sector.[21]
3.1.

Reorganisation of water institutions (2002present).

The current legal framework for the Kenyan water and sanitation sector is based on the Water Act Nr. 8 of 2002 which became effective in March 2003.[33] The 2002 Water Act introduced far reaching reforms based on the following principles:

the separation of the management of water resources from the provision of water services; the separation of policy making from day to day administration and regulation; decentralization of functions to lower level state organs; the involvement of non-government entities in the management of water resources and in the provision of water services.

The implementation of these principles triggered a wide-ranging restructuring of the sector and lead to the creation of new institutions. The Water Sector Reform Secretariat (WSRS) was formed as a transitional unit in the Ministry of Water and Irrigation to oversee the formation of the new water sector institutions. In 2004, the Water Services Trust Fund (WSTF) was established to provide financial assistance towards capital investment costs in areas lacking adequate services (usually inhabited by the poor). A Transfer Plan was devised in 2005 (through Legal Notice No. 101 of the 12th August, 2005) to direct the transfer of staff and assets from the central government to the newly founded Water Services Boards and Water Service Providers (for detailed role descriptions see the next paragraph).[34] To guide the implementation of the Water Act, a draft National Water Services Strategy (NWSS) for the years 2007-2015 was formulated in June 2007. Its mission is to "realise the goals of the MDG declaration and the Vision 2030 of the Kenyan Government concerning access to safe and affordable water and basic sanitation by responsive institutions within a regime of well defined standards and regulation." NWSS is based on the identification of sustainable access to safe water and basic sanitation as a human right and an economic good. Among the core commitments are: cost recovery by water service providers to ensure sustainable water and sanitation for all and the formalisation of service provision.[11][35] In addition, MWI also elaborated pro-poor implementation plans.[7] Policy formulation and sector coordination The Ministry of Water and Irrigation (MWI) is the key institution responsible for the water sector in Kenya. The Ministry is divided into five departments: Administration and Support Services, Water Services, Water Resources Management, Irrigation, Drainage and Water Storage, and Land Reclamation. Water supply is overseen by the Department for Water Services, whose functions include: formulation of policy and strategies for water and sewerage services, sector coordination and monitoring of other water services institutions. The Ministry of Water and Irrigation is also in charge of overall sector investments, planning and resource mobilisation.[36] Sanitation policy is in the hands of the Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation (MoPHS).[37] To harmonise the institutional framework for sanitation MWI and the MoPHS have developed a common Water Supply and Sanitation Concept with clearly defined sanitation targets. Other ministries play a role in the water and sanitation sector. The Ministry of Education cooperates with MWI and MoPHS in the area of school sanitation by participating in Water and Sanitation Programme Committees. The Agricultural Sector Coordination Unit deliberates on all issues related to agriculture, including irrigation which is overseen by MWI. The MWI also cooperates with the Ministries of Forestry, of the Environment and of Special Programmes to further the rehabilitation and maintenance of water towers.[38]