TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE WATER SERVICES AT SCALE IN GHANA

Ghana SWA Accelerated Proposal Design Workshop

Vida Affum Duti – Country Director ,IRC Ghana

September 18,2012

The Sustainability Challenge

Accelerating sanitation and water for all

Sustainable and equitable sanitation and water for all

Much effort and progress made

– Tens of billions of dollars invested world wide

– In Ghana, increased coverage from 29% in the 90’s to 62% in 2012.

– However:Complex changes with sustaining water services

Much effort and progress made

The cost of failure – 20 countries in sub-Saharan Africa

Investment loss in sub-Saharan Africa of between US$ 1.2 to 1.3 billion over 20 years

Information Collated by Peter Harvey, UNICEF Zambia, May 2007

36%

Non functionality in Ghana: results from baseline in 3 districts

The Conceptual Underpinning of Triple-S• Service Delivery Approach (SDA) - The heart of Triple-S is a conceptual approach

to how water services should be provided. It is rooted in the need for a shift in focus from the means of service delivery (the water supply systems or infrastructure – the ‘project’) towards the actual service accessed by consumers; where access to a water service is described in terms of a user’s ability to reliably and affordably access a given quantity of water, of an acceptable quality, at a given distance from her or his home.

• Service Delivery Model (SDM) –The ‘how to’ of applying the service delivery approach describes the policy, legal, institutional, financial, governance and normative frameworks that determine what services will be provided to consumers (of the service), and how this will be done. Service Delivery Models are always country-specific and may include different management arrangements appropriate to the country or local conditions and desired service levels (i.e. self-supply, community, private, utility or any hybrid of these).

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Delegatedprivate sector

Community –managed

Municipalmanaged

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Utility managed

Consumers in rural communities

Decentralised government functions: Planning and coordination Financing (taxes and transfers) Monitoring and back-stopping Regulation Bye-laws Asset ownership/management

Only focussing on the service provision level is not enough

Only focussing on the service provision level is not enough

National level government: Policy, institutional and legal Defining service levels Regulatory and funding frameworks Budgetary allocations

National level – normative and policy

The Service Delivery Model

Capital expenditure dominates

Management /recurrent expenditure

dominates

Coverage rates25% 50% 75% 100%

Capital maintenance exp. dominates

Balancing the funding flow

Source: Moriarty, 2011

Danger zone: as basic infrastructure is

provided, coverage risks stagnating at around 60 – 80%

Danger zone: as basic infrastructure is

provided, coverage risks stagnating at around 60 – 80%

Rethinking MonitoringFrom To

From counting pumps and pipes only

To monitoring services and the conditions for ensuring sustainability

From unstructured, ad-hoc data collection and analysis

To continuous data collection and structured analysis

From restricted accessibility of monitoring data

To easy access to real-time monitoring data for all

From monitoring as an end To monitoring as a means to address planning and provision of sustainable services

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE

TOWARDS A SUSTAINABLE SERVICE AT SCALE IN GHANAS

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•National Policy and LI•Draft sector strategic development plan•Draft operational manuals and guidelines•National Institutions•Sector engagement platforms•Budget allocations

• LI establishing DWDs• Model bye-Laws• DiMES • DWSP• Common fund allocation, DDF and IGFs • Tested indicators and methodology for

functionality and service monitoring

• Management models• Model bye-laws • national standards and norms for service• supply chain outlets• Water and Sanitation management

committees

•Finalization and publication of operational documents•SSDP endorsement and alignment with national budget, mechanism for coordination •Budget for capital maintenance and replacement

•Finalization and publication of operational documents•SSDP endorsement and alignment with national budget, mechanism for coordination •Budget for capital maintenance and replacement

•Accountability by duty bearers•Operationalization of model bye-laws•Supply chain and repair services•Fund management arrangement for O&M and capital maintenance•Technology issues•Water quality issues

•Accountability by duty bearers•Operationalization of model bye-laws•Supply chain and repair services•Fund management arrangement for O&M and capital maintenance•Technology issues•Water quality issues

•DWDs across country•DiMES including functionality and service monitoring across country •Asset management and tariff setting•Operationalization of model bye-laws•Operational guide and delivery capacity•Harmonization and coordination

•DWDs across country•DiMES including functionality and service monitoring across country •Asset management and tariff setting•Operationalization of model bye-laws•Operational guide and delivery capacity•Harmonization and coordination

What requires attentionWhat is there

Opportunities for addressing the sustainability gaps

On-going initiatives IRC/CWSA/ Triple-s: action research and testing innovations for

operational management, service monitoring , institutional strengthening and reforms for sustainability.

IRC/KNUST- WASHCost: assessing full life cycle cost for delivering sustainable WASH services

MWRWH/Unicef- WASHBAT MWRWH/WSA: predictable sustainability planning tool Dutch WASH Alliance- sustainability monitoring framework Water Aid- Sustainability framework and water mapper, district

level piloting WASHTECH: Technology Assessment Framework and decision

support tools

Opportunities for addressing the sustainability gapsA more sustainable balanced sector financing• Sector strategic plan to a greater extent captures all

components of funding, its alignment with the national budget allocation with a corresponding SWAP mechanisms will be a boast to predictable balanced funding for the sector

• SWA compact provides opportunity for additional funding and restructuring of funding allocation

• DWSP and budgeting

Opportunities for addressing the sustainability gaps

Institutionalizing functionality and water services monitoring and establishing national data base on WASH services

• CWSA/ Triple-S developed and tested indicators and methodology for functionality and water services based on norms and standards/using FLOW technology as data collection tool

• Unicef iWASH supporting functionality tracking and service monitoring in 10 districts in northern region

• Potential funding for scaling up across country through Unicef, WB, EIB/AFD and Dutch partnership fund

Opportunities for addressing the sustainability gaps

Engagement and learning platforms The Water and Sanitation Sector working group provides opportunity for policy dialogue on

sustainability. A thematic group on functionality and sustainability could be established within the group to follow-up on key issues

Ministry is hosting advisory committee for Triple-S and WASHCost- TOR for committee could be expanded to cover all initiatives on sustainability and Inter- Ministerial coordination.

The technical Committee within CWSA . Membership should be broadened to be more representative

The national level learning alliance provides opportunity for sharing and network- similar platforms could be established at regional and district level

Opportunities for addressing the sustainability gaps

Ensuring better Coordination and Harmonization of Approaches

Processes are far advanced in developing the following documents:

– Sector strategic development plan– National Community Water and Sanitation Strategy– Project Implementation Manual– District Operational Manual – Community Operational Manual– Guidelines for code of practice

Accountability for Sustainability

Service Authority

Citizens / clients Service Provider

Voice

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Voice

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sService agreem

ent

and regulation

Service agreement

and regulation

Water services provisionWater services provision

Payment for servicesPayment for services

Acco

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ices

Acco

unta

bilit

y for

acce

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serv

ices Accountability

service delivery

obligationsAccountability

service delivery

obligations

de la Harpe (2011)

Accountability for Sustainability

National Governments– Sustainability commitments in funding agreements– Performance assessment framework including measures for sustainability

Local government– Performance based grant for sustainability

Communities– Pooled funding for capital maintenance. Allocations could be based on

fulfillment of model bye-law and other performance requirements

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Together we can go farGovernment has an unavoidable role to play in this, as the only actor with the legitimacy to lead development of an agreed framework for service delivery. Yet, while government can lead the way, it will require the active support of national and international partners, financiers and users

Thank You

For more information on IRC Ghana’s work on sustainability , visit the following websites

http://www.irc.nl/ghanahttp://waterservicesthatlast.org/ http://www.washcost.info/ghana