Pakistan Case Study
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Case study Pakistan Civil society organisation involvement in urban water sector reform NGOs in Pakistan A WaterAid publication written by Timeyin Uwejamomere. have been active in Edited by Libby Plumb. helping the urban Written in 2007, with minor updates in 2009. poor gain access to safe water supplies This is one of a series of nine case studies outlining civil society organisations’ since the early (CSOs) involvement in urban water sector reform. The other case studies cover 1980s. the following locations: WaterAid/ • Bangladesh (Chittagong and Dhaka) Martin Punaks • Brazil (Recife) and Venezuela (Caracas) • Ghana (Accra) Front cover photo: • Kenya (Kisumu, Nairobi and Mombasa) A sewer line being • Nepal (Kathmandu) installed by a • Philippines (Manila) community in • Uganda (Kampala) Faislabad, with • Ukraine support from the NGO Anjuman The case studies accompany the guidance manual Our water, our waste, our Samaji Behbood. town, which offers support to civil society in engaging in urban water and WaterAid/ sanitation reforms. Martin Punaks The manual and case studies can all be downloaded at: www.wateraid.org/urbanreform WaterAid’s mission is to overcome poverty by enabling the world’s poorest people to gain access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene education. Civil society organisation involvement in urban water sector reform in Pakistan Section one: Background and problem There have been three phases of Commission was established to lead attempts at reforms to improve water the process in 19912. and sanitation services in the city of Karachi. Under the resulting World Bank- funded Karachi Water and Sewerage The first phase of reforms: Project running from 1990 to 1999, the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board the 1990-1999 Karachi Water (KWSB) was to be prepared for private and Sewerage Board reform sector participation. The World Bank In the early 1990s, many public helped the government in developing services in Pakistan were in decline. strategies and initiating discussions Service delivery had weakened, and with various stakeholders. On the public institutions had become less advice of the World Bank, a shortlist efficient and were deeply in debt. of eight international consultants was Contributing factors for their decline considered and Banque Paribas/Sir included population growth, political William Halcrow and Partners were interference in the management of recruited to implement the KWSB public services, the advent of the privatisation project in three phases in military in political governance, and 1995. These entailed the development the exclusion of local administrative of the most appropriate PSP strategy; systems and community organisations the preparation of a feasibility report from governance1. With an external on PSP; and the implementation of debt of Rs. 2 billion the Government the agreed programme. of Pakistan planned to privatise public institutions providing The PSP strategy proposed that the various services including banking, KWSB would be managed under a electricity, aviation, railways, 20 – 25 year concession contract telecommunication, and natural awarded to a private entity. It gas. Also listed were the water and proposed to reduce physical water sanitation agencies (WASAs) in losses from 40% to 0%, improve various large cities, including Karachi, efficiency of labour and reduce Lahore and Faisalabad. A Privatisation costs by cutting staff numbers 1 Notes from conversation with Tasneem Ahmad Siddiqui, Chairman, Saiban - a retired civil servant working with the Sindh Katchi Abadis Authority for several years. 2 Noman Ahmed and M Sohail (2000): Privatisation of KWSB: An Analysis. City Press. ibid Civil society organisation involvement in urban water sector reform in Pakistan by 1,500 before privatisation and of promotional literature in Urdu and another 4,000 after privatisation. Bill English, and organisation of various collection was to more than double for stakeholder meetings, debates, connected households and increase seminars, workshops and question four-fold for unconnected customers. and answer sessions with a cross- Water tariffs were to increase annually section of people and organisations. by 20% in real terms, yielding a cumulative increase of 00% by the This advocacy and public fifth year under privatisation. Ahead of communication strategy was not quite privatisation, tariffs were increased by as successful as was envisaged. 0%. Opposition by the Karachi Water and Sewerage Network, an informal Coverage levels were proposed coalition of civil society groups, and a to increase from 80% to 100% petition to the Sindh (Provincial) High after an initial delay of three years Court, led to the suspension of the while systems were expanded to reforms, and a Commission of Inquiry meet additional demand for water into the process was established connections and water consumption4. following a court order. The proposal also allowed for The second phase of reform: renegotiation of service improvement goals, tariffs, and investment sewerage and sanitation commitment after five years. Although projects 1995 - 2005 no penalties were proposed for failure The second attempt at reform was to meet targets, the PSP proposal initiated under the Greater Karachi required the government to guarantee Sewerage plan. The plan was backed to review tariffs. by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and included the $100 million Korangi After the completion of the PSP Water and Sanitation Project to fix strategy and the preparation of a faulty drainage lines laid in the 1960s feasibility report, implementation of and channel them to treatment plants private sector participation was to be to be built under the project. rolled out, supported by an advocacy and public communication strategy A review by the Karachi Water and to generate support for privatisation. Sanitation Network, led by the Orangi The strategy was to publicise accurate Pilot Project, suggested that the and impartial information on the project proposal ignored the fact process and develop a broad-based that most of the city’s sewage was consensus with the use of a well being channelled by gravity through defined media campaign, publication open drains to the sea. The new 4 Pakistan Institute of Labour Education & Research (undated) Social Watch: Urban Water Reforms: Whose Water? Whose City? Advocacy for People’s Rights 4 Civil society organisation involvement in urban water sector reform in Pakistan proposal depended on a system of The third phase of reform: pumps to carry sewage to treatment the internal reform of plants through a system of drains the utility or the return of not aligned to the city’s topography. They argued that it was as a result of privatisation? similar mistakes that the Orangi and Following a directive in January 2004 Baldal Sewerage Projects had failed, a third attempt at reform, currently with sewage not reaching treatment under way, aims to improve the plants due to faulty construction or KWSB’s service standards, boost maintenance problems with expensive revenue collection and reverse pumping systems. its ailing financial systems. The KWSB’s weak revenue base has had Pipes for a Following these objections, the debilitating effects on the operations community project was ultimately cancelled and and maintenance functions, leading to sewerage project in replaced with the Karachi Sewerage system depreciation and breakdown. Faislabad, Pakistan. Master Plan, designed by OPP in The government has opted for WaterAid/Martin collaboration with the government. the World Bank’s ‘Turn Around Punaks 5 Civil society organisation involvement in urban water sector reform in Pakistan Programme’, involving a restructure of customers to make payments using the utility and an injection of capital ATMs located across the city. It is aimed at transforming the utility into envisaged that the utility will further a sustainable and financially viable outsource some areas of its operation entity with higher service levels and a and maintenance, including the higher proportion of customers paying installation of wastewater services. their bills. The utility has also been investing in repairing leaks and improving its As part of the process, a new area- facilities. based management structure has been introduced with a team of Chief The proposals are being received Engineers responsible for service warily by CSOs, who fear full delivery and revenue generation privatisation of the utility will follow. Poor drainage is a within defined hydrological areas. KWSB officials have denied there big health risk to Monthly billing and revenue collection are plans to privatise the utility, but children in cities in has been outsourced to the private confirm that the utility is currently Pakistan. sector. In August 2006 an agreement undergoing internal reforms to WaterAid/ was signed with the National Data improve performance. Martin Punaks and Registration Authority to enable 6 Civil society organisation involvement in urban water sector reform in Pakistan Section two: What CSOs have done Karachi’s CSOs have been working order to temporarily freeze the reform with community groups to improve process. The court also ordered urban water and sanitation services an inquiry into the process. The since the early 1980s. Over time, their Independent Commission of Inquiry relationship with the government has was subsequently established and changed from opposition to dialogue the Usmani Committee Report was to eventual collaboration in the produced in 1999. Karachi