Assessmemt of the Attended Coupon* Access-Point Cost Recovery Systemfor tjr n/ Community Water Supply Schemes Lima Rural Development Foundation -.3C International Wats' •E.nd Sanitation Centre Tr1 ' *31 7O 30 689 80 -"•n K4 TT150/01 Wateir Research Commission ASSESSMENT OF THE ATTENDED COUPON-OPERATED ACCESS-POINT COST RECOVERY SYSTEM FOR COMMUNITY WATER SUPPLY SCHEMES Repor Watee th o trt Research Commission By LIMA RURAL DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION WRC Report No: TT150/01 March 2001 Obtainable from: Water Research Commission PO Box 824 Pretoria 0001 The publication of this report emanates from a project entitled: A Case Study to Assess the Attended Coupon-Operated Access-Point Cost Recovery system for Community Water Supply Schemes(WRC Project No K5/1052) DISCLAIMER This report has been reviewed by the Water Research Commission (WRC) and approve publicationr dfo . Approval doe signift sno y thacontente th t s necessarily reflec viewe policietth d WRCe san th doer f so no , s mentio f tradno e namer so commercial products constitute endorsemen recommendatior to user nfo . ISBN 1868457168 Printe Republie th dn i Soutf co h Africa EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Poor cost recovery has been identified as the most limiting constraint to the sustainability of rural water supply schemes in Africa. Research has shown that inadequate cost recovery result: sin • Wealth influentiad yan l community members subsidreceivina f o y ygwa more th en i than poorer members, • Communities believe that water provision is cheap, • Limited government fund requiree sar operatdo t maintaid ean n existing schemes, rather than investing in new schemes. • As there are not economically viable schemes fail. Accordin White th go et Pape Nationan ro l Water Polic Soutr yfo h Africa (1997), approximately R20 billion has been spent on water resources infrastructure. However, ver beneficiariew yfe thesf so e scheme operationar fo y spa maintenancd lan e costs incurred governmen e orden I th . r rfo becomo t effectivn ea e services provider 199e ,th 4 White Paper for Water Supply and Sanitation Policy states that communities must pay operatinr fo maintenancd gan e cost ensuro st e both equit sustainabilityd yan . When adequate cost recover implementedys i relationshia , accountabilitf po y betweee nth water service provider and its consumers is encouraged. Consequently, a more reliable servic providees i consumers da payine sar operatinr gfo maintenancd gan e costs. stude Th y specifically aim determino st e parameter whicsn i h attended coupon operated access point cost recovery system operates efficiently by analysing seven existing schemes researce Th . h aim identifo st operationae yth l constraints that community water supply schemes are currently facing by conducting sample surveys in the schemes. The survey results will be used to: • Assess the adequacy of the system, • Determine parameters for its efficient operation • Understand social parameters which will render the technology appropriate. ui Other objectives are to disseminate information to organisations proposing to implement attended coupon operated supply schemes. The research results should also be used increaso t capacite eth watef yo r service provider e stafe ar welt Limth s sa fo a s a la wh responsible for facilitating and implementing community water supply schemes. An attended coupon scheme refers to the provision of potable water through public standpipes. Wate dispenses ri attendann a y db t water seller throug conventionaha l standpipe, fitted with a water meter. 30 i of water is dispensed, which corresponds to amoune th exchangn i t coupone on wate e r efo Th . r seller retain coupoe sth n froe mth custome handd ran s this wate e bacth o krt office whe mete e watene th th rea s ri d r dan consumptio reconciledns i . Water seller remuneratee sar their dfo r effort, either through a salar saler yo s commission. Summary of major findings From surveys conducte seven do n coupon attended water supply schemes withie nth Regionau Ug l Council are f KwaZulao u /Natal followine findingse th , th e gar : sevee th • f no Fiv t schemee longeou t no e rs ar functionin efficientls ga thes ya y should . Thesbe e scheme loca e debn i th lo e t wate sar r authority because some th f eo administrative controls necessary to manage the schemes have collapsed. • Some schemes have received limited training and capacity-building. Many of the schemes hav t beeeno n visite supported dan numbea r dfo yearf ro s becausf eo limited fundin lacd appropriatf gkan o e capacity within local government. Regionau Ug • l procesCouncie th n i takinf ss o i l g over managemen five eth f oldeo t r schemes neweo tw e r schemeTh . s developed unde Departmene rth Watef o t r Affairs guideline functionine sar g efficiently. These scheme up-to-date sar e with their payments schemee Th . currentle sar y receiving capacity-buildin trainind gan d gan monthly visits fro Regionae mth l Counci independend an l t auditors. • The attended coupon scheme is prone to abuse by water sellers if administrative control t adhere punitivno d e an sar d o t e measures properly enforced. • Despit pooe eth r runnin schemese th f go majorite ,th consumef yo r interviewed were satisfie qualite th y servicesf dyb o . consumere Mosth f o t s felt tha qualite tth f yo wate acceptabls rwa suppl e th d ye an reliable . IV Summar recommendationf yo s Basefindingse th n drecommendeo s i t ,i Departmene th t dta Watef to r Affaird san Forestry and Regional Councils should focus on establishing democratic, accountable transparend an t community institutions that hav capacite eth managyo t e theiwaten row r supply viable schemes. Government resources should be focused n providing support to WSP s- ove longera r time lesperiod s an emphasi d- s shoul placee db dan do y -to- day managemen schemesf to currene Th . t provisio twelve-monta f no h training periods i inadequate and should be reviewed. For a coupon system to be effective it is essential that all the cash, water and coupon controls are put in place and maintained over a period of time. It is critical that controls at the standpipe are maintained and that attendants are held responsible for losses. In orde achievo rt needP esWS thi consistene sth t institutiona administrativd lan e support. neee externar Th dfo l monitoring canno overemphasizede b t thid s Ha bee. placnn i n eo a continuous basis for the five older schemes reviewed, the bulk water debts could have been controlled. Water projects can be efficiently managed by representative, transparent and accountable community structures maintenancsettind e an Th . p gu thesf eo e institutional structures are critical to their success. The level of clerical staff hired by the WSP's canno expectee b t producdo t e income statement balancd san e sheete th r sfo service provider. These are essential to measuring the financial position of the institutio neeundertaked e b n an do t externan a y nb l specialist. Another important element is that a financial audit is necessary as part of the transparency requirements of a stable institution. Attendant coupon systems have an important role to play in community water supply in the future and local government's role should be the provision of training, support, institutional capacity -building and auditing. There is potential for greater efficiency if project are managed by well constituted community-based organisations, rather than by local government. If certain services are contracted out to private agencies, these shoul ratheO d reporCB r a tha o t locan o t l government. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The research in this report emanated from a project funded by the Water Research Commissio entitledd nan : ASSESSMENT OF THE ATTENDED COUPON-OPERATED ACCESS-POINT COST RECOVERY SYSTEM FOR COMMUNITY WATER SUPPLY SCHEMES The Steering Committee responsible for this project, consisted of the following persons: Mr Bhagwa.J n Water Research Commissiion (Chairman) Mr. J Naidoo Umgeni Water WateE TS r Services HazeltoD . Mr n Mr. S Nkehli uThukela Regional Council Mr. J Gcabashe uThukela Regional Council Mr. P Ravenscroft Maluti Water Mr StilD . l Partner Developmensn i t SussenH . Mr s Departmen Watef o t r Affair Forestrd san y Ms. A Rankin Department of Water Affairs and Forestry Mr. P Watson Ugu Regional Council Regionau Ug l counci GovendeD l. Mr r financine Th projecWatee e th th f gy o rb t Research Commissio contributioe th d nan f no the member Steerine th f so g Committe acknowledgees i d gratefully. VI CONTENTS PAGE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY in ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS vi CONTENTS viii LIST OF TABLES ix LIST OF ACRONYMS x INTRODUCTION CHAPTER 1 LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Current Institutional Environment 2 1.2 Community Involvement 6 1.3 Cost Constraints 8 1.4 9 Gende Healtd ran h Issues 0 1 1.5 Technology 1.6 General 12 1.7 Cost Recovery and Water Dispensing Systems 13 1.8 Advantage Disadvantaged san f Coupon-Operateso d 5 1 Systems 1.9 Institutional Systems, Governanc Efficiencd ean 7 1 y CHAPTER 2 RESEARC9 1 H METHODOLOGY 2.1 Study Area 19 2.2 Research Methodology 20 CHAPTER3 DESCRIPTIO SCHEMEF NO S 21 3.1 Institutional Arrangements 21 3.1.1 Project Identification 21 3.1.2 Business Plan 22 3.1.3 Implementatio Trainind nan g 22 vn CONTENTS (continued) PAGE 3.1.4 Operatio Suppord nan t 23 3.1.5 Financial Management and Control 24 3.2 Descriptio Schemef no s 24 3.2.1 Amahlongwa 24 3.2.2 Amandawe 25 3.2.3 Mathulini 25 3.2.4 Murchison/Boboyi 26 3.2.5 Gamalakhe 27 3.2.6 KwaNyuswa 37 3.2.7 KwaMbotho 38 CHAPTER 4 SURVEY RESULTS 31 4.1 Water Committees 31 4.2 Administration Clerks 33 4.3 Maintenance Officers 35 4.4 Water Bailiffs 36 4.5 Consumers 38 CHAPTER5 DISCUSSION ON FINDINGS 41 5.1 Community Involvement 41 5.2 Affordability 42 5.3 Gender Representation 44 5.4 Technical Issues 44 5.5 General Recommendations 46 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 48 REFFERENCES 50 viu LIST OF TABLES PAGE Table 1.1 Roles and Responsibilities in Water Service Provision 3 Table 2.1 Locatio Watef no r Schemes 19 Tabl0 1 3 e3.