Water supply and sanitation in Kenya

Kenya Kenya Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east... : Water and Sanitation

Data
Access to an improved water source Improved water source According to the Joint Monitoring Program for Water Supply and Sanitation by the World Health Organization and UNICEF the following are considered as "improved" water sources:* household connections* public standpipes* boreholes* protected dug wells...	59% (JMP) 37% (WASREB)
Access to improved sanitation Improved sanitation According to the Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation by the World Health Organization and UNICEF the following are considered as "improved" sanitation:* connection to a public sewer* connection to a septic system* pour-flush latrine...	31% (JMP) 50% (WASREB)
Continuity of supply (%)	14 hours on average in 55 water utilities
Average urban water use (l/c/d)	not available
Average water tariff (US$/m3)	0.46
Share of household metering	82%
Annual investment in WSS	US$297.4 million in 2008-2009, corresponding to US$8/capita/year
Share of self-financing by utilities	around 11%
Share of tax-financing	58%
Share of external financing	31%
Institutions
Decentralization	yes, since 2003
National water and sanitation company	no
Water and sanitation regulator	Water services regulatory board WASREB
Responsibility for policy setting	Ministry of Water and Irrigation (water supply), Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation (sanitation)
Sector law	2002 Water Act Nr.8
Number of urban service providers	58 formalised providers as of 2008
Number of rural service providers	58 formalised providers as of 2008

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. 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

Benchmarking

Benchmarking is the process of comparing one's business processes and performance metrics to industry bests and/or best practices from other industries. Dimensions typically measured are quality, time and cost...

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) the level of cost recovery is low due to a high level of non-revenue water

Non-revenue water

Non revenue water is water that has been produced and is “lost” before it reaches the customer. Losses can be real losses or apparent losses . High levels of NRW are detrimental to the financial viability of water utilities, as well to the quality of water itself...

(average of 47%) and high costs. Costs are high due to the need to tap distant water sources (e.g. Mombasa

Mombasa

Mombasa is the second-largest city in Kenya. Lying next to the Indian Ocean, it has a major port and an international airport. The city also serves as the centre of the coastal tourism industry....

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). 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 self-financed by utilities.

Data sources and interpretation

Collecting reliable data on the Kenyan water and sanitation sector is difficult because reporting is often incomplete and different definitions are being used. Two sources of nation-wide representative information are census

Census

A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

es carried out every ten years, with the latest one carried out in August 2009, and Demographic and Health Surveys

Demographic and Health Surveys

The MEASURE Demographic and Health Surveys Project is responsible for collecting and disseminating accurate, nationally representative data on health and population in developing countries. The project is implemented by Macro International, Inc...

carried out every five years by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. The data thus collected are analyzed by the Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation

Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation

The Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation is a programme co-funded by the World Health Organization and UNICEF. "The goals of the JMP are to report on the status of water-supply and sanitation, and to support countries in their efforts to monitor this sector, which will enable...

of WHO

Who

Who may refer to:* Who , an English-language pronoun* who , a Unix command* Who?, one of the Five Ws in journalism- Art and entertainment :* Who? , a 1958 novel by Algis Budrys...

and UNICEF to assess progress towards achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. These data only assess the availability of water and sanitation infrastructure. They do not assess whether water is safe to drink, sufficient in quantity, continuously available or affordable.

Another important source of information is the annual "impact report" published by the water regulatory agency WASREB since 2008. Through this report much more detailed information is publicly available today on many water service providers than in the past and than in many other countries. However, information in the report is not complete. Out of 118 registered Water Service Providers only 55 submitted complete information for the 2009 report and 48 submitted no information at all. The population in the service area of the 55 reporting WSPs (46 urban and 9 rural) is estimated at 9.5 million or less than one third of Kenyans. The report does not claim that its figures are representative for the entire country. However, unlike the census and survey data quoted by the JMP, the impact report does take into consideration water quantity, quality, distance, cost, and waiting time in its definition of what the report calls "weighted access".

Access

Water supply. Estimates from the Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation

Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation

(JMP) show that in 2008 59% of Kenyans (83% in urban areas and 52% in rural areas) had access to improved drinking water sources

Improved water source

According to the Joint Monitoring Program for Water Supply and Sanitation by the World Health Organization and UNICEF the following are considered as "improved" water sources:* household connections* public standpipes* boreholes* protected dug wells...

. 19% of Kenyans (44% in urban areas and 12% in rural areas) are reported as having access to piped water through a house or yard connection. According to the JMP estimates, access to improved water sources in urban areas decreased from 91% in 1990 to 83% in 2008. In rural areas, however, access increased from 32% to 52% during the same period. According to a different definition called "weighted access" (see above), the 2009 Impact Report estimates that in 2006-2007 only 37% of Kenyans had access to sufficient and safe drinking water close to their homes at an affordable price. Significant regional differences in access were reported: the highest level was registered in the area served by Tetu Aberdare Water and Sanitation Company (72%) whereas the lowest was recorded in Muthambi in Meru South District

Meru South District

Meru South District is one of the seventy-one districts of Kenya, located in that country's Eastern Province. In 1992, it was split from the large Meru District, along with Meru Central District, Meru North District, and Tharaka District....

(4%). In the capital Nairobi

Nairobi

Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi County. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters". However, it is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun" and is...

access for the same period was reported at 35%, as opposed to a less realistic figure of 46% reported for 2005-2006.

The poor, in particular women and girls, spend a significant amount of time fetching water in both rural and urban areas. For example, the 2007 Citizen Report Card survey showed that users of water kiosks in cities fetch water 4-6 times per day. In Kisumu, this meant that a poor household spent 112 minutes per day to fetch water at normal times, and as much as 200 minutes per day during times of scarcity.
Sanitation. Countrywide estimates for 2008 by the JMP indicate that 31% (27% of urban and 32% of rural) Kenyans had access to private improved sanitation. In urban areas an additional 51% of the population used shared latrines. In rural areas, open defecation was estimated to be still practised by 18% of the population. In 2006-2007 it was reported that half of the Kenyan population within the service area of 55 WSPs had access to improved sanitation facilities

Improved sanitation

According to the Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation by the World Health Organization and UNICEF the following are considered as "improved" sanitation:* connection to a public sewer* connection to a septic system* pour-flush latrine...

(this definition includes flush, pour flush toilets connected to a piped system, septic tanks, VIP latrines and pit latrines). In Nairobi, sanitation coverage was about 23% in 2006-2007. The Kenyan Integrated Household Budget Survey of 2006 reported a much higher sanitation coverage 84%, including shared latrines and shallow pit latrines.

Service quality

The quality of service of WSPs is closely monitored by the Water Services Regulatory Board (WASREB) with the aim of promoting comparative competition and performance improvements. Some of the most important indicators of service quality are water quality, continuity of water supply and wastewater treatment.

Water quality. As of March 2010, the assessment of water quality in Kenya was based on two basic indicators. The first indicator provides information on the percentage of drinking water quality tests carried out by Water Service Providers: on average about 78% of the water supplied for drinking use was tested in 2006-2007. The second indicator measures the level of compliance with residual chlorine standards: the latest figure is about 88%. WASREB published official Drinking Water Guidelines, so it is expected that future Impact Reports will provide more accurate data.
A citizens' report carried out in Nairobi

Nairobi

, Mombasa

Mombasa

Mombasa is the second-largest city in Kenya. Lying next to the Indian Ocean, it has a major port and an international airport. The city also serves as the centre of the coastal tourism industry....

and Kisumu

Kisumu

Kisumu is a port city in western Kenya at , with a population of 355,024 . It is the third largest city in Kenya, the principal city of western Kenya, the immediate former capital of Nyanza Province and the headquarters of Kisumu County. It has a municipal charter but no city charter...

in 2007 provides information about customers' perception of water quality: around 70% of households using water from connections to the mains said they found the taste and smell of water acceptable, and that the water was clear. Even so, the vast majority of respondents treat water prior to consumption, which shows continuing uncertainty about its quality.

Continuity of supply. The Impact Report provides data on continuity of water supply for 55 Water Service Providers in 2006-2007, weighted for distance, waiting time and affordability. The average number of service hours that Kenyan water utilities provide is 14 hours. Only in seven WSPs water supply is continuous (Nyeri

Nyeri

Nyeri is a town in situated in the Central Highlands of Kenya Kenya, which was the administrative headquarters of the country's former Central Province...

, Othaya

Othaya

Othaya is a Kenyan town about 150 kilometres north of Nairobi, the capital. It has a population of 21,427, of which 4,108 are core urban ; the majority of the residents are of the Kikuyu tribe. Othaya is part of the Nyeri District. It is an agricultural area with coffee and tea as the main cash crops...

, Eldoret

Eldoret

Eldoret is a town in western Kenya and the administrative centre of Uasin Gishu District of Rift Valley Province. Lying south of the Cherangani Hills, the local elevation varies from about 2100 metres above sea level at the airport to more than 2700 metres in nearby areas...

, Malindi

Malindi

Malindi is a town on Malindi Bay at the mouth of the Galana River, lying on the Indian Ocean coast of Kenya. It is 120 kilometres northeast of Mombasa. The population of Malindi is 117,735 . It is the capital of the Malindi District.Tourism is the major industry in Malindi. The city is...

, Meru

Meru, Kenya

-Transport:The City of Meru is linked to Nairobi by a paved road, whether from the south around the east side of Mount Kenya, via Embu, or from the northwest around the west and north side of Mount Kenya, via Nanyuki and Timau....

, Tuuru and Tachaasis). In Nairobi

Nairobi

water is provided on average for 16 hours a day and in Mombasa

Mombasa

Mombasa is the second-largest city in Kenya. Lying next to the Indian Ocean, it has a major port and an international airport. The city also serves as the centre of the coastal tourism industry....

for 6 hours. Nonetheless, instances of water scarcity (defined as more than five days without or with insufficient water supply) still occur in Kenya. In 2006 in Kisumu

Kisumu

over 40% of households (both poor and non poor) connected to water mains reported scarcity. The greatest difference between the poor and non poor was recorded in Nairobi, where poor households were more than twice as likely to say they experienced scarcity. A higher percentage of kiosk users reported scarcity than households with mains connections, suggesting that in times of scarcity kiosks are less likely to receive water than domestic connections.

Wastewater treatment. According to an assessment report carried out in 2009, there are 43 sewerage systems in Kenya and waste water treatment plants in 15 towns (total population served: 900,000 inhabitants). The operation capacity of these wastewater treatment plants is estimated at around 16% of design capacity. The main reasons for this inefficiency are: inadequate operation and maintenance and low connection rate to sewers. In Kenya, the estimated connection rate is 19% (12% according to another report). Of the wastewater that enters the sewer network, only about 60% reaches the treatment plants. The most common solution used for wastewater treatment in Kenya are waste stabilisation ponds

Stabilization pond

Stabilization pond technology - sometimes also called facultative pond technology - is a natural method for wastewater treatment.-Technology:Stabilization ponds consist of shallow man-made basins comprising a single or several series of anaerobic, facultative or maturation ponds...

. One of them is the Dandora

Dandora

Dandora is an eastern suburb in Nairobi, Kenya. It is part of the Embakasi division. Dandora is divided into five phases. Dandora was established in 1977, with partial financing by the World Bank in order to offer higher standard of housing . However, the estate has turned into high-density slum...

Waste Stabilisation Pond System which treats the industrial and domestic sewage from the city of Nairobi and is the largest pond system in Africa. Mixing industrial effluent and domestic sewage in mixed sewer system, however, often causes poor performance in Kenyan pond treatment systems. The Citizen Report Card moreover indicates that septic tanks are often used for the disposal of wastewater from flush toilets in Mombasa. Pit latrine users from Nairobi, Kisumu and Mombasa indicated that some wastewater empties into storm sewers, soak-aways and cess pits designed for kitchen waste, thus causing environmental pollution.
In 2001 a pollution incident occurred in the town of Embu

Embu, Kenya

Embu is a town located approximately northeast of Nairobi towards Mount Kenya. Embu serves as the provincial headquarters of Eastern Province in Kenya and is also the district headquarters of Embu District. Located on the southeastern slopes of Mount Kenya, the town of Embu has a population of...

. Raw sewage was discharged from sewage treatment works into a nearby river and caused the death of 28 people who used the water downstream for domestic purposes.

Water resources

The renewable freshwater resources of Kenya are estimated at 20.2 km³ per year, which corresponds to 647 m³ per capita and year. The total yearly water withdrawal is estimated to be over 2.7 km³, or less than 14% of resources. However, water resources availability varies significantly in time and between regions. Most parts of the country have two rainy seasons. The long rains are typically from March to May while short rains are typically from October to November. In addition, the country experiences every three to four years droughts and floods, which affect a large number of the population. The latest severe drought was from 2007 to the end of 2009, which had impacts on all sectors of the economy. The average annual rainfall is 630 mm, but it varies between less than 200 mm in northern Kenya to over 1,800 mm on the slopes of Mount Kenya.
Kenya is divided into five drainage basin

Drainage basin

A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...

s. The Lake Victoria

Lake Victoria

Lake Victoria is one of the African Great Lakes. The lake was named for Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, by John Hanning Speke, the first European to discover this lake....

Basin Drainage area system in Western Kenya is part of the Nile River Basin. The closed Rift Valley

East African Rift

The East African Rift is an active continental rift zone in eastern Africa that appears to be a developing divergent tectonic plate boundary. It is part of the larger Great Rift Valley. The rift is a narrow zone in which the African Plate is in the process of splitting into two new tectonic plates...

Inland Drainage system includes a number of rivers and lakes, including large freshwater lakes such as Lake Turkana

Lake Turkana

Lake Turkana , formerly known as Lake Rudolf, is a lake in the Great Rift Valley in Kenya, with its far northern end crossing into Ethiopia. It is the world's largest permanent desert lake and the world's largest alkaline lake...

, Lake Baringo

Lake Baringo

Lake Baringo is, after Lake Turkana, the most northern of the Great Rift Valley lakes of Kenya, with a surface area of about and an elevation of about . The lake is fed by several rivers, El Molo, Perkerra and Ol Arabel, and has no obvious outlet; the waters are assumed to seep through lake...

and Lake Naivasha

Lake Naivasha

Lake Naivasha is a freshwater lake in Kenya, lying north west of Nairobi, outside the town of Naivasha. It is part of the Great Rift Valley. The name derives from the local Maasai name Nai'posha, meaning "rough water" because of the sudden storms which can arise...

, rivers such as the Kerio River

Kerio River

Kerio is a river in Rift Valley province, Kenya. It flows northward into Lake Turkana. It is one of the longest rivers in Kenya, originating near the equator. In south it flows through the Kerio Valley between Tugen Hills and Elgeyo escarpment. The river also partly bounds the South Turkana...

, as well as a number of salt lakes. The Athi

Athi-Galana-Sabaki River

Athi-Galana-Sabaki River is the second longest river in Kenya . It has a total length of 390 km, and drains a basin area of 70,000 km². The river rises at 1° 42' S...

Drainage system, the Tana

Tana River (Kenya)

The long Tana River is the longest river in Kenya, and gives its name to the Tana River District. Its tributaries include the Thika. The river rises in the Aberdare Mountains to the west of Nyeri. Initially it runs east before turning south around the massif of Mount Kenya. The river then runs...

Drainage system and the Ewaso Ng'iro

Ewaso Ng'iro

Ewaso Ng'iro is a river in Kenya which rises on the west side of Mount Kenya and flows north then east and finally south-east, passing through Somalia where it joins the Jubba River....

North Drainage system all flow towards the Indian Ocean. The water distribution in the basins is highly uneven with the highest water availability in the Lake Victoria Basin (more than 50%) and the lowest in the Athi Drainage system. Only the Tana and Lake Victoria Basins, have surplus water resources while the three other basins face deficits.

The capital city Nairobi

Nairobi

receives its water resources from two drainage systems: The oldest sources, the Kikuyu Springs (used since 1906) and the Ruiru Dam (since 1938) are located in the Athi River Basin. The Sasumua Dam, the Ndakaini-Thika Dam (since 1996) and Chania-B Dam supply Nairobi through interbasin transfer from the Tana River

Tana River (Kenya)

drainage area. About 20% of the supply is from ground water resources which corresponds to around 60.000 to 70.000 m³ per day. Mombasa

Mombasa

Mombasa is the second-largest city in Kenya. Lying next to the Indian Ocean, it has a major port and an international airport. The city also serves as the centre of the coastal tourism industry....

, Kenya's second largest city, serves its water demand through the Marere Water Works in the south-west, the Baricho Intake at the lower Athi River and from Mzima Springs

Mzima Springs

Mzima Springs are a series of four natural springs in Tsavo National Park, Kenya. They are located in the west of the Park, around 48km from Mtito Andei. The source of the springs is a natural reservoir under the Chyulu Hills to the north. The Chyulu range is composed of volcanic lava rock and ash,...

, upper Athi River, through a 220 km pipeline to the city.

History and recent developments

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

East Africa Protectorate

East Africa Protectorate was an area of East Africa occupying roughly the same terrain as present-day Kenya from the Indian Ocean inland to Uganda and the Great Rift Valley...

. 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

Uganda Railway

The Uganda Railway is a railway system and former railway company linking the interiors of Uganda and Kenya with the Indian Ocean at Mombasa in Kenya.-Origins:...

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

Kenya Colony

The Colony and Protectorate of Kenya was part of the British Empire in Africa. It was established when the former East Africa Protectorate was transformed into a British crown colony in 1920...

, 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.

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

Mau Mau Uprising

The Mau Mau Uprising was a military conflict that took place in Kenya between 1952 and 1960...

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.

Independent Kenya (1963–1980)

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

Jomo Kenyatta

Jomo Kenyattapron.] served as the first Prime Minister and President of Kenya. He is considered the founding father of the Kenyan nation....

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

Who

Who may refer to:* Who , an English-language pronoun* who , a Unix command* Who?, one of the Five Ws in journalism- Art and entertainment :* Who? , a 1958 novel by Algis Budrys...

-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

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

to finance Rural Water Supply Development. The WHO

Who

Who may refer to:* Who , an English-language pronoun* who , a Unix command* Who?, one of the Five Ws in journalism- Art and entertainment :* Who? , a 1958 novel by Algis Budrys...

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. 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.”

Transition period (1980–1992)

In the 1980s, the government began experiencing budget constraints which put a 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. 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. In 1983 a Water Use Study carried out by SIDA

Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency

The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency is a government agency of the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Sida is responsible for organization of the bulk of Sweden's official development assistance to developing countries....

confirmed that the situation was unsustainable and suggested decentralisation and removing operation and maintenance responsibilities from the Ministry. To improve 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.

Commercialization of local utilities

But the centralized approach failed to achieve improvements. Thus the idea of creating local-government owned commercial utilities emerged. A Second National Water Master Plan was formulated in 1992, and a new policy approach emphasizing decentralization and a demand-driven approach was discussed at the national level. The city of Eldoret

Eldoret

went ahead in 1994 and set up a water and sewer department with finances that were separate from the municipal budget. The utility's board includes representatives of NGOs, women's organizations, the chamber of commerce and industry and the Kenya Consumer Organization. The commercialization of the utility in Eldoret as well as in Nyeri

Nyeri

Nyeri is a town in situated in the Central Highlands of Kenya Kenya, which was the administrative headquarters of the country's former Central Province...

and Kericho

Kericho

Kericho is a Kenyan County located to the South West of the country and lies within the highlands west of The Great Rift Valley. The capital of the district is Kericho town. The district home to the best of Kenyan Tea which is world famous for its brightness, attractive color, brisk flavor and...

was supported by the German development cooperation. The approach was formalized through the by the Ministry of Local Government, through the Companies Act Cap. 486 of 1996 which allowed the establishment of publicly owned, commercially run water and sanitation companies. As of 2002, this approach had led to significant improvements in terms of reduced of non-revenue water, improved bill collection and fewer complaints in Nyeri and Eldoret. However, other local water companies in Kitale

Kitale

Kitale is an agricultural town in western Kenya situated between Mount Elgon and the Cherengani Hills at an elevation of around . Its urban population was estimated at 220,000 in 2007....

and Nakuru

Nakuru

Nakuru, the provincial capital of Kenya's Rift Valley province, with roughly 300,000 inhabitants, and currently the fourth largest urban centre in the country, lies about 1850 m above sea level...

had to be taken over again by the national government due to financial problems. 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.

Reorganisation of water institutions (2002–present)

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. 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).

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. In addition, MWI also elaborated pro-poor implementation plans.

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 co-ordination 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. Sanitation policy is in the hands of the Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation (MoPHS). 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. As of early 2011, the Minister of Water and Irrigation is Charity Ngilu

Charity Ngilu

Charity Kaluki Ngilu is a Kenyan politician. She was Minister of Health from 2003 until 2007 and was appointed as Minister of Water and Irrigation in April 2008....

, chairperson of the National Party of Kenya

National Party of Kenya

The National Party of Kenya is a political party in Kenya.At the last legislative elections, 27 December 2002, the party was a partner in the National Rainbow Coalition, that won 56.1% of the popular vote and 125 out of 212 elected seats. The party itself took 6 of these seats...

, which supports Prime Minister Raila Odinga

Raila Odinga

Raila Amollo Odinga , also popularly known to Kenyans as Agwambo, is a Kenyan politician, currently serving as the Prime Minister of Kenya in a coalition government. He has served as a Member of Parliament for Langata since 1992, was Minister of Energy from 2001 to 2002, and was Minister of Roads,...

. The Minister of Health and Sanitation is Beth Mugo of the Party of National Unity

Party of National Unity (Kenya)

Party of National Unity was founded as a political coalition of parties in Kenya. On September 16, 2007, Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki announced the party formation and said that he would run as its presidential candidate in the December 2007 Kenyan elections...

of President Mwai Kibaki

Mwai Kibaki

Mwai Kibaki is the current and third President of the republic of Kenya.Kibaki was previously Vice President of Kenya for ten years from 1978–1988 and also held cabinet ministerial positions, including a widely acclaimed stint as Minister for Finance , Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for...

.

Other Ministries also play a role in the water and sanitation sector. The Ministry of Education co-operates 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 co-operates with the Ministries of Forestry, of the Environment and of Special Programmes to further the rehabilitation and maintenance of water towers.

Regulation

Economic regulation. The regulation and monitoring of urban and rural water service provision is carried out by the Water Services Regulatory Board (WASREB). WASREB is a non-commercial state corporation established in March 2003 on the basis of the 2002 Water Act. Its functions comprise: issuing of licenses to water services boards and approval of SPAs, developing tariff guidelines and carrying out tariff negotiations, setting standards and developing guidelines for service provision, publishing the results of sector monitoring in the form of comparative reports (such as the Impact Report).

Environmental regulation in Kenya is carried out by the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA). NEMA was established under the Environmental Management and Coordination Act Nr. 8 of 1999 and became operational in July 2002. Its role is to promote the integration of environmental considerations into government policies, plans, programmes and projects. As regards the water sector in particular, NEMA is in charge of formulating water quality regulations (the current version was elaborated in 2006).

Asset management

As a result of sector reforms, responsibility for water and sanitation service provision has been devolved to eight regional Water Services Boards (WSBs): Athi (which serves the capital Nairobi), Coast, Tana, Lake Victoria North, Lake Victoria South, Northern, Rift Valley Water Services Board, and since 2008, Tanathi Water Services Board. Water Services Boards are responsible for asset management, that is, for the development and rehabilitation of water and sewerage facilities, for investment planning and implementation.

Service provision

Responsibility for water and sanitation service provision is in the hands of Water Services Boards. However, they are not required to provide services directly - they can delegate them to commercially oriented public enterprises, the so called Water Service Providers (WSPs). Service provision is regulated by service provision agreements (SPAs) to ensure compliance with the standards on quality, service levels and performance established by WASREB. There are four types of SPAs:

Category I for medium to large WSPs operative in urban areas - WSPs in this category are limited liability companies owned by one or more local authorities. They provide both water and sewerage services. As of May 2008, there were 58 Service Provision Agreements within this category.
Category II for community projects in rural areas - these are community water supplies which are managed by WSPs registered as Water User Associations (WUAs) by the Registrar of Societies. In May 2008 there were 58 SPAs of this kind.
Category III for private sector providers - there is one SPA in this category (Runda Estate).
Category IV for bulk water supply - this is the responsibility of the National Water Conservation and Pipeline Corporation.

Informal small service providers (SSPs) provide water in both rural and urban low income settlements. Some of them sell water from tanker trucks or through jerry cans, often at prices that are five to ten times that of piped water supply. Others are self-help groups, often run by women, who provide piped water supply. The Water Services Trust Fund is making efforts to formalise service provision in low-income settlements. It has developed two national concepts for service provision for the poor. The first one is the Community Project Cycle, which makes funds available for local communities that are willing to comply with minimum service standards. The second one, the "Urban Poor Concept" has been implemented in low income urban areas since 2007 and has led to the construction of numerous water kiosks that meet sustainability standards. An example of a partnership between a utility and self-help groups can be found in Nyalenda, a poor neighborhood with about 60,000 inhabitants in Kisumu

Kisumu

. The local utility sells water in bulk to self-help groups that in turn manage networks and water kiosks inside their neighborhoods.

Private sector participation. The private sector plays a limited, but not negligible role in operating water supply systems in Kenya. Since 1975 Runda Water Limited provides piped water to the Executive Residential Housing Estate of Old Runda in Nairobi. In 2008, Runda signed a service provision agreement with the Athi WSB for the provision of water supply to the inhabitants of two residential blocks. In 1995 a service contract was signed between the NWCPC and Gauff Consulting Engineers to support local authorities in the coastal town Malindi

Malindi

in billing and revenue collection. The contract was extended from seven and a half months to three and a half years. After its conclusion in 1999, a management contract was signed between Malindi Water Company and the private operator for a period of four years to support the company on technical and financial aspects. The contract was regarded as successful and after it expired responsibility for service provision reverted to the public sector. In the small town of Tala

Tala, Kenya

Tala is a town in Kangundo District , Eastern Province of Kenya, located about 56 kilometers east of the Kenyan capital, Nairobi. There are approximately 4,734 people and the main language spoken is Kikamba. It is 3,000ft above sea level. Tala is a location of Matungulu division...

in 1999, the Kangundo county council entered in a 30 year water provision contract with Romane Agencies Ltd. The contract foresees that 10% of revenues are to be paid to the town council. As of today, small improvements in service quality have been observed, but water coverage still remains a challenge.

Water sector arbitration

The 2002 Water Act also provided for the establishment of an independent Water Appeals Board to settle water related disputes and conflicts. The Water Appeals Board was established in 2005 in Nairobi but since then only three cases have been determined. Five additional appeals are pending because the Chair has resigned in March 2009 and the terms of two other Board members have not been extended.

Civil society

Kenya has an active civil society including a number of local NGOs active in water supply and sanitation. Many of them are members of the Kenya Water and Sanitation Civil Society Network (Kewasnet) founded in 2007. Among other activities, Kewasnet monitors service delivery, especially for the poor, and policy implementation on water sector reforms. It also "provides information to Kenyans to enable them to be engaged and involved in the management and decision-making mechanisms of the Water and Sanitation Sector". It also "promotes a culture of consumer responsibility that pays for supplied services from utility companies, safeguards water services infrastructure and equipment against vandalism by criminals." One of the larger Kenyan NGOs active in water and sanitation is Maji Na Ufanisi (Water and Development). It is involved in community development and infrastructure construction in urban slums and in small towns, advocates for improved sector governance and carries out research. It was created in 1998 to take over the Kenya operations of WaterAid

WaterAid

WaterAid is an international non-profit organisation set up as a response to the UN International Drinking Water & Sanitation decade . WaterAid is dedicated to helping people escape the poverty and disease caused by living without safe water and sanitation. It is based in London, England and was...

UK when the latter decided to close down its operations in Kenya.

Public opinion, consumer feedback and allegations of corruption

Public opinion. A 2008 survey of Kenyan public opinion reported that water supply is not considered as a high priority for government action. Only about 5% of respondents said that water supply was among the ten most important issues that the government should address, even though 60% think that the government is handling the issue badly. The survey also monitored instances of corruption in the sub-sector: 15% of urban and 11% of rural respondents reported that they had to pay a bribe, give a gift or do a favour to government officials in order to get water or sanitation services in the past year.

Allegations of corruption. In September 2010, Water Minister Charity Ngilu

Charity Ngilu

Charity Kaluki Ngilu is a Kenyan politician. She was Minister of Health from 2003 until 2007 and was appointed as Minister of Water and Irrigation in April 2008....

admitted in Parliament that corruption was rampant in public water institutions, including all the eight water services boards and the National Water and Conservation Pipeline Corporation. The Kenya Water and Sanitation Civil Society Network (Kewasnet) called the statement the "height of hypocrisy and double standards", claiming that the Minister had only talked publicly about corruption in the sector after the Daily Nation

Daily Nation

The Daily Nation is a Kenyan independent newspaper. It is the most influential newspaper in Kenya with a daily circulation of about 205,000 copies. The total readership is likely to be higher as each copy is read by a large number of people...

newspaper had uncovered the corruption. Shortly before the chief executive officer of the Tanathi Water Services Board had been suspended after a WASREB audit of the Board alleging corruption,. The report had been published in March 2010 without action being taken for six months. According to Kewasnet, "governance in the water sector is at its worst and lowest ebb."

Feedback from consumers. In 2010 WASREB and local utilities helped to establish Water and Sanitation Action Groups (WAGs) consisting of citizen volunteers in Kisumu, Kakagemam, Nairobi and Mombasa in order to provide a forum for dialogue and for feedback from consumers. Consumer complained about inaccurate billing and metering, pipe bursts, illegal connections, poor workmanship on installations, vandalism, overcharging and corruption. Utility staff were initially suspicious and even hostile. The feedback was done in the form of focus group discussions, public hearings and scheduled meetings between citizen representatives and utility managers. While 63% of the complaints were resolved after 8 months, it remains to be seen if the system will become permanent or will be extended to other cities.

Economic efficiency

The economic performance of Kenyan Water Service Providers is closely monitored by WASREB and made available in the Impact Report to encourage competition and spread best practices. Important indicators of economic efficiency are: collection rates, the level of non-revenue water

Non-revenue water

, metering ratios and labour productivity. Most Kenyan Water Service Providers do not meet the benchmarks in these dimensions.

Collection rate. In 2006-2007 most Kenyan WSPs recorded good revenue collection efficiencies: the average collection rate of water bills was at approximately 86%. The worst performing utility was Garissa

Garissa

Garissa is a city in the North Eastern Province of Kenya. It is the capital of both the province and Garissa District.-Overview:Garissa is located at and has a population of 65,881 inhabitants . The Tana River flows through the city....

with 45% of the billed amount being collected by the WSP. In 11 areas served by water utilities, the collection rate exceeded 100% because WSPs were able to collect outstanding arrears. The highest collection rate was recorded in Tavavevo (165%).

Non-revenue water. On average, almost half (47%) of the supplied water in Kenya was not billed in 2006-2007, e.g. due to leakage or water theft. Two Water Services Providers met the benchmark set by the Ministry of Water and Irrigation with levels of NRW of 25%: Malindi

Malindi

and Western. In Nairobi NRW levels were about 40%. Based on the unit cost of production (18 Kenyan shilling

Kenyan shilling

The shilling is the currency of Kenya. It is divisible into 100 cents.-Coins:The first coins were issued in 1966 in denominations of 5, 10, 25 and 50 cents, and 1 and 2 shillings. Twenty-five cents coins were not minted after 1969; 2 shillings coins were last minted in 1971...

s/m³ or US$0.2), the nationwide losses due to non-revenue water in 2006-2007 were about 2,43 billion KSh, equivalent to US$31.5 million).

Metering ratio. The metering ratio of Kenyan water utilities in 2006-2007 was 82%. 13 WSPs report 100% metering ratio (Mombasa, Nyeri, Kisumu, Eldoret, Malindi, Kericho, Tavevo, Embu, Lamu, Kitui, Yatta, Makindu and Tarda-Kiambere. There is however uncertainty about whether the installed water meters are in fact functioning. In the analysed period, the metering ratio in Nairobi rose to almost 99% thanks to a programme for the restoration of the existing water infrastructure.

Labour productivity. In 2006-2007 there were on average 11 workers per 1000 water connections in Kenya. Three Water Service Providers, namely Malindi, Eldoret and Kirinyaga

Kirinyaga District

Kirinyaga District is an administrative district in the Central Province of Kenya. Its capital town is Kerugoya. The district has a population of 457,105 and an area of 1,478 km² .The district has four constituencies:*Mwea Constituency...

attained good levels of labour productivity, with 5, 6 and 7 workers per 1000 connections respectively (the sector benchmark is indicatively 5 workers per thousand connections).

Cost recovery

Ten of the 55 WSPs that submitted information for 2006-2007 achieved the goal set by the National Water Services Strategy to achieve operation and maintenance cost recovery (they are: Nakuru, Garissa, Kirinyaga, Nakuru Rural, Malindi, Nanyuki, Lamu, Kwale, Kibwezi and Nyandarua North). Personnel costs have by far the largest share in O&M costs, with utilities such as Embe and Rumuruti that spend over 90% of their expenditure on personnel. Between 2005 and 2007 there has been a 9% increase in the share of personnel costs in O&M costs, so that in the latter year it was 48% on average. This development is worrying because it suggests unjustified hiring or salary increases in many WSPs. At the level of Water Services Boards the situation is markedly different. WSBs should be able to cover their administrative costs through the Regulatory Levy they collect from WSPs in their service area. In fact, only Athi WSB was able to meet 115% of operational costs in 2006/2007. The other WSBs were still heavily reliant on government subsidies.

Tariff level

The average water tariff

Water tariff

A water tariff is a price assigned to water supplied by a public utility through a piped network to its customers. The term is also often applied to wastewater tariffs...

reported for 2006-2007 was KSh

Ksh

KSH or ksh may refer to:*Kenyan shilling, the currency of Kenya*Korn shell, a Unix shell developed by David Korn in the early 1980s*Kölsch language , a Ripuarian dialect spoken in Germany, the Hungarian Central Statistical Office*Shahid Ashrafi Esfahani Airport , in Kermanshah, Iran...

36 or US$0.46 per m3. This figure is not very indicative because of significant regional variations and because in Kenya a progressive block tariff system is in place for household connections. This means that the first 10 m³ have a low, subsidised tariff and the following blocks have an increasingly higher tariff. The rationale for this system is to promote water saving practices among all households and to ensure that low-income households can afford to use an adequate amount of water. However, there are problems with this system, because it is widely known that households in low-income areas resell water or share a connection with other households and thus risk ending up paying a higher tariff.

Detailed information about rural and urban water tariffs is provided by a 2006 report which refers to the situation in 2002. Whilst the figures are not up to date any more, they help to gauge how the system works.

Where no meter is installed: a monthly charge of 200 KSh,
Where the amount of water sold does not exceed 10m³: minimum charge of 200 KSh,
Between 10 and 20mm³ of water sold: 25KSh/m³,
Where the amount of water sold is more than 20m³ but does not exceed 50m³, the charge for each cubic meter in excess of 50m³: 30KHs,
Where the amount of water sold is more than 50m³ but does not exceed 100m³, the charge for each cubic meter in excess of 100m³: 75KHs,
Where the amount of water sold is more than 100m³ but does not exceed 300m³, the charge for each cubic meter in excess of 300m³: 75KHs,
Where the amount of water sold is more than 3000m³, the charge for each cubic meter in excess: 100KHs.

Information about tariffs at water kiosks is contradictory. A 2007 report about three Kenyan cities says in its conclusions that the unit rate for water kiosks was 10 KSh/m³ in Nairobi, 15 KSh/m³ in Mombasa, and 55 KSh/m³ in Kisumu. However, the same report states earlier on that water kiosk users pay 100 KSh/m³ in all three cities, which is said to be two to five times more than what is paid by those who get their water delivered to their homes through the network.

Tariff adjustments

Tariff setting is the responsibility of Water Services Boards and Water Service Providers according to operation and maintenance costs. Tariffs have to be approved by WASREB, which can also mandate a WSB to formulate a tariff adjustment. There are three types of tariff adjustments, as described in the Tariff Guidelines: Regular Tariff Adjustments based on the WSPs' business plan; Extraordinary Tariff Adjustments when the cost structure undergoes significant changes; Automatic Tariff Adjustments every 12 months which might be part of a service provision agreement with a WSP. In 2008 an Extraordinary Tariff Adjustment was granted to all WSPs as an interim measure to assist WSPs to meet their operation and maintenance costs. Tariffs for sewerage services are part of tariff adjustments and the aim is to reach full cost recovery also for sanitation. The ministry responsible for water is however aware that full cost recovery tariffs for sewerage for certain systems would make the service provision unaffordable for many connected households.

Investment

According to MWI, the total water sector budget for FY 2008-2009 was 22.9 billion Kenyan shilling

Kenyan shilling

or US$297 million. In the past five years, the budget for the water sector increased by 245% from KSh 4.2 billion (US$ 54.5 million) in 2004-2005. The budget for 2008–2009 was divided as follows: 82% of funds were allocated for the water supply and sanitation sub-sector. In absolute terms this was KSh 18.7 billion or US$ 242.8 million. The budget share for Water Resources Management was 11.5%, for Irrigation Drainage and Water Storage 5.7% and for Land Reclamation 0.3%.
In the water supply and sanitation sub-sector, about 80% of funds was constituted by development allocations (KSh 15 billion or US$ 19.4 million) which indicates the government's commitment to develop water and sanitation facilities and increase access.

Financing

The funding effectively available to the water sector in FY 2008-2009 was KSh 18.5 billion (equivalent to US$ 240 million). Of these, MWI handed over KSh 16.8 billion to subordinate water sector institutions. The main sources of funding for Kenyan water institutions are three: government funds which constituted 58% of sector funding in 2008-2009, internally generated funds that amounted to 11% and donor contributions that made up 31% of the funds available. One third of the contributions by development partners are channelled through government budget, while the remaining two thirds are disbursed for specific projects. Of the estimated donor funding for 2008–2009, 70% was in the form of loans, whereas grants represented 30%. Only 58% of the grant money committed by donors was actually disbursed in 2008-2009.

Funding for measures aimed at improving access to water and sanitation in areas without adequate services - especially areas inhabited by the poor - is provided by the Water Services Trust Fund (WSTF). The WSTF receives funds from the Government of Kenya and from donor agencies and directs them to the 362 poorest locations throughout the country (identified in collaboration with Water Services Boards).

There are significant variations in the ability of water supply and sanitation institutions to finance their operations. In FY 2008-2009 WASREB was the most independent as it generated 72% of funds internally. The Water Services Trust Fund, by its nature, had very limited self-generated funds and was supported by 2/3 by the government and by 1/3 by donor agencies. The financing of Water Services Boards, as already mentioned, showed great variations. None of the Boards managed to generate more than 20% of their funds. Donor agencies provided the majority of funds for Rift Valley WSB, Lake Victoria North WSB and Northern WSB, while the remaining WSBs received more funds from the government.

Bill payment through mobile phones

Since 2009 Kenya's largest mobile phone company extended its mobile phone bank transaction payment system M-Pesa

M-Pesa

M-PESA is the product name of a mobile-phone based money transfer service for Safaricom, which is a Vodafone affiliate. It was initially developed by Sagentia before transitioning to IBM...

to be used for the payment of water utility bills. As of 2012 more than 12 million Kenyans and 85% of the urban population use mobile phones for Bank transactions. A study by the Universtity of Oxford showed that prior to the introduction of this system residents of Kiamumbi on the outskirts of Nairobi had to make a 40-minute round trip on public transport, a wait in a lengthy queue to make a band deposit and then present the slip at the offices of the water utility to pay their monthly bill. When the small utility serving the local water system allowed payments through M-Pesa in December 2010, within two months half their customers switched to the mobile phone payment system.

External cooperation

Kenya receives external support from several donor agencies with a currently ongoing project volume of € 627 million. The major donors are, namely, the African Development Bank

African Development Bank

The African Development Bank Group is a development bank established in 1964 with the intention of promoting economic and social development in Africa...

, France, Germany, Sweden and Denmark, as well as the World Bank

World Bank

The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...

: Other donors include: the European Commission, Italy, Finland, Japan (through JICA

JICA

KF3 is a kart racing class for top drivers aged 12 to 15 .This class used to be called Junior Intercontinental A and has changed since January 2007 when CIK-FIA decided to replace the 100 cc air-cooled two-stroke engines with 125 cc Touch-and-Go water-cooled two-stroke...

), the Netherlands and UNICEF.

In October 2006 the Kenyan Government initiated a Sector-Wide Approach

Sector-Wide Approach

Sector-Wide Approach is an approach to international development that "brings together governments, donors and other stakeholders within any sector. It is characterized by a set of operating principles rather than a specific package of policies or activities...

(SWAp) to harmonize the activities of the development partners, the coordination and the implementation of projects. The SWAp helps to improve the sector dialogue between the Ministry and the donors and to strengthen cross-sectoral links. A common sector policy framework, monitoring as well as a common sector program and strategy are being developed by the major donor agencies. Since 2007 an Annual Water Sector Review (AWSR) is carried out which helps to foster the alignment of donor projects among other things. The Development Partners have formed the Water Sector Technical Group (WSTP) to improve coordination and harmonization. The WSTG is currently (2010) being chaired by the Italian Cooperation, Germany is the co-chair.

African Development Bank

The African Development Bank

African Development Bank

The African Development Bank Group is a development bank established in 1964 with the intention of promoting economic and social development in Africa...

is present in the Kenyan water and sanitation sector with the following projects with a donor volume of around € 70 million:

The “Small Towns Water Supply & Waste“ project (total project volume: € 84.2 million), initiated in summer 2009, will focus in a period of four years on institutional development support, water supply and waste water infrastructure as well as water storage interventions in the Yatta
Yatta
"Yatta!" is a 2001 parody song by a fictional Japanese boy band called . The one word in the song title, yatta, is the past tense of the Japanese verb yaru and is also the familiar short form of yarimashita, an exclamation meaning "It's done!", "I did it!", "Ready!" or "All right!" The song was...

area. The estimated number of beneficiaries will be 780,000.
In spring 2009 the “Water Service Board Support Project” (total project volume: € 61.5 million) started, which mainly boosts the institutional development of several Water Services Boards like the Lake Victoria South (LVSWSB), Northern Water (NWSB) or the Tana Water Services Board (TWSB) and which improves the water supply and sanitation in different regions.
The “Rift Valley Water Supply and Sanitation” project (total project volume: € 22.9 million), started in 2006, which will benefit 350.000 inhabitants in urban and rural centres within the Valley.
The “Kisumu District Primary Schools Water and Sanitation Project” (total project volume: € 0.22 million), started in summer 2007, with implementation centres on approximately 3,200 pupils and School Management Committees at the six participating schools.

France

The French Development Agency

French Development Agency

French Development Agency is the French international development agency.The Agence Française de Développement is a public institution providing development financing...

(AFD) supports the Kenyan water and sanitation sector through projects in Nairobi, Kisumu

Kisumu

and Mombasa

Mombasa

Mombasa is the second-largest city in Kenya. Lying next to the Indian Ocean, it has a major port and an international airport. The city also serves as the centre of the coastal tourism industry....

. In 2008 the total financing for on-going projects was € 105 million, including a € 40 million loan for Mombasa approved in 2008. In 2009 AFD approved a new € 51 million loan for water supply and sanitation in Nairobi and Kisumu. In the past, the agency also financed projects in Kandara

Kandara

Kandara is a town in Maragua District, Central Province in Kenya. Kandara is located 10 kilometres south of Kigumo and 30 kilometres north of Thika. Kandara hosts a town council with a population of 28,840 ....

, Kahuti

Kahuti

Kahuti is a settlement in Kenya's Central Province....

, Litein

Litein

'Litein' is a small town in the Rift Valley Province, Kenya. It is the capital of the Buret District. Litein has an urban population of 2300.The town is along the Kericho-Sotik road...

and Siaya

Siaya

Siaya is a town in Nyanza Province of Kenya. It is the capital of Siaya District. It is located 50 kilometres Northwest of Kisumu, the provincial capital. Siaya forms munipical council with population of 41,174, of whom 13,787 are classified urban ....

Germany

Since 1975 Germany has supported the Kenyan water sector through the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development, which operates through GIZ in charge of technical cooperation and KfW

KFW

KFW may refer to:*Keith Fullerton Whitman , an American musician*KfW or Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau, a German public-sector financial institution...

in charge of financial cooperation. KfW has been nominated as the sector coordinator. Germany’s ongoing programmes amount to approximately € 80 million. The main development aid objective of the bilateral cooperation is to support sector institutions in ensuring sustainable and equitable access to safe water and sanitation in urban settings and to safeguard water resources. For example, GIZ contributes to the state target within its “Water Sector Reform Programme” from 2003 to 2013: The Project has several components such as: a) supporting the water ministry in sector reform b) regulation of the water sector and poverty-oriented financing commercialization of water supply and sanitation c) commercialisation of water supply and sanitation d) capacity-building for the Water Resources Management Authority e) introduction of recycling-oriented sanitation (Ecosan).

Sweden and Denmark

Sweden, Denmark and Kenya have a long standing cooperation in the water sector. Since 2005 Sweden, through the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency

Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency

(SIDA) together with Denmark, through the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), has supported the Kenya Water and Sanitation Programme (KWSP) which has had a total grant budget of US$ 80 million during 2005 - 2010. KWSP has supported the implementation of the water sector reforms, with a special focus on institution building, rural water supply and sanitation, and water resources management.

World Bank

The World Bank

World Bank

The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...

’s “Water and Sanitation Service Improvement Project” for the period 2007–2012 in Kenya has a total loan volume of approximately $159 million. It supports the Athi Water Services, Coast Water Services and Lake Victoria North Services boards and, moreover, provides the Water Sector Regulatory Board and the Water Appeal Board with technical assistance. Besides investments in infrastructure the project also supports activities aimed at strengthening the commercial, financial and technical operations.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Data sources and interpretation

Access

Service quality

Water resources

History and recent developments

Beginnings

Colonial period

Independent Kenya (1963–1980)

Transition period (1980–1992)

Commercialization of local utilities

Reorganisation of water institutions (2002–present)

Policy formulation and sector coordination

Regulation

Asset management

Service provision

Water sector arbitration

Civil society

Public opinion, consumer feedback and allegations of corruption

Economic efficiency

Cost recovery

Tariff level

Tariff adjustments

Investment

Financing

Bill payment through mobile phones

External cooperation

African Development Bank

France

Germany

Sweden and Denmark

World Bank

See also

External links