Water supply and sanitation in Zambia

Zambia Zambia Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west.... : Water and Sanitation

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!align="center" bgcolor="lightblue" colspan="3"|Data
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Water coverage (broad definition)
|valign="top"| 60% (2008)
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Sanitation coverage (broad definition)
|valign="top"| 49% (2008)
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Continuity of supply
|valign="top"| Average of 16 hours per day in 2010
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Average urban water use (liter/capita/day)
|valign="top"| 77 (2010), ranging from 26 to 121 between utilities
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Average urban domestic water and sewer bill for 20m3
|valign="top"| US$ 5.80/month for metered users
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Share of household metering
|valign="top"| 58% (2010), up from 39% (2010)
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|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...

|valign="top"| 44% (2010)
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Share of collected wastewater treated
|valign="top"| n/a
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Annual investment in WSS
|valign="top"| US$ 33.5 million (2002) or US$ 3/capita/year
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Share of self-financing by utilities
|valign="top"| Low to zero
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Share of tax-financing
|valign="top"| 2% (2002)
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Share of external financing
|valign="top"| 98% (2002)
|-
!align="center" bgcolor="lightblue" colspan="3"|Institutions
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Decentralization to municipalities
|valign="top"| Yes (municipality-owned regional utilities)
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|National water and sanitation company
|valign="top"| None
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Water and sanitation regulator
|valign="top"| Yes (NWASCO)
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Responsibility for policy setting
|valign="top"| Minister for Local Government and Housing
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Sector law
|valign="top"| Yes
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Number of service providers
|valign="top"| 10 Commercial Utilities (urban areas)
|-
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Water supply and sanitation in Zambia is characterized by wide discrepancies in 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...

between urban and rural areas. In peri-urban areas, access has been substantially expanded through the construction of water kiosks. Major reforms have been carried out since 1989 with a focus on urban areas: Eleven regional commercial utilities were established to replace fragmented service provision by local governments. A regulatory agency was created which has substantially improved the availability of information and a trust fund was established to focus donor support on poor areas using water kiosks. Nevertheless, the reform process has only partially achieved its objectives. Investment levels remain at only a fraction of what would be needed to achieve the Millennium Development Goals

Millennium Development Goals

The Millennium Development Goals are eight international development goals that all 193 United Nations member states and at least 23 international organizations have agreed to achieve by the year 2015...

and the level of non-revenue water

Non-revenue water

remains high at 44% in 2010.

Access

In 2008 only 60% of the population of Zambia had access to an improved source of water supply and 49% had access to adequate sanitation. Concerning water supply, there is a stark contrast between urban areas (87% access according to national surveys, 78% access according to the regulator in 2010) and rural areas (46% access). For sanitation, access rates are similar for urban (59% according to national surveys, 54% according to the regulator in 2010) and rural (43%) areas. In urban areas, only 41% have access to water connections in their house or yard and 49% rely on water kiosks and standpipes.

Water kiosk

Water kiosk

Water kiosks are booths for the sale of tap water. They are common in many countries of Sub-Saharan Africa. Water kiosks exist, among other countries, in Cameroon, Haiti, Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania and Zambia.-Description:...

s, which were first introduced in Zambia in 2006, are operated by private individuals who have signed an agreement with water utilities and municipalities. The kiosk operators buy piped water in bulk and sell it at a slightly higher regulated price of about 1 US Cent per 20 litres to users who carry the water in gericans to their homes. The kiosk operators supplement their income by selling various other items of daily life. There were about 170 water kiosks in Zambia in 2008, providing water to 200,000 people. Another 100 kiosks were expected to be added in 2009.

Concerning sanitation, only 29% of the urban population are connected to sewers while 30% are served by septic tanks or improved household-level latrines. While these figures are low, they are actually higher than the average access in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Lack of access to water and sanitation has significant negative social impacts, in particular on girls and women who are often in charge of collecting water for their villages and homes – sometimes walking extremely long distances to do so. After that girls are too tired to come back home and concentrate on education.

Service quality

Drinking water quality. According to the regulatory agency, 94% of water samples collected in urban areas were in compliance with drinking water standards in 2010. Pollution from mines affects drinking water supply quality provided by the Mulonga and Nkana water and sewerage companies, where in some cases, the concentration of manganese

Manganese

Manganese is a chemical element, designated by the symbol Mn. It has the atomic number 25. It is found as a free element in nature , and in many minerals...

was beyond treatable limits.

Continuity. Water supply in urban areas is intermittent, with an average supply of 16 hours per day in 2010. The highest intermittency has been measured in the small Luapula Utility with 6 hours per day. The only utility providing continuous supply in 2007 was in Chipata

Chipata

Chipata, population 98,416, is the capital of the Eastern Province of Zambia. The two languages spoken are Nyanja and English, though you might find some Indian languages, as there is a large number of Zambian Indians located in the town...

, while in 2010 the only utility that provided near continous supply was the Northwestern Water and Sewerage Company.

Wastewater treatment. Wastewater treatment plants regularly do not achieve effluent standards. Capacities of plants like the Manchinchi in Lusaka and the Kanini in Ndola have been out-grown by the population. Stabilization pond

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...

s such as in Kaunda Square in Lusaka and Livingstone City are in
a deplorable state and pose a serious environmental hazard.

Water resources

Unlike many other countries in the region Zambia has more than adequate water resources, although during the dry season water resources may be scarce, especially in the southern part of the country. The annual rainfall averages between 1400 mm in the north and gradually declines to 700 mm in the south. The country is rich in rivers, such as the transboundary Zambezi

Zambezi

The Zambezi is the fourth-longest river in Africa, and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. The area of its basin is , slightly less than half that of the Nile...

and lakes Tanganyika

Tanganyika

Tanganyika , later formally the Republic of Tanganyika, was a sovereign state in East Africa from 1961 to 1964. It was situated between the Indian Ocean and the African Great Lakes of Lake Victoria, Lake Malawi and Lake Tanganyika...

, Mweru

Lake Mweru

Lake Mweru is a freshwater lake on the longest arm of Africa's second-longest river, the Congo. Located on the border between Zambia and Democratic Republic of the Congo, it makes up 110 km of the total length of the Congo, lying between its Luapula River and Luvua River segments.Mweru...

and Kariba

Lake Kariba

Lake Kariba is the world's largest artificial lake and reservoir. It lies 1300 kilometers upstream from the Indian Ocean, along the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe...

. It is estimated that only 1.5% of the annual renewable water resources are being used at present. There are significant regional differences across the country with regard to place and time when water is available. Also groundwater availability is unevenly distributed.

Responsibility for water supply and sanitation

Responsibilities in the sector are clearly separated between the Ministry of Local Government and Housing (policy), National Water Supply and Sanitation Council (economic regulation) and local government as well as commercial utilities owned by local government (service provision in urban areas).

Policy

The Ministry of Local Government and Housing is in charge of sector policies. Within the Ministry the Department of Infrastructure and Support Services (DISS) is responsible for water supply and sanitation infrastructure planning and resource mobilization. DISS has established a specific Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Unit (RWSSU) in 2003 and shortly thereafter also a unit for peri-urban water supply and sanitation.

According to the 1994 National Water Policy seven principles govern the state's policy in water and sanitation

Separation of water resources management from water supply and sanitation
Separation of regulatory and executive functions
Devolution of authority to local authorities and private enterprises
Achievement of full cost recovery for the water supply and sanitation services in the longrun
Human resources development leading to more effective institutions.
The use of technologies more appropriate to local conditions
Increased budget spending to the sector

By 2008 at least the first three principles had been put into practice. However, full cost recovery was far from being achieved and budget spending remained far below what is needed to achieve the Millennium Development Goals

Millennium Development Goals

for the sector.

Regulation

Economic regulation of water supply and sanitation services is the task of the National Water Supply and Sanitation Council (NWASCO). It oversees tariff adjustments, minimum service levels, financial projection and investment planning and corporate governance. NWASCO has made “significant progress in benchmarking, reporting and engaging users” despite being “underfunded and understaffed”. However, its effectiveness remains limited, among others because “the mechanisms for enforcing regulatory rules remain unclear”. NWASCO's is supported by water watch groups and part-time inspectors who monitor the quality of service on the ground. Water watch groups exist in 10 cities. They consist of volunteers who educate users about their rights and obligations, and assist users to resolve complaints. This has apparently reduced petty corruption and meter manipulation. According to research, while it is common in Zambia to pay bribes for a connection to the electricity grid, this type of bribe is almost absent for water connections. In 2010 the regulator dissolved water watch groups in Chingola, Kabwe and Lusaka "for non-performance", but all three were re-established a few months later.

According to the German Technical Cooperation, NWASCO is so successful that it “can serve as a role model for other countries in the region”. NWASCO reports to the Ministry of Energy and Water Development, not to the Ministry of Local Government and Housing that is in charge of sector policy.

Service provision

By law service provision is a responsibility of local authorities. However, most of them have formed regional commercial utilities to which they delegate service provision. In 2011, eleven commercial utilities, each covering between 3 and 17 municipalities and owned by the local authorities, provided water services to more than 86% of the urban population with access to improved water supply. The size of the utilities ranges from 3,000 to more than 75,000 connections. The capacity of the utilities differs considerably. In 2006/2007 the regulator ranked the Nkana

Nkana

Nkana is a section of the city of Kitwe, Copperbelt Province, Zambia which started off in the early part of the 20th century as a railway station to support the growing complex of copper mining operations. It was named after Chief Nkana, the local traditional ruler...

utility first and the Chambeshi utility last of the 10 utilities in terms of performance. In 2010 the Southern utility was ranked first and the Chambeshi utility, which faces numerous challenges, was still ranked last.

There are also 6 private schemes that are run by commercial entities that supply water and sanitation services to their employees as a fringe benefit. These are owned and run by companies whose core business is not water supply.

History and recent developments

1989: Begin of urban water and sanitation sector reforms through commercialization of utilities with the aim of full cost recovery. Creation of a commercial utility for Lusaka.

1991: Transition to democracy. Frederick Chiluba
Frederick Chiluba
Frederick Jacob Titus Chiluba was a Zambian politician who was the second President of Zambia from 1991 to 2002. Chiluba, a trade union leader, won the country's multi-party presidential election in 1991 as the candidate of the Movement for Multiparty Democracy , defeating long-time President...

elected President (1991–2002).

1992: Creation of the second commercial utility in Chipata
Chipata
Chipata, population 98,416, is the capital of the Eastern Province of Zambia. The two languages spoken are Nyanja and English, though you might find some Indian languages, as there is a large number of Zambian Indians located in the town...

. Process of "tariff rationalization" and significant tariff increases between 1992 and 1994, starting from an extremely low level.

1994: National Water Policy approved by Cabinet.

1997: Water Supply and Sanitation Act passed. It foresees the creation of a regulatory agency (NWASCO) and a Devolution Trust Fund (DTF) as a financing vehicle.

2000: National Water Supply and Sanitation Council (NWASCO) becomes operational. Creation of six commercial utilities. Further substantial tariff increases.

2001: After the collapse of the state-owned mining company ZCCM the responsibility for water supply and sanitation in the mining towns previously served by the mining company were entrusted to a private company under a management contract supported by the World Bank.

2002: Levy Mwanawasa
Levy Mwanawasa
Levy Patrick Mwanawasa was the third President of Zambia. He ruled the country from January 2002 until his death in August 2008. He is credited for having initiated a campaign to rid the country of corruption...

elected President (2002–2008).

2004: Establishment of the Devolution Trust Fund (DTF)

2005:The management contract is terminated on the grounds that the privatized management did not perform any better than publicly owned utilities. After a transition period of three years, service provision was entrusted to the three commercial utilities in the area.

January 2008: At least 13 people in Mufulira
Mufulira
Mufulira is a town in the Copperbelt Province of Zambia. It grew up in the 1930s around the site of the Mufulira Copper Mine on its north-western edge...

in northern Zambia were admitted to hospital after drinking water alleged to have been contaminated by the nearby Mopani Copper Mines. Residents are afraid to drink tap water and are collecting water from shallow wells or nearby streams. Mopani Copper Mines said the water used at its plant was treated before re-entering the water system. A similar water contamination affected nearby Chingola
Chingola
Chingola is a city in Zambia's Copperbelt Province, the country's copper-mining region, with a population of 157,340 . It is the home of Nchanga Copper Mine, a deep-shaft high-grade content copper mining operation, which subsequently led to the development of two open pit operations, Chingola...

in 2006.

Tariffs and cost recovery

Urban tariffs for unmetered domestic users are set according to the category of housing (low, medium and high costs) for purposes of cross-subsidization. For metered users an increasing-block tariff is applied. Tariffs were increased substantially between 1992 and 2006, between twofold and eightfold in real terms. The highest increase (+881% in these 14 years) was for the highest tranche for metered consumption in Lusaka, while the lowest increas (+61%) was for unmetered mid-cost housing in the Southern Province. The average collection efficiency in 2010 was 84%, indicating that 16% of users did not pay their bills.

Financial viability in the sector has improved with six of the nine licensed commercial utilities operating in Zambia reaching operational cost coverage by the end of 2006. In 2010 the average operational cost recovery was 105%, varying from 46% to 130% in Mulonga. According to one study, there are two main reasons that impede a higher level of cost recovery:

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...

of 44% in 2010;
A low collection efficiency, due to a large extent to the non-payment of water bills by public institutions.

The share of household expenditures for water among the poor varied from 2.5% to 9.9% in 2002-03. More than 60% of poor households paid more than 3% of their expenditures on water The regulator is financed through a 1-2% surcharge on water tariffs.

Investments and Financing

Actual investment. In 2002 total investments in water and sanitation were estimated at US$ 33.5 million, including US$ 33 million by donors and NGOs (98%) and US$ 0.5 million (2%) by the government using its own resources. Government capital expenditures had been budgeted at US$ 6.1 million for 2002, but only 9% of that amount was actually invested.

Investment needs. The Water Supply and Sanitation Development Group prepared a medium-term
development strategy to implement during 1994–2003. Their estimations suggested that the government had to invest between US$ 407 million (a low-cost investment strategy) and US$ 1,553 million (a medium-cost investment strategy) every year during this period in order to rehabilitate the existing system and expand the network to avoid any reduction in access rates, i.e. without increasing access rates. Actual investments thus are only a small fraction (8% of the low-cost scenario) of investment needs..

Financing. As pointed out above, 98% of investments in the sector are financed by donors and NGOs. The government has established a Devolution Trust Fund (DTF) to provide financing to increase access in poor urban areas through the use of low-cost technologies. The DTF financed water kiosks that provided access to clean water to 120,000 people at a cost of 643,455 Euro until 2006. The DTF assigns its funds based on proposals received from water utilities.

Efficiency

The average level of non-revenue water in the commercial utilities operating in urban areas was estimated at about 44% in 2010, varying among utilities between 34% for the Northwest and 67% in Luapula.

Staff per 1,000 connections varies between 7 and 17, thus indicating significant overstaffing, since national targets are less than 5 or 9 staff per 1,000 connections depending on the size of the utility. Utility performance has constantly increased since NWASCO began its benchmarking exercise.

External cooperation

A large array of external public donors support the water and sanitation sector in Zambia. Many NGOs, such as CARE, also support the sector. The activities of the main public donors are listed below in alphabetical order.

African Development Bank

In the Central Province 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...

has been supporting the seven local authorities in institutional reforms and infrastructure rehabilitation under a project approved in 2003. In Nkana it supports water supply and sanitation under a project approved in 2008. Furthermore, a national rural water supply and sanitation program has been approved in 2006.

Denmark

Since 2004 DANIDA

DANIDA

Danish International Development Agency , is a Danish organisation inside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, set up to provide humanitarian aid and assistance in developing countries.-Origin of name:...

supports the Mulonga, Kafubu and Western Water and Sewerage companies. In 2006 it approved a EUR 32.8 million five–year (2006–2010) Water Sector Support Program, which includes water supply and sanitation in rural and peri-urban areas, as well as integrated water resources management.

Germany

Germany supports the water and sanitation sector in Zambia through financial cooperation carried out by KfW

KFW

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

Development Bank and German Technical Cooperation carried out by GIZ. German aid has been particularly involved in expanding services to the urban poor through water kiosks, supported via the Devolution Trust Fund (DTF). A more recent pilot project for the construction of latrines is also being supported by Germany through the DTF. GIZ has been active in strengthening the regulatory agency NWASCO, in setting up a sector information system, and in strengthening NWASCO's planning capabilities. In the Eastern Province, which currently has only a single commercial utility in Chipata

Chipata

, the German government assists its partners in commercializing the service delivery in small towns outside of Chipata. Through the support of KfW 520 wells have been built or rehabilitated in eight Districts of the Eastern Provinces. Sanitation facilities have been built at schools and health posts, and measures to promote appropriate hyiene behavior have been supported. The Southern and North-Western commercial utilities have also benefited from German support. In all three commercial utilities training is carried out covering administration, institutional development, electrical engineering and water production/distribution.

Concerning rural water supply, German aid is engaged in the Northwestern Province. The Project is working with the Councils of Kasempa, Kabompo and Mufumbwe District to reach out to a population of about 2.5 million people beginning in 2004 through the construction of boreholes and hand-dug wells. The project emphasizes the participation of the population in the communities, especially of women. Health education including malaria and HIV/AIDS are also part of the project.

Japan

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...

provides grants for investmetns in groundwater development in Luapula Province (2008–2010), technical cooperation for the sustainable operation and maintenance of rural water supply (2007–2010) and capacity building for commercial utilities (2007–2009).

UNICEF

UNICEF supports water supply projects in cooperation with the Maureen Mwanawasa Community Initiative, the wife of the late President Mwanawasa.

World Bank

The World Bank assists the sector through a US$ 23m Water Sector Performance Improvement Project approved in 2006.

External links

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