The Limits and Possibilities of Prepaid Water in Urban Africa
This study explores the potential of prepaid meters for serving urban poor communities. It provides urban utilities, oversight agencies, and other stakeholders in Africa with a basis for decision-making on the suitability, introduction, and management of such meters. The need for the assessment emerged from prepaid meters increasingly being utilized by water and sanitation utilities in developing countries, including World Bank clients. The technologies adopted have expanded over this period, but there has been a lack of consolidated data and analysis that capture the service delivery, operational efficiency, and access to services aspects of such systems across utilities and regions systematically. The review initially aimed to research experiences in six African countries from the perspective of their communities, as well as from water sector bodies, governments, and other investors. The number of case studies was increased to eight with the addition of Windhoek in Namibia and Nakuru in Kenya, as it became apparent that they may offer additional lessons. Windhoek, for example, is one of the prepaid water pioneers in Africa. The study specifically canvased the perspectives of customers, including market research and opinion surveys on people s experience and views of prepaid water in practice. Women and children were well represented in many of these groups. The analysis aimed to be robustly investigative, deliberately not advocating for prepaid systems in principle, or making firm recommendations, but rather offering balanced analysis and assessment, and considerations to inform policymakers and sector leaders, as well as other stakeholders who may face decisions or challenges on such systems. One of the key conceptual bases that the analysis identified was the need to differentiate between prepaid applications of prepaid system for standpipes, individual connections, and institutional and commercial customers each of which have different implications for their users, as well as for cost effectiveness. Utilities must be able to justify the investment in a prepayment system and its opportunity costs specific to the application they choose, and relative to alternative means of improving services.
Summary: | This study explores the potential of
prepaid meters for serving urban poor communities. It
provides urban utilities, oversight agencies, and other
stakeholders in Africa with a basis for decision-making on
the suitability, introduction, and management of such
meters. The need for the assessment emerged from prepaid
meters increasingly being utilized by water and sanitation
utilities in developing countries, including World Bank
clients. The technologies adopted have expanded over this
period, but there has been a lack of consolidated data and
analysis that capture the service delivery, operational
efficiency, and access to services aspects of such systems
across utilities and regions systematically. The review
initially aimed to research experiences in six African
countries from the perspective of their communities, as well
as from water sector bodies, governments, and other
investors. The number of case studies was increased to eight
with the addition of Windhoek in Namibia and Nakuru in
Kenya, as it became apparent that they may offer additional
lessons. Windhoek, for example, is one of the prepaid water
pioneers in Africa. The study specifically canvased the
perspectives of customers, including market research and
opinion surveys on people s experience and views of prepaid
water in practice. Women and children were well represented
in many of these groups. The analysis aimed to be robustly
investigative, deliberately not advocating for prepaid
systems in principle, or making firm recommendations, but
rather offering balanced analysis and assessment, and
considerations to inform policymakers and sector leaders, as
well as other stakeholders who may face decisions or
challenges on such systems. One of the key conceptual bases
that the analysis identified was the need to differentiate
between prepaid applications of prepaid system for
standpipes, individual connections, and institutional and
commercial customers each of which have different
implications for their users, as well as for cost
effectiveness. Utilities must be able to justify the
investment in a prepayment system and its opportunity costs
specific to the application they choose, and relative to
alternative means of improving services. |
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