Decentralisation of rural water
Transcript of Decentralisation of rural water
Harold LockwoodAguaconsult
Brisbane, Australia
SessionA3. A
Moving towards a solution or out-sourcing
the problem?
DECENTRALISATION OF RURAL WATER
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Broad process of transfer of authority and responsibility – transcends any one sector
Various dimensions: administrative, fiscal and political
Varying depth: deconcentration, delegation, devolution
DECENTRALISATION
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COUNTRY STUDIES
Range of sector maturity, aid dependency, business markets and reforms
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DECENTRALISATION AND SECTOR REFORM
Separation of functions policy, planning, implementation and oversight or monitoring
Strong focus on urban sector and privatisation
Rural water sector – often overlooked; CBM adopted as norm
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All countries gone or going through decentralisation processes – mixed progress – rapid/complete and phased/incomplete
Mandate is transferred but with ‘paper reforms’ leaving local government with little capacity and resources to do the job
Fiscal decentralisation tends to be last stage
Two thirds of expenditure is outside the control of local government
(Wateraid, 2008)
FINDINGS
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PROGRESS IN RURAL WATER - TRIPLE-S STUDY
Ext
ent
of
dec
entr
alis
atio
n
in r
ura
l wat
er
Ethiopia
Mozambique
Ghana
Burkina Faso
Uganda
Sri Lanka
Honduras
Thailand USA
India
Benín
GDP US$/CAP1,000 2,000 4,000 8,000 16,000 32,000 64,000
Limited
Mixed
High
Colombia
South Africa
India (Gujarat)
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ISSUES AND CONSTRAINTS
Sector reform has met resistance to change and conflict over roles: CWSA Ghana, PHEDs in some states in India, SANAA Honduras
Limited political commitment and lack of common sector investment plans
Honduras – CONASA and ERSAPS At a recent meeting of municipal leaders in Tegucigalpa many were unaware of the policy and regulatory bodies
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ISSUES AND CONSTRAINTS
Transfer of assets and/or asset ownership unclear and contested
Limited capacity of local government staff - management and technical
Burkina Faso Assets legally transferred to Communes in January 2010 Ministry of Agriculture should have rehabilitated all systems Many systems handed over in poor repair, with only €1,500 per Commune
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ISSUES AND CONSTRAINTS
In some cases donors can be part of the problem, as well as the solution
Projectised development partner support for reforms (Honduras)
Different funding channels risking fragmentation (Ghana)
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SUCCESS FACTORS
Well structured fiscal flows to lower tiers of government:
Conditional grant in Uganda
Equitable Share Grant and Municipal Infrastructure Grant (conditional) in South Africa
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Clear roles and structured support
District and sub-district water and sanitation staff
Regional Technical Support Units:
Planning Quality assurance Capacity building and training Specialised technical expertise
SUCCESS FACTORS - UGANDA
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RE-CENTRALISATION?
Evidence of re-centralisation of key functions - planning and financial allocation at Departmental level in Colombia
Formation of ‘manocomunidades’ to achieve economies of scale and technical specialisation
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CONCLUSIONS
Mixed progress in decentralisation of rural water service delivery
Many local governments still struggle with limited skills and resources - few manage to provide support to life-cycle of service delivery
Success in water sector appears to be linked to core public sector reform efforts
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CONCLUSIONS
Remember the time scales involved ….
....... it has taken many many decades in parts of Europe to achieve decentralisation and even now we still struggle!
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