The ESAWAS 1st Africa Water Supply and Sanitation Conference held in Zanzibar from 15th to 17th November 2022 at Madinat Al Bahr Hotel was hosted by the Zanzibar Utilities Regulatory Authority (ZURA) under the theme “Changing the narrative for WSS Regulation Across Africa: Strengthened Sector Accountability”.
This conference was special as it marked the very first Africa WSS Regulators conference. It was convened in line with the ESAWAS Strategic Objective ‘to expand the Association’s services’ beyond the region based on findings of the regulatory landscape study across Africa. The landscape study provides the foundation for strengthening WSS regulation across Africa through advocacy, technical assistance, collaborations and synergies.
The conference was officially opened by the Second Vice President of Zanzibar, Honourable Hemed Suleiman Abdulla and drew more than 150 participants from 44 African countries and beyond. Participants included delegates from regulatory institutions, ministries and utilities as well as representatives of cooperating partners (AfDB, BMGF, AfWA, WIN, WSUP) and stakeholders. This monumental gathering was an opportunity to share knowledge, experiences, best practices and challenges but also to deliberate on actions to be taken for the improvement of WSS regulation across Africa.
The Chairperson of the ESAWAS Regulators Association, Mr Balthazar Nganikiye delivered a welcoming remark. He started his speech by giving a brief background on the creation of ESAWAS, its vision, objectives and current members. He further highlighted major achievements which include peer reviews and benchmarking reports as well as guidance on inclusive sanitation to assist members to implement mechanisms for inclusive, equitable, sustainable and safely managed sanitation services that incorporate onsite sanitation. He pointed out that one of the objectives of ESAWAS Strategic Plan is to stretch its services and offerings to continental level. In this line, ESAWAS conducted a regulatory landscape study to understand the status of WSS regulation across Africa in order to design appropriate interventions for effective WSS regulation. Referring to the conference theme, the ESAWAS Chairperson stressed the importance of regulation in sector accountability. Regulation is one of the mechanisms to hold stakeholders – policy-makers, service providers and sector partners – answerable for their mandate in the sector. Therefore, regulators need to have the capacity and tools to strengthen that accountability.
The opening of the conference was officiated by the Second Vice President of Zanzibar, Honourable Hemed Suleiman Abdulla. In his remarks, he applauded its organization but mostly, the theme that emphasizes the importance of accountability in WSS Regulation – water is life, so the basis of development of all sectors. He said that the slogan “accountability” comes at the right time when all countries are working hard to achieve SDG6 targets. Regulators play a paramount role in ensuring effective WSS services delivery. He encouraged the participants to seize the opportunity, and share experiences and learn from each other. On a special note, the Second Vice President expressed the continued support of their Government to strengthen WSS regulatory mechanisms through building the capacity of ZURA and promoting its partnerships with other regulatory institutions.
The official opening was accompanied by four keynote addresses delivered by Eng. Robert Gakubia (former CEO of Water Services Regulatory Board - WASREB) on impact of strengthened sector accountability on service provision; Mr Thomas Banda of African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW) on the enabling policy for regulation; Mr Sylvain Usher of African Water Association (AfWA) on improving utility performance across Africa and Ms Jeanne-Astrid Fouegue of African Development Bank (AfDB) on strengthening regulation across institutions.
The conference programme was structured around the theme “Changing the narrative for WSS Regulation Across Africa: Strengthened Sector Accountability”.
A blend of presentations and panel discussions was used to dig deep into what is required to strengthen water supply and sanitation sector accountability. Presenters and panelists were selected from different countries and regions based on the findings of Africa WSS Regulatory landscape study, and in such a way as to maximize information sharing on good practices but also challenges in WSS regulation. Below, were the main topics:
Day one looked at the conducive environment required for effective WSS Regulation.
- Improving the enabling environment for WSS Regulation
- Regulatory models and sector impact
- Defining autonomous regulation
- Regulating by design/provider
Day two discussed regulatory mechanisms that enable regulators to effectively deliver their mandate.
- Strengthening tools and instruments for regulation
- Strengthening sector monitoring and data
- ESAWAS Support for Regulatory Institutions
Day three was reserved for cooperating partners and private sector to present their interventions and expectations for effective WSS Regulation and service provision as follows:
- Approaches for strengthening regulation within institutions
- Improving Citywide Inclusive Sanitation (CWIS) Regulation
- The role of private sector in WSS
- Integrity, accountability and transparency
- Actions towards improving regulation across Africa
The three-day conference was followed by an ESAWAS Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 18th November to discuss the internal operations of the Association.