A new report published by Water & Sanitation for the Urban Poor (WSUP) and the Eastern and Southern Africa Water and Sanitation (ESAWAS) Regulators Association identifies how stronger regulators can play an important role in improving sanitation for under-served urban residents.
The report, entitled Referee!: Responsibilities, regulations and regulating for urban sanitation, has four key findings:
- Regulatory effectiveness is a core driver of improved sanitation services. Every football match needs a referee.
An independent regulator can act as a referee between the government, and sanitation service providers, to ensure the best deal possible for customers. - Regulations are not enough: clear responsibilities and active regulating is essential.
A plethora of national laws and municipal by-laws already governs much around sanitation services. Yet on their own, rules rarely translate into improved outcomes. - Problems cannot be solved in one bold step. Active regulating involves incremental change, extensive consultation and testing.
Even countries which are showing good progress have a long way to go. Sandwiched between utility, government and consumer, regulators have to introduce change gradually and manage stakeholders wisely. - A Regulating Ladder could support countries in their journey to active regulating.
A ladder which mirrors the industry-wide UNICEF / WHO JMP sanitation ladder could inform assessments of where countries stand in their journey from passive regulations compliance to active regulating.
Safe sanitation is not just about toilets – it’s about the effective systems that underpin strong services. Regulators are a crucial, but often undervalued part of that.
WSUP and ESAWAS have analysed the role of regulators in four countries to assess their importance in the broader system of sanitation services, and understand how their roles are being made more impactful. The report identifies a range of different regulatory instruments and demonstrates how their introduction is leading to improved sanitation services in traditionally under-served urban communities.
The national case studies are as follows:
- Bangladesh: national institutional and regulatory framework for un-sewered sanitation
- Kenya: standard operating procedures in the city of Kisumu
- Kenya: introducing cross-subsidies to finance sanitation
- Mozambique: adopting new regulatory responsibilities
- Zambia: a new national framework for regulating un-sewered sanitation
- Kenya: incentives to encourage utilities to serve the poorest communities
The report also assesses the contribution being made by ESAWAS to drive change through at pan-African level.
