Public-private partnerships: evaluation of ADB’s performance in infrastructure

The Asian Development Bank’s support for public-private partnerships (PPPs) in infrastructure development in general was rated “successful,” a special evaluation study concludes [1].  There are, however, areas for improvements for both, public sector and ADB’s Private Sector Operations Department (PSOD) operations, as implied by lower performance ratings in some specific areas and sectors.

For the water sector, the report recommends the PPP modalities that improve systems performance should be promoted. This means that the ADB should promote performance-based management contracts and affermages/leases, at least as strongly as the build-operate-transfer (BOT) type interventions. Decisions should be guided by the overall objective of minimizing investment and operating costs of the entire system and need to be sensitive to local political conditions and aspirations. Attracting private capital rather than achieving gains in technical, managerial, and allocative efficiencies is often wrongly perceived as the primary purpose of PPPs.

Since the 1990s, there is an increased use of PPP schemes that involve fiscal support to facilitate private sector participation (PSP) in water projects, which have had problems attracting private investment due to difficulties associated with predicting demand and charging cost-reflective tariffs.

ADB has implemented PPP in the water sector in many countries, including Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka in South Asia, and in Cambodia, China, Indonesia, and the Philippines in East Asia. ADB’s support has included technical assistance and policy dialogue for sector reforms and commercialisation of water utilities.

The report notes that two-thirds of approved PSOD water transactions had to be cancelled due to disputes between project promoters and authorities, limitations of the BOT modality, and unresolved tariff issues. This highlights PSOD’s particular difficulties in identifying viable transactions in this sector despite numerous attempts to become more engaged.

Opposition to change and fear of consequences (job losses, higher tariffs, loss of political control) and resistance by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) opposed to private sector entry have thwarted many attempts to introduce PPP, particularly in the water sector. The development of PPPs was also derailed in several countries, e.g., Indonesia, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, due to changes in (local) government commitment. Sustained political will and support of key stakeholders is therefore seen as the ultimate determinant of PPP success.

[1] Feig, H. and Finlayson, B. (2009). ADB assistance for public-private partnerships in infrastructure development : potential for more success : evaluation study. Manila, The Philippines, Asian Development Bank. ix, 65 p. : fig., tab. 15 ref.
Download full report [PDF file]

Municipal service delivery: new accounting software improves transparency in Kerala, India

The financial transparency of urban local bodies (ULBs) in the south Indian state of Kerala has increased thanks to an Asian Development Bank (ADB) project. The municipal corporations of Cochin and Trivandrum now publish their financial accounts online.

The ADB technical assistance (TA) project “Capacity Building for Municipal Service Delivery in Kerala” (2006-2008) assisted municipal corporations and selected municipalities to (i) improve their capacity to organize, record, update, and manage financial and other information on a routine basis; (ii) increase the efficiency and integrity of the data being collected; and (iii) promote good governance in relation to financial management. The TA project aimed to help ensure the sustainability of the investments under the Kerala Sustainable Urban Development Project (Loan 2226-IND), a $221.2 million loan approved by ADB on 20 December 2005 and which became effective on 19 March 2007.

The TA project successfully installed and implemented municipal accounting software in five municipal corporations and two municipalities. As a result of continuous recording, updating and managing financial information on a routine basis using accrual-based double-entry accounting, they managed to publish their financial statement regularly.

Some of the major lessons are:

• Accounting system alone does not do anything – it is just software. It became meaningful when the necessary financial information is entered in accordance with the new accounting policy, which had to developed. The necessary financial information includes the past income and expenditure, assets and liability, and cash flow statement for the last five years. In ULBs, there are backlogs in accounts for four to five years. Recovery of the backlogs and data entry tasks absorbed enormous amount of ULB staff’s and consultants’ time.

• Feeding income and expenditure information can be computerized by connecting the accounting system with the Payroll module and the demand collection balance (DCB) module. Staff salary is the largest expenditure item in the ULB and computerization by the payroll module will bring efficiency in accounts work. The DCB module compares (a) demand: how much to be collected, (b) collection: how much actually collected, (c) balance: how much is still due. This will help ULB in capturing the amount of the uncollected in tax and charges for urban service delivery, which is a good start for ‘management accounting.’ However, the amount of data entry is the same as the number of households in one ULB—again, this requires enormous amount of time and labour.

Read the full Technical Assistance Completion Report

Lessons from implementing water supply, sanitation and hygiene promotion activities in the coastal belt of Bangladesh

A new document [1] describes the key lessons learned from the large Coastal Belt Project, which was supported by Danida and the Government of Bangladesh during 1997-2009. The document highlights the processes, achievements and challenges of providing more than 12 years of extensive assistance to rural and small towns water supply, sanitation and hygiene promotion in the coastal regions of Bangladesh. During the years the project gradually changed its implementation modalities towards a high degree of alignment with national institutions and systems, including use of national planning and budgeting processes and public procurement rules.

The Project was largely successful in achieving its physical targets of more than 30,000 arsenic-free deep hand tube wells (DHTWs) and promoting construction of over 300,000 household latrines, construction of piped water supply in core areas of nine pourashavas, albeit with delays and additional costs.

The Project was implemented as a bilaterally-executed project. This gives rise to inherent differences resulting from parallel management structures, multiple sets of roles and rules and differing personal and institutional loyalties.

Following the devastating cyclone Sidr (“The Eye”) in November 2007, the Project constructed 1,050 additional tube wells, 1,000 household latrines and other infrastructure in storm-ravaged areas.

Photo from the Danida report

The sustainability of DHTWs and household latrines in rural areas is seen as high. Additional management and technical support is required to ensure the long-term sustainability of piped water supplies in pourashavas and mini-piped systems in rural areas, as well as public toilets and school latrines.

The Project’s efforts to assist pourashavas to improve solid waste management and drainage was less than successful. The situation in pourashavas in these areas remains unsatisfactory. There are serious difficulties locating sanitary dumping sites, which pose a potentially serious environmental hazard.

Following the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness in 2005, the Project’s planning process and management has been more closely aligned with GOB and DPHE’s systems and procedures.

During its long life, the Project produced a wealth of documentation; manuals, guidelines, training and IEC/BCC materials. This material constitutes an important part of the Project’s contribution to the sector. Some of the most important and useful of these materials are listed in the publication.

In spite of its long life, the Project leaves behind unmet demand and a number of unresolved issues which will to a large extent determine the long-term impact of the Project’s many achievements.

A number of factors are seen as contributing to the Project’s successful achievements.

1. Conducive policies, strategies, regulations, rules and procedures adopted and practiced in implementing organizations
2. Experienced and dedicated professional/technical staff
3. Responsibility, commitment and accountability for results at all levels
4. Firm commitment to guidelines and procedures for poverty targeting, social mobilization and siting of facilities
5. Rate and quality of DHTW construction
6. Social mobilization/customer briefings supported by high quality IEC materials
7. Adequate cost-sharing to promote ownership
8. Cooperation from DPHE and local government (pourashava mayors and UP chairmen)
9. Appropriate and adaptable technologies to suit various hydrogeological conditions
10. Thorough documentation, accurate reporting, MIS and database updated and used
11. Baseline data, effect monitoring and impact assessments
12. Post-construction technical and managerial support for urban and school WSS facilities

The Project has helped to produce a number of competent sector professionals who continue to make important contributions to the sector. Outside the coastal belt, this may prove to be one of the Project’s most important and lasting legacies.

[1] Pendley, C.J. and Minhaj Uddin Ahmad, A.J. (2009). Learning from experience : lessons from implementing water supply, sanitation and hygiene promotion activities in the coastal belt of Bangladesh. Dhaka, Bangladesh, Royal Danish Embassy. 27 p.
Download full document [PDF file]

Web sites:

• Danish Embassy Bangladesh – Water & Sanitation
• Bangladesh – Department of Public Health Engineering
• GoB-Danida WSS Policy Support Unit

Contact persons:

• Dr. Guna N. Paudyal, Danida Senior Adviser, Bangladesh. (e-mail: guna [at] hysawa.org)
• Dr. Niaz Chowdhury, Programme Officer, Embassy of Denmark (e-mail: niacho [at] um.dk)
• Mr. Jan Møller Hansen, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Denmark, Dhaka. (e-mail: janmha [at] um.dk)

Rainwater harvesting: increasing food security in South Africa

It is estimated that 19 million people in South Africa are rural survivalists with traditional agrarian lifestyles. Of these at least 15 million individuals are living below the poverty line. In contrast farming contributes only 10% of material income for rural livelihoods. Furthermore, land resources in communal areas are largely under-utilised. In some villages in the Eastern Cape and Free State province, levels of food security have increased by means of maize and vegetable production in homestead backyard gardens. In the last mentioned case, this has been achieved through the technology and practice of in-field rainwater harvesting (IRWH) and conservation. This technique has been developed over fifteen years of on-station and on-farm research. It can be classified as a micro-catchment, on-farm method of water harvesting with runoff strips. “Through technology exchange the application of IRWH expanded to more than 1 000 households in 42 rural villages around Thaba Nchu” says Dr Gerhard Backeberg a Water Research Commission Director, in his paper presented in Göttingen, Germany, 14 to 16 July 2009 during the 2nd International Seminar on “Land Resources and Land Use Options”.

Large areas of croplands surrounding these villages are currently lying fallow and indications are that this land has not been productively cultivated for the last 25 years or more. There are clearly opportunities for up-scaling of IRWH from household food gardens to communal croplands. “Results of research station experiments demonstrate that e.g. maize yields increased by up to 50%, compared with conventional production techniques” says Gerhard. Innovative procedures have been developed and tested to identify suitable soils for rainwater harvesting. Through modeling the minimum area of farmland has been determined to meet the food security needs, expressed as either income or caloric requirement. It has also been shown that IRWH is viable in terms of conservation of soil and water resources, reduction of risk, social acceptability and economic feasibility. However, delineating suitable soils and calculating sizes of land holdings is only part of the solution to improve water productivity and rural livelihoods. Surveys in the area have shown that low levels of education are found amongst household members and that widespread poverty exists. Although the expectation is that exploitation of this land can enable households to produce enough staple grain crops for own consumption and also earn cash income with sale of surpluses, various obstacles have to be overcome.

In his presentation he mentioned that the current state of land use at Thaba Nchu is the result of a history of conflicts over legitimate rights and economic means to earn livelihoods. As for the whole of South Africa, a process of land reform is under way, which involves amongst others obtaining tenure security because of past discriminatory practices. The contention is therefore that communal croplands will only be accessed sustainably with secure land tenure arrangements. A pilot project to develop a land register of holdings by households on the communal croplands has confirmed the near collapse of the land tenure system. After consultation a participatory process has started to formulate rules that explicitly define the land holding and ensure exclusive use of the land for cultivation. Various formal groups have been established to ensure enforcement of rules and enable transfer of use rights by means of share-cropping or leases between those who are interested and not interested to farm. Successful up-scaling of IRWH will again require demonstration plots to change unrealistic perceptions regarding prospects of conventional tillage. Farmers, who are mostly women, must also receive skills training and have aspirations to improve livelihoods through more productive farming activities. “The available guide for farmer trainers and facilitators should be implemented for practical skills development to the benefit of women and revitalisation of rain-fed farming” says Dr Backeberg. Further applied research is also being undertaken to investigate appropriate marketing channels of food crops, financing of production inputs and support services of extension which have to be provided to farmers.

Read the full paper

Related web site: Multiple Use water Services Group

Source: Hlengiwe Cele, WRC, 18 Sep 2009

Water safety plans: assuring drinking water quality in rural South Africa

The Water Research Commission (WRC) has completed yet another study that aims to meet the water quality requirements of people in South Africa. There has been exponential growth of small treatment plants in the country with many of these being situated in rural areas with limited technical support. “Management of these water supply systems has been very difficult and water service authorities have to rely on limited resources to ensure that the water supply meets the minimum standards in terms of quantity and quality” says Dr Jo Burgess, the WRC research manager responsible for the project. A generic Water Safety Plan (WSP) manual produced by the WRC will enable South African practitioners to meet the Department of Water Affairs’ and World Health Organization’s (WHO) requirements for WSPs. The WHO has proposed that WSPs be implemented for each country, which will ensure that a sustainable water supply system is implemented and managed thus minimizing the health risks to the consumer.

According to Dr Jo Burgess, WSPs aim to improve water quality assurance through a multi-barrier concept. The multiple barrier principle implies that actions are required at all stages in the process of producing and distributing water, in order to protect water quality. This includes source protection, treatment (when applied) through several different stages, prevention of contamination during distribution (piped or non-piped) and maintenance within households. The role of indicators is seen as primarily being a means of verification of the WSP in meeting water quality objectives, rather than as a routine tool for monitoring water quality.

A WSP provides an organized and structured system to minimize the chance of failure through oversight or management lapse. The process provides consistency with which safe water is supplied and provides contingency plans to respond to system failures or unforeseeable hazardous events. Water safety plans can be developed generically for small supplies rather than for individual supplies.

“With the use of WSPs the determination of whether the drinking water supply chain as a whole can deliver water of a quality that meets health-based targets will be achieved’ says Jo Burgess. “They also provide control measures in a drinking water system that will collectively control identified risks and ensure that health-based targets are met” she adds. Measures of operational monitoring, that ensure that deviation from the required performance is rapidly detected in a timely manner have been included. Management plans describing actions taken during normal operation or incident conditions and documenting the system assessment (including upgrade and improvement), monitoring and communication plans and supporting programmes also form part of the WSPs. They aim to provide guidance on both day-to-day actions and long term planning, collectively ensure the provision of safe water, and aid system managers and operators in gaining a better understanding of the water supply system and the risks that need to be managed. A comprehensive checklist has also been included to ensure the proper use and maintenance of a WSP.

Copies of the WSP manual can be obtained by contacting WRC publications (012 330 9016 or orders [at] wrc.org.za and requesting a copy of report number TT415/09).

Related web site: WHO – Water Safety Plans

Contact: Dr Jo Burgess, Research Manager KSA 3, WRC, South Africa, e-mail: job [at] wrc.org.za

Source: Source: Jo Burgess, WRC, 28 Sep 2009

Hygiene promotion: lessons from Save the Children’s programme in Malawi

When Save the Children launched its School Health and Nutrition (SHN) program in Mangochi, Malawi in 1998, only 42 percent of schools had access to clean water and none had hand-washing facilities. [...] Only 54 percent of schools had separate facilities for girls. In 2003, when Save the Children expanded its SHN program in Malawi to Balaka district, the situation was a marginally better than it had been in Mangochi five years before [and] as in Mangochi, no schools in Balaka had hand-washing facilities.

Qualitative surveys conducted in both districts also showed that before Save the Children’s SHN program:

• Students traveled long distances to fetch water, which often made them late [to class or] miss class altogether;
• Girls who traveled to collect water faced harassment from boys and men;
• Girls missed school when they were menstruating due to the lack of privacy in school latrines;
• Students drank from unprotected shallow wells and rivers;
• Students did not wash their hands after using the toilet because there were no hand-washing facilities; and
• Despite the availability of facilities, many children did not use them because they were locked or unhygienic

To increase access to and use of safe water and sanitation facilities, Save the Children worked with communities, schools, and water and sanitation experts to construct and rehabilitate boreholes, latrines, and hand-washing facilities and to train teachers and communities on hygiene.

Separate, ventilated latrines with doors and handwashing facilities nearby not only promote good hygiene but also enable girls to consistently attend school. Photo. Save the Children

[...] Quantitative and qualitative end line surveys conducted in Balaka and Mangochi district in 2006 and 2007 respectively showed that the presence of adequate water and sanitation facilities have had a tremendous impact on children’s lives and communities.

Despite these important achievements, the project encountered a number of challenges:

• Only 33 percent of the handwashing facilities in schools were functional and none had soap or ash. [...] When communities provide soap, it usually gets stolen. Just 41 percent of children report hand-washing after visiting the toilet and only 28 percent of children said that they used soap and water the last time they washed their hands.
• Community resource efforts were not consistent. In less active communities that did not provide sand, bricks and labor, latrines and hand-washing facilities were not constructed. However, among most communities that did provide resources, community participation helped create a sense of ownership and ensured the facilities were well-maintained.
• Community members sometimes vandalized handwashing facilities [and] school committees could not always afford to [...] fix facilities quickly. To minimize these incidents, Save the Children directed communities to report all instances of vandalism to the police.
• Rural shop owners did not regularly keep borehole parts in stock, so community members had to travel long distances to buy them.
• Water monitoring assistants conducted frequent supervision of the water point committees to ensure the committees and the boreholes functioned properly.
• Monitoring of hygiene education in schools was infrequent, as primary education advisors rarely monitored the teaching of hygiene. [...] Some teachers said they were not comfortable with the topic due to its sensitive nature and the use of words such as “defecation.”

While Save the Children’s SHN program saw tremendous progress in improving access to safe water and adequate latrines, hand-washing remained a low priority for schools and communities. Hand-washing facilities are not maintained and children rarely wash their hands with soap or ash. A targeted campaign around the importance of hand-washing is needed. Save the Children’s experience in Mangochi and Balaka districts illustrate the importance of community participation and ownership along with regular supervision.

[...] After approximately 20 years of programming and ten years supporting School Health and Nutrition in the district, Save the Children is phasing its programs out of Mangochi. Malawi’s Ministry of Education adopted most of Save the Children’s School Health and Nutrition activities when it began a nation SHN program in 2007. Unfortunately, the provision of water and sanitation facilities is expensive and the government will probably not be able to bare the full cost to equip all schools with adequate facilities.

Source: Save the Children (2008). Improving water, sanitation, and hygiene behaviors in schools : successes and lessons learned from Mangochi District, Malawi. 4 p. Download here

Hygiene promotion: lessons from Save the Children’s Bangladesh programme

Save the Children’s School Health and Nutrition (SHN) program (2002-2008) in Nasirnagar, Bangladesh, provided water, sanitation, and hygiene facilities in 127 schools, reaching over 33,500 children. In 2006, the SHN programme integrated PHASE (Personal Health and Sanitation Education program) into its approach. PHASE, a hand-washing program targeting school-aged children, was developed and funded by research-based pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline. The programmes also helped to improve access to and use of household water and sanitation facilities.

School wall murals showing good health and hygiene practices. Photo: Save the Children

Despite its achievements, the SHN program encountered a number of challenges [1,2]:

• 13 percent of households continue to practice open defecation due to lack of funds for a latrine, lack of space for construction, or lack of knowledge;
• hand-washing habits were more difficult to change at the household-level than at the school-level;
• 57 percent of households still do not properly dispose of their waste, due to a lack of facilities away from households and the belief that children’s faeces is less harmful than that of adults;
• handwashing facilities were sometimes vandalised and replacement parts and repairs are costly and rely on external support;
• as there was not always enough time to provide school health and hygiene promotion lessons, Save the Children recommends adding a weekly health class to the national curriculum;
• the success of health and hygiene promotion depended largely on the participation of school management committees; and
• mothers’ gatherings and courtyard meetings needed to be held at convenient times in women’s daily schedules—usually between breakfast and lunch, and have the support of husbands and family members.

[1] Save the Children (2009). Improving water and sanitation in schools and communities : successes and lessons learned from Nasirnagar, Bangladesh. 6 p. Download here

[2] Save the Children (2009). Changing hygiene behavior in schools and communities : successes and lessons learned from Nasirnagar, Bangladesh. 5 p. Download here

Contact: Save the Children, Ikhtiar Uddin, ikhtiar@savechildren.org or Natalie Roschnik, nroschnik@savechildren.org

Web sites: Save the Children ; Schools & Health ; WASH in Schools

Can Water Services for Urban Poor in Kenya be improved?

 tsittoni@worldbank.org or Christopher Walsh at +1 202.473.4594, cwalsh@worldbank.org .

KISUMU, May 15, 2009—Water utilities must be committed to transferring existing customers to small-scale water providers, eliminate illegal connections, and take the lead in community outreach to improve water service for poor people living in urban areas,s aid a report released today by the Water and Sanitation Program (WSP).

This report, Improving water utility services through delegated management: Lessons from Kisumu, Kenya , explores a contractual relationship in Nyalenda, Kisumu’s largest informal settlement, between the local water utility and small-scale water providers as one type of partnership that can improve water service delivery for poor people.

“Experience shows that through partnership, utilities can improve water service delivery to the poor within their area,” said Wambui Gichuri, Regional Team Leader for Africa at WSP. “We hope the experience and knowledge captured here will inspire other water utilities in Africa and the world to explore a delegated approach to improving water service delivery to informal settlements.”

WSP developed this field note in order to disseminate the lessons learned in Kisumu after providing technical assistance to the Kisumu Water and Sewerage Company (KIWASCO) and the Lake Victoria South Water Services Board in the design, implementation, and post-implementation phases of the delegated management approach in Nyalenda.

For a copy of the full report, please click here.

For more information, please contact Toni Sittoni at + 254-02-322 6316,

Sanitation promotion: experiences from government-led initiative in southern Ethiopia

In Ethiopia’s Southern Nations Nationalities and People’s Region (SNNPR) an innovative programme has promoted latrine construction and use, hand washing and safe water storage and handling. The intervention is an example of how visionary government leadership can create the political momentum for low-cost sanitation and hygiene (S&H) and reach out to rural communities.

Papers from the Overseas Development Institute, in the UK, and the IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre, in the Netherlands investigate the SNNPR approach. The research was undertaken by Ethiopian researchers on behalf of the Research-inspired Policy and Practice Learning in Ethiopia and the Nile Region (RiPPLE) project.

[...] In 2003 the SNNPR Bureau of Health (BoH) began a new community health strategy, including S&H [which aimed] to reach households through paid health extension workers (HEWs) and volunteer community health promoters (CHWs) [and which] promoted latrine construction without any form of subsidy.

A combination of political promotion and institutional mobilisation was successful in launching and expanding the regional government’s strategy as a ‘movement’. [...] The key elements of the S&H strategy were designed to be politically attractive and administratively feasible, and were written in non-technical language.

The researchers found after the project:

• The proportion of households having latrines increased by a factor of eight.
• There was less acceptance of open defecation.
• Questionnaire results indicated better knowledge on hand washing, although actual practice remained poor.
• There were hand washing facilities in 82 percent of households, but only 6 percent were near the household latrine and few people used soap or detergents.
• Water storage and handling practices also remained poor.
• Men mostly decided latrine design, siting and construction, although women were involved in providing materials and plastering.

Despite these positive developments, doubts remain about sustainability and some latrines have collapsed [and] many are infested with flies. As CHWs are unpaid and receive little follow-up support or training, many have lost motivation. Higher levels of government have not provided enough technical support or monitored changes in household S&H behaviour.

[...] Aspects of the SNNPR experience which might help improve [sanitation elsewhere] include:

• promoting local, rather than donor-driven, S&H programmes and technology designs
• using community promotional change agents coordinated by local authorities in command and facilitation roles
• reviewing local S&H progress within wider health sector review processes
• ensuring that strategising, political positioning and communication are based on solid evidence
• realising that sanitation workers cannot make their case to high-level politicians without understanding the political dynamics around S&H.

Source: id21, 01 Apr 2009

Transparency: public accountability through “Citizens’ Voice” initiative, Cape Town, South Africa

The “Raising Citizens’ Voice in the Regulation of Water Services” is a public education initiative driven by the National Regulator (currently within the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry [DWAF]). It supports a bottom-up approach to water services regulation by actively involving citizens in the local monitoring of water and sanitation services.

It aims to empower citizens to hold local government accountable through:

• Training citizens about their rights and responsibilities, and then
• Setting up “User Platforms” which serve as monthly meetings between the municipality and the community for ongoing civil society water services monitoring and problem solving.

The initiative aims to build partnerships between the three spheres of government (national, provincial and municipal levels) and civil society.

Important lessons learned so far are:

• the need to secure political support, through getting endorsement and providing training to local government officials;
• after citizens are trained, User Platforms should be established as soon as possible to keep them engaged;
• ensure citizen ownbership of User Platforms and not let them become a public relations vehicle for local government.

Read the full story in the WIN-SA lesson series no. 20 “Public accountability through “Citizen’s Voive”: City of Cape Town shares good practice (March 2009).