Sustaining & Improving the Water Supply & Sanitation Sector

Abstract

Fifty (50) years after independence, Zambia is still grappling with poor water and sanitation provision and remains underdeveloped. This is despite its vantage position of being endowed with a large fresh water resource base and well distributed system of perennial lakes and rivers, coupled with good rainfall patterns. Challenges of poor infrastructure, increased population and urbanisation, lack of sufficient funding, slow technological advancement, among others, continue hindering the provision of safe water and sanitation to expected levels. These have contributed much to the present major barriers to social and economic development facing the country, thereby impeding human development. This paper aims at advancing the need to use PPPs as a source of financing, value addition and as tools for enhanced social and economic development, to ensure sustainable and improved water and sanitation provision. The PPP concept has become one of the preferred options used world over in the delivery of public services such as water and sanitation (Lengwe, 2014). PPPs have been implemented in many industrialised and developing countries as tools for social and economic development (ONG, 2003). Many countries have experienced PPPs in both combined water supply and power and water supply (Fall et al., 2009). Given the changing economic, social and political environment, coupled with globalisation and budget constraints, PPPs have become unavoidable and indeed desirable in many countries worldwide (School of Built & Natural Environment, 2001). The need for PPPs in many countries has therefore been exacerbated by the public sector’s recognition of the vital role of modern infrastructure in economic growth, thus accepting PPPs as important avenues for funding major public sector infrastructure projects. Developing countries, Zambia included, could therefore use PPPs as tools to assist in mainstream water at the centre of development, while at the same time, the need to create an enabling environment in terms of policy, legislation and effective institutional framework is paramount in sustaining and improving the water sector.