The Limits and Possibilities of Prepaid Water in Urban Africa : Lessons from the Field

Heymans, Christiaan ; Eales, Kathy ; Franceys, Richard

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: ACCESS TO SERVICES;    ACCESS TO WATER;    ACCOUNTABILITY TO CUSTOMERS;    ADEQUATE WATER;    AFFLUENT;   

RP-ID  :  90159

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

This study explores the potential ofprepaid meters for serving urban poor communities. Itprovides urban utilities, oversight agencies, and otherstakeholders in Africa with a basis for decision-making onthe suitability, introduction, and management of suchmeters. The need for the assessment emerged from prepaidmeters increasingly being utilized by water and sanitationutilities in developing countries, including World Bankclients. The technologies adopted have expanded over thisperiod, but there has been a lack of consolidated data andanalysis that capture the service delivery, operationalefficiency, and access to services aspects of such systemsacross utilities and regions systematically. The reviewinitially aimed to research experiences in six Africancountries from the perspective of their communities, as wellas from water sector bodies, governments, and otherinvestors. The number of case studies was increased to eightwith the addition of Windhoek in Namibia and Nakuru inKenya, as it became apparent that they may offer additionallessons. Windhoek, for example, is one of the prepaid waterpioneers in Africa. The study specifically canvased theperspectives of customers, including market research andopinion surveys on people s experience and views of prepaidwater in practice. Women and children were well representedin many of these groups. The analysis aimed to be robustlyinvestigative, deliberately not advocating for prepaidsystems in principle, or making firm recommendations, butrather offering balanced analysis and assessment, andconsiderations to inform policymakers and sector leaders, aswell as other stakeholders who may face decisions orchallenges on such systems. One of the key conceptual basesthat the analysis identified was the need to differentiatebetween prepaid applications of prepaid system forstandpipes, individual connections, and institutional andcommercial customers each of which have differentimplications for their users, as well as for costeffectiveness. Utilities must be able to justify theinvestment in a prepayment system and its opportunity costsspecific to the application they choose, and relative toalternative means of improving services.