Water Governance in African Cities

Climate change

Demographic changes (population migration or displacement, growth, etc.)

Urbanisation (sprawl, informal settlement growth, etc.)

Economic development and growth

Food insecurity (increasing water demand from the agricultural sector)

Global crisis/emergency-driven events (health shocks, political instability, armed conflicts, geopolitical unrest, etc.)

Urbanisation (sprawl, informal settlement growth, etc.)

Demographic changes (population migration or displacement, growth, etc.)

Fighting poverty and social inequalities

Institutional and territorial reforms (decentralisation, aggregation and mergers of regions/provinces/municipalities)

Fighting waterborne diseases (malaria, dengue, etc.)

National laws, regulations and initiatives

Local mayor leadership and commitment

International donors, development agencies

Citizen pressure, civil society organisations

United Nations human right to water and sanitation, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and/or Agenda 2030

Too much water (floods)

Too little water (droughts)

Too polluted water (e.g. contaminated surface/groundwater sources)

Insufficient coverage of water and sanitation services

Ageing, obsolete infrastructure/Lack of infrastructure

Competition/conflicts over water allocation

Waterborne diseases (malaria, dengue, etc.)

1.5 Please describe more specifically 3 key water risks your city is presently facing, providing some key data and trends:

If yes, please specify which ones:

Tariff regulation

Definition of quality standards for drinking water

Monitoring of quality standards for drinking water

Definition of quality standards for wastewater treatment

Monitoring of quality standards for wastewater treatment

Defining public service obligations

Defining technical/industry and service standards

Setting incentives for efficient use of water resources

Setting incentives for efficient investment

Information and data gathering

Monitoring of service delivery performance

Customer engagement

Consumer protection and dispute resolution

Licensing of municipal water operators

Supervision of contracts between utilities and private actors

Overseeing/analysing water utility investment plan/business plan

Services

Number of service providers

Names of service providers

Operator status

Water supply

Sanitation

In-house domestic connection

Yard-tap, shared connection

Public tap, stand-pipe

Decentralised provision through networks managed by communities

Boreholes, wells

Tanker trucks

Bottled water

Rainwater collection

Other, please specify which other form of sanitation facility:

Flush/pour-flush to piped sewer or septic tank or pit latrine

Flush/pour-flush to open drain

Ventilated improved pit latrine, pit latrine with slab

Open pit

Buckets

Hanging toilet/latrine

Other, please specify which other form of sanitation facility:

2.5 Does your city participate in the decision-making process of a river basin organisation? Please use the drop-down menu provided to answer yes/no in the appropriate cell.

Inter-municipal co‑operation

Subnational institution dealing specifically with water (e.g. river basin organisations, water agency, etc.)

Shared databases and information systems

Performance indicators

Co‑ordination platforms between local and/or authorities and utilities

Other, please specify which other mechanisms:

Co‑ordination mechanism:

2.8 In your country/state/region, is there a dedicated water and/or sanitation services regulatory agency? Please use the drop-down menu provided to answer in the appropriate cell.

If yes, is the United Nations right to water and sanitation recognised in this law? Please use the drop-down menu provided to answer yes/no in the appropriate cell.

If yes, is such policy:

Indicating clear goals?

Indicating clear duties?

Indicating resources needed?

Including emergency strategies?

Being regularly monitored?

If yes, is such policy:

Indicating clear goals?

Indicating clear duties?

Indicating resources needed?

Including climate resilience aspects?

Being regularly monitored?

In case of prioritised allocation, please rank from 1 to 5:

Domestic uses

Industry

Energy

Irrigation and breeding

Environmental sustainability

Poor populations

People living with disabilities

Indigenous peoples and ethnic minorities

Population living in informal settlements

Women or female-headed household

Other, please specify:

3.6 In your city, are all people guaranteed a minimum amount of water for their basic needs? Please use the drop-down menu provided to answer yes/no in the appropriate cell.

If yes, please specify the nature of these measures:

Social tariff

Social connection rate

Both

Other, please specify which other social measure(s):

Annual budget auditing of water and sanitation services, or municipal water-related spending

Annual disclosure of financial information of water and sanitation services

Clear budget transparency principles and rules applied

Anti-bribery management systems

Whistle-blower protection policies

Institutional anti-corruption plans, codes of conduct or integrity charters

Clear procurement processes

Random integrity testing or audits

Clear and mandatory processes to prevent potential conflict of interest

Other, please specify which other mechanism(s):

Land use and spatial planning

Building codes and housing

Transportation

Solid waste management

Public health

Tourism

Manufacturing industry

Energy

Agriculture

If yes, do they guide decision-making in your city?

4.2 In your city, are water accounts separated from city accounts to ensure clear identification of water money revenues and spending? Please use the drop-down menu provided to answer yes/no in the appropriate cell.

Sources of funding

Tariffs

Subsidies from the central, regional and/or local government

Financial transfer from international aid

Bulk water tariffs

Retail water tariffs/user charges

Water abstraction charges

Water pollution (effluent) charges

Fines and penalties

Other, please, specify which other economic instruments:

4.5 Is there uniform guidance at the national or subnational levels to set tariffs, abstraction or pollution charges, or groundwater tax? Please use the drop-down menu provided to answer yes/no in the appropriate cell.

5.1 Did your city carry out a stakeholder mapping to make sure that all those that have a stake in the outcome or that are likely to be affected are clearly identified, and their responsibilities, core motivations and interactions understood? Please use the drop-down menu provided to answer yes/no in the appropriate cell.

Service providers and/or their national professional organisations

Regional/provincial government

Local government (other than your own municipality)

Inter-municipal/metropolitan authority

Central government

Subnational institution dealing specifically with water (e.g. river basin organisation, water agency, etc.)

Regulator

Business/Industry

Irrigators and their associations

Civil society, non-governmental organisations (NGOs)

Financial actors (donors, international financial institutions, investors)

Science, academia and research centres

Customers and their associations

Trade unions and workers

Advisors (e.g. engineering, consulting firms)

International organisations

Media

Vulnerable groups (e.g. poor populations, indigenous peoples, ethnic minorities, etc.)

Key local partners (e.g. village chief, community/neighbourhood or street leaders, etc.)

Poor populations

People living with disabilities

Indigenous peoples and ethnic minorities

Population living in informal settlements

Women or female-headed household

Other, please specify which other group:

Subnational institution dealing specifically with water (e.g. river basin organisations, water agency, etc.)

Associations of water utilities, water regulators, etc.

Survey/Polls/Referendum

Hotlines

Workshops

Meetings

Expert panels

Citizen committees

Traditional media (newspaper, newsletter, television, radio)

Web-based communication technologies (online platforms, email, social media, website, application, etc.)

Survey, poll (households or citizens’ satisfaction, etc.)

Benchmark

Evaluation report (effectiveness, efficiency, impact…)

Other, please specify which other mechanisms:

Consultation “capture” (lobbies, over-representation of certain categories, etc.)

Lack of funding to support stakeholder engagement

Lack of time and/or means (e.g. staff)

Lack of political will, commitment and/or leadership

Weak legal framework to support stakeholder engagement

Stakeholder consultation “fatigue” (difficulty to maintain motivation)

Political discontinuity (turnover of staff, shifting priorities, etc.)

Misaligned objectives of stakeholders

Resistance to change

Low capacity to engage in consultation (education, training)

Complexity of issues at hand

Geographical distance from decision-making cores (e.g. remote areas)

Decision-makers’ fear of losing influence and power

If yes, please specify how the data are reported:

Cost of water services (transporting and supplying water; collecting and treating wastewater; staff cost, energy cost, etc.)

Cost recovery and prices in relation to consumer income and purchasing power

If yes, please indicate the average share of water invoice in household income (%)

Knowledge of assets, maintenance of infrastructure programmes to ensure sustainable operation, maintenance and renewal

Drinking water and wastewater quality controls against specified standards

Projections/scenarios with reference to climate change and exposed lives and goods, risks of floods, drought and accidental pollution

Meteorological data, including data on rainfall

Data on water abstractions, flows and pressures

Historical data on water disasters

Data on vulnerability (human beings and properties)/exposure to risk

If yes, please specify if they are:

Part of a harmonised, integrated, standardised and co-ordinated information system across the country?

Publicly available and communicated to users?

If yes, please specify how they are communicated to users:

Fragmentation of municipal authorities, and/or of service providers

Lack of staff (technical, managerial), knowledge and/or competency on water

Lack of funding (due to low tariffs, difficulties in collecting tariffs, affordability issues, etc.)

Low level of investment (due to weak prioritisation of investment, lack of multi-annual strategic plans and multi-annual budgets, etc.)

Competing water uses (agriculture, energy, households, etc.)

Incomplete, outdated and/or fragmented data

Lack of policy coherence (agriculture, health, energy, urban development, etc.)

Lack of river basin or catchment-oriented management

Lack of conflict resolution mechanism

Corruption and/or political interference

Weak or missing public procurement processes

Weak regulatory authorities and/or weak enforcement

Low citizen awareness and stakeholder engagement

Lack of monitoring and evaluation of public policies

Strategies

Build, operate or maintain water infrastructure

Raise citizen awareness on water risks

Foster co‑operation with cities and/or national government

Develop legal or regulatory frameworks

Enhance stakeholder engagement

Catalyse water financing

Build capacity of officials and stakeholders