module 3 wash governance (presentation)

Good governance in the

WASH sector

Module Three

2 Good GovernanceWASH Governance

In this presentation

• What is governance?

• What is good governance?

• What is water governance?

• What is local governance for water, sanitation and hygiene services?

• What are the key elements of a service?

• How is good governance put into practice for WASH services?


Definition of governance

• There are many definitions of governance

• Some place more emphasis on the role of government

• Others focus on the interaction between different role players and the need for co-operation

• Most definitions refer to decision making and how this takes place in relation to public goods and services

• Most recognize that governance is much more than government


Governance concept

• The term governance originally equated governance with government

• But now it seen as much broader than government to include relationships between state and non-state institutions

• Governance is about the processes by which decisions are made and implemented

• It is the result of interactions, relationships and networks between the different sectors (government, public sector, private sector and civil society) to ensure optimal services


What is governance?

• ‘Governance’ refers to ‘power and authority and how a country manages its affairs’

• It ‘encompasses all the mechanisms, processes, relationships and institutions through which citizens and groups articulate their interests and exercise their rights and obligations’ (DFID,2007a).

• It involves decisions, negotiation, and different power relations between stakeholders to determine who gets what, when and how.


Governance stakeholders• Governance involves more than government - many

stakeholders are involved

• All those with a legitimate interest in the outcome of a decision-making process have a right to be involved

• Stakeholders include communities, governmental organisations such as municipalities, utilities and other state owned entities, as well as service providers, capacity building organisations, NGOs, contributors of finance, the users of services and organisations that support them.


Systems of governance

• Systems of governance range from centralised, top down approaches to those that are more decentralised and participatory

• Increasingly WASH services are being decentralised

• Good governance for WASH services will therefore require participatory approaches that are shaped by stakeholders and their relationships at the local level


Governance for sustainable WASH services

Governance for sustainable WASH services includes all the relationships, mechanisms, processes, and institutions through which stakeholders can mediate their interests, exercise their rights and obligations and make decisions for the delivery and provision of services

9 WASH Governance

Good governance

Good governance, water governance and local governance


What is good governance? • Good governance involves positive co-operation between

the different sectors where the result is: efficient use of resources responsible use of power, and effective and sustainable service provision

• Good governance emerges when stakeholders engage and participate with each other in an inclusive, transparent and accountable manner to accomplish better services free of corruption and abuse, and within the rule of law


Good governance

• People want to be governed well. They want to have a say in matters that affect their lives – such as the services they receive and what they pay for those services

• Good governance is a complex process

• It is influenced by the overall governance framework within a particular country, such as the country’s constitution, its policies, its customs and traditions, politics, local conditions and developments and also global conditions such as the global economy

• There is no blueprint for good governance


Good governance? ‘Toilet wars’, 30 June 2010, South Africa


Inclusive of all members of

society

Public finance for decentralization and

accountability

Strengthening civil society Protection of

human rights Transparency,

equity, accountability

Promotion of democracy

Decentralisation

Gender mainstreaming

Fair legislation

Responsive services

Consensus about society’s best interests

Protection of the environment

Good governance


Commitment to good governance

Countries need to create their own good governance frameworks, through locally led participatory processes.

“Without ‘good’, or at least ‘good enough’, governance the fight against poverty cannot be won.” (1)

(1) Dfid, 2007: Governance, Development and Democratic Politics: DFID’s work in building more effective states


What is water governance?• Water governance is the set of systems that control

decision-making of water management and water service delivery

• Water governance is about who gets what water, when and how

• Water governance is profoundly political particularly where there is competition for limited water resources

• Systems of water governance usually reflect the political and cultural realities at national, provincial and local levels


More effective water governanceNeeds to address:

Policy and legislative frameworks that protect water resources and ensure water for social and economic development

Institutions for water management that facilitate participation of all stakeholders in a transparent, accountable, gender sensitive and equitable manner

Decisions making mechanisms and regulation that achieve responsible use of political power, optimal use of resources, sustainable development and ecological sustainability


Good water governance requires a multi-dimensional approach

• Multi-jurisdictional engagement (local, municipal, provincial, national, international)

• Multi-purpose development

• Multi-sector planning

• Multi-sector management

• Multi-stakeholder institutions

• Multi-purpose support and regulation


What is local governance?• Local governance is the set of:

policy frameworks structures mechanisms relationships and decision making that takes place at the local level to deliver a service

• Local governance varies from country to country

• It depends upon the constitution, policy and legislation of a country

• The greater decentralisation, the more developed local governance frameworks are likely to be


National Framework: constitutional, policy, legislative and

fiscal environment

Enabling policy

frameworks

Mechanisms for participation, responsiveness, equity,

inclusiveness, transparency, and accountability

Collaborative stakeholder relationships

Participatory decision making

processesInclusive

implementation processes

Efficient, effective and responsive

services

Good local governance


According to the Minister’s Budget Speech all sorts of

arrangements have been made to improve water governance

which will allow “communities to participate in their own

development”

According to the Minister’s Budget Speech all sorts of

arrangements have been made to improve water governance

which will allow “communities to participate in their own

development”

Getting governance right


What is local governance for water, sanitation and hygiene services?

• It is the decisions, processes and relationships governing WASH services at the local level

• It involves all stakeholders who have an interest or role in WASH services, including the public, private and civil society sectors

• Because water is key to development, local governance of WASH involves all those stakeholders involved in integrated development


Hygiene

National policy and legislative framework

Local Governance

Local governance for WASH services

SanitationWater

WASH


WASH governance is broader than water, sanitation and hygiene

Integrated Development

Water

Electricity

Sanitation and Hygiene

HousingTransport

Waste management

Health

WASH governance is part of governance for local integrated development


Advocacy and communication to promote WASH services so that communities can express demand and make choices

Structures and mechanisms for stakeholder participation where all stakeholders come together to make good choices and decisions

Mechanisms to ensure transparent and accountable governance and service provision

WASH institutions have access to capacity support so that they have the necessary structures, systems, capabilities, expertise, and skills to ensure good governance of WASH services and sustainable provision

Good governance practices for WASH


WASH stakeholders have access to sector learning and sharing, including peer sharing and sector knowledge management

Approaches to addressing WASH governance and services provision are gender sensitive and ensure equity where the needs of the poorest are taken into account

The WASH sector takes responsibility for realising the right to WASH services for people living with HIV and AIDS

Good technology choices are recognised as key to achieving sustainable services provision

Systems and procedures for monitoring, evaluation and reporting are in place

Good governance practices for WASH


Good governance

Capacity supportCapacity support

Advocacy and communicationAdvocacy and

communication

Sector learning and sharing


Addressing HIV /AIDs challenges


Monitoring and evaluation


Technology choice

Technology choice

Transparency and

accountability

Transparency and

accountability

Gender and equity

Gender and equity

Stakeholder participationStakeholder participation

Good governance practices


How is good governance put into practice for WASH services?

• Good governance cannot be applied in a vacuum• It needs to be applied to the different elements of

WASH services – from policy, through to planning, to financing, to developing infrastructure, to providing the service and ultimately to regulation

• The different elements of a WASH service are addressed in the next session

28 WASH Governance

Good governance

Governance elements of a WASH service


The honeycomb• What are the six main governance elements of a

water and sanitation service?


WASH governance

FinanceInstitutional arrangements for service provision

RegulationPlanning

Policies and bylaws1

2

3

4

5

6

Infrastructure development

Governance elements of a WASH service


Elements of a service

• An enabling environment which at the local level includes the policies within which WASH services must be delivered

• Planning services (for the municipal / district / local area)

• Finance (capital and operating and setting tariffs)

• Infrastructure (development of new infrastructure and maintaining existing infrastructure)

• institutional arrangements for the ongoing provision of the services (a water service provider)

• regulating the service to ensure that it is provided according to the policy and bylaws


Policy

• There should always be national policy for water, sanitation and hygiene services. In some countries there may be separate policies for water and for sanitation

• Local authorities may also have their own WASH policy which deals with their local context but are in line with national policy

• Local policies ‘give shape’ to national policy in terms of how national policy will be applied in the local area

• Without WASH policy there are is no ‘framework’ for providing WASH services. For example how does a local authority know what levels of service can be provided and to who?


Bylaws

• Bylaws are the ‘rules’ that govern the provision of services at the local level

• Bylaws are the legislation of municipalities, similar to the legislation made by national governments.

• Bylaws must be aligned to national legislation otherwise they are invalid

• Bylaws are intended to give effect to the policies of municipalities

• Bylaws deal with matters such as credit and debit control, illegal connections


BylawsBylaws contain conditions for the provision of WASH services, including:•the standard of services•technical conditions, quality standards, levels of service•provisions for the development and operation of infrastructure•the determination and structure of tariffs and payment for services•dealing with illegal connections


WASH planning• Water and sanitation services need to be planned for a

local area – usually an area of jurisdiction - as part of integrated development

• The planning process must support informed decision making about water, sanitation and hygiene services, particularly to communities who do not have access

• Planning includes data collection and analysis, stakeholder participation, strategic decision making, project identification and prioritisation, and allocation of resources to implement plans


What should be addressed in a WASH development plan?

• information about consumers, where they are located, what their WASH requirements are, and the number of people without access to adequate WASH services

• existing and proposed infrastructure • water resources within the area• approximate capital and operating costs of the WASH services• targets (timeframes) and financial arrangements for new water and

sanitation services (including tariff structures)• water service provider arrangements including operation and

maintenance for planned infrastructure• arrangements for monitoring and evaluating services, including

consumers feedback


WASH financing

• Adequate investments need to be made to ensure access to services by all

• Local authorities need to promote sustainable, affordable and financially viable water and sanitation services

• This includes designing appropriate financial instruments to ensure an adequate income

• Financial planning should also allocate sufficient capital funds for preventative maintenance and rehabilitation of assets (infrastructure)

• The WASH budget for an area must address both capital and operational budgets as well as sources of income to determine any financial gaps


WASH financing• Mechanisms and decisions that influence financial viability

include: the tariff structure, subsidies, investment choices, credit and debit control policies, and revenue management.

• Financial management at the local authority level includes a range of activities including:– Investment and revenue planning (including tariff setting)– Raising grant and loan funds– Budgeting– Raising income: billing and revenue collection– Banking– Maintaining accounts – Financial reporting



• One of the biggest challenges facing local government is maintaining and extending water and sanitation infrastructure

• Infrastructure development includes the entire project cycle (for capital projects) including all the processes necessary to ensure on-going services provision

• Capital projects typically include all those works that involve a major investment of time and resources to improve WASH infrastructure

• .


Infrastructure developmentFrom a governance perspective, infrastructure development includes all the activities to plan, manage and monitor capital projects .This includes •Infrastructure planning and investment•Identifying new infrastructure projects (capital projects)•Overview of the implementation of capital projects through the project cycle •Ensuring that sustainability issues are addressed through the project cycle including arrangements for on-going service provision (i.e. who will be the water / sanitation service provider)•Asset management, including the replacement of assets at the end of their life


Project Approved

Commissioning

WASH Project Cycle

Evaluation

Ongoing service provision

WASH project cycle

Good governance practices should take place

throughout the project cycle to ensure sustainable

WASH services


Institutional arrangements for service provision

• WASH services can be provided by a range of entities depending upon a country’s policy and legislative framework

• These include local government itself, a community based organisation (CBO), a large or small private entity, a utility, a state owned water company, an NGO, or a combination of these

• The entity that provides the service is typically called a service provider, or water service provider.

• Deciding which entity should provide WASH services in a particular area is one of the most important governance decisions


Institutional arrangements for service provision

Factors that influence service provision arrangements include:•the location and size of the area to be served•the number of consumers•the type of technology to be operated•availability of water resources•financial arrangements •existing skills and expertise•access to capacity supportFor example, in remote rural areas, a CBO is usually required since other entities do not have easy access to the infrastructure


Regulation

• The purpose of regulation is to protect consumers• It is also to ensure that services comply with national

standards and with local government’s policies and by-laws

• Regulation needs to ensure that WASH services are efficient, effective, affordable and sustainable

• As WASH services are increasingly decentralised, local government becomes accountable to communities for the effective delivery of services


Local regulation• Local government as the local authority is typically

responsible for ensuring compliance with by-laws.• It is also responsible for monitoring the quality, quantity and

overall delivery of the services• In regulating the service provider, key performance indicators

need to be set against which to measure performance such as drinking water quality, quality of wastewater discharged, and how often the service is interrupted

• A good monitoring and reporting system is needed to monitor standards and performance as part of the regulatory function

46 WASH Governance

Good governance

Applying good governance to WASH services


WASH governance


RegulationPlanning

Policies and bylaws 1

2

3

4

5

6


• The WASH governance elements provide a framework for applying good governance practices


WASH governance


RegulationPlanning

Policies and bylaws

1

2

3

4

5

6


Good governance

Good governance

Good governance practices need to be

applied to each of the WASH governance

elements


It needs to address the entire service delivery

‘life cycle

Good governance from policy to sustainable services

Planning Infrastructure development

Policy Service Provision

The development of good policies requires: participation, advocacy, communication, gender, equity, transparency, monitoring support, accountability, sector knowledge sharing, and so on.

The development of good policies requires: participation, advocacy, communication, gender, equity, transparency, monitoring support, accountability, sector knowledge sharing, and so on.

The same applies to planning services, deciding tariffs and subsidies, implementing capital projects and ultimately providing the service

The same applies to planning services, deciding tariffs and subsidies, implementing capital projects and ultimately providing the service

Financing


WASH governance


RegulationPlanning

Policies and bylaws

1

2

3

4

5

6


Capacity supportCapacity support

Advocacy and communicationAdvocacy and

communication







Technology choice

Technology choice

Transparency and

accountability

Transparency and

accountability

Gender and equity

Gender and equity

Stakeholder participationStakeholder participation

Thank you

module 3 wash governance (presentation)

Business

services good governance

local governance

definitions of governance

term governance

equated governance

definition of governance

effective water governance

good governance countries