Abstract
Public-private partnership has increasingly become a preferred public service delivery approach in the provision of water services in Kenya. As a strategy, PPP in water service provision was started in Kenya following water sector reforms as contained in the Water Act 2002. In order to establish the impact of PPP on water service delivery in Kenya, a household survey of 288 respondents from seven (7) Water Service Providers (WSPs) comprising four Water Utility companies and three Community Water projects, under the Lake Victoria South Water Services Board (LVSWSB) umbrella was conducted. Using quantitative techniques to analyze the data under governance theory, the study established that compared to the period up to 2004, the households experienced better services in the year 2012 in terms of water quality, affordability, access and customer service levels as currently observed compared to the period up to 2004 to the extent that public institutions that had adopted more private sector participation performed better than those that have not. On average, there was reduction in: distance to water point reduced by 78.3 m; frequency of coloured water by 0.2 days, time taken to restore water 3 days within the ten years period.
Highlights
A Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement refers to cooperation between the public and private sectors in providing public goods
The outcomes of the public-private partnerships in the provision of water services as obtained from the household data from the seven sampled Water Service Providers (WSPs) were assessed in terms of customer service, quality of water, affordability of water, accessibility to water, policy implications and presented in successive sections of this paper
Whereas Boya community project partnered with Sustainable Aid in Africa International (SANA), an NGO, to facilitate water supply in its area of operation, Kisumu Water and Sanitation Company (KIWASCO) partnered with AFD to increase access to water in informal settlements of Nyalenda in Kisumu city while West Karachuonyo community water project, which was a scheme of South Nyanza Water and Sanitation Company (SNWSCO), through Koguta community water project received facilitation from WSTF to extend water pipeline by 13 kilometres
Summary
A Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement refers to cooperation between the public and private sectors in providing public goods. It does not mean that public private partnerships have been successful in improving water service delivery in all instances. The Government of Kenya allowed private sector participation on a large scale in water sector from the year 2003 as a means of enhancing access to safe water following the enactment of Water Act 2002 (K’akumu, 2004). It engaged in a systematic commercialization of water departments by injecting private sector management by forming Eight Water Service Boards (WSB). The paper argues that appropriate public private partnership led to improved water service provision in terms of access to water affordability, coverage, and quality and customer service in Kenya and reversed the poor performance ob-.
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