If water was petrol, would the policy debates be different?
Mary Mutinda, CC
Researcher @ UN-Habitat, Global Reports & Trends Unit, Knowledge & Innovation Branch.
By Mary Mutinda* and Joan Kones** *Program Officer – Partnership for African Social and Governance Research (PASGR); **National Research Coordinator – Kenya Water and Sanitation Civil Society Network (KEWASNET)
The current state of play on access to water in Kenya
Picture this. You gather your family round the dinner table. You prepare a tasty meal with the sweetest aroma and all nutritious benefits in check. And just before you plate the food, YOU THROW AWAY HALF OF YOUR PREPARED MEAL!
Sounds ridiculous right?
Yet, that is precisely the case for water services in Kenya with Non-Revenue water (water that is produced but “lost” before reaching the end – customer) accounting for up to 47%[1].
Another way to look at it: If water was petrol today, How would the tone of urgency change in the conversation tables on unaccounted for resource? Would we elevate the conversation? Would we see different actors on the policy table??
But. Water is Petrol Today?
?The urgent case for action
The ridicule of lack of alarm at the rate of wastage of the produced water resource turns to trepidation when you reflect on the current state of affairs in the backdrop of the August 1995[2] statement of Egyptian born noted author and founding chairman of the Global Water Partnership, Professor Ismail Serageldin
“If the wars of this century were fought over [crude] oil, the wars of the next century will be fought over water -- unless we change our approach to managing this precious and vital resource" Ismail Serageldin
This prophesy sadly seems to manifest with the Water conflict chronology[3] recording a doubling of water conflict globally as well as in Sub-Saharan Africa in the last decade (From 2010) compared to the previous decade (2000 – 2010). In August 2021, the World Bank[4] reported that up to 10% of global immigration is attributable to lack of water with many migrants moving to urban areas increasing the stress of dry taps in urban areas.
?The question of governance
Situating the puzzle of access to water in Kenya, the reality of 47%[5] of water produced being “lost” vis a vis 44% of the population lacking access to clean water supply is baffling. (Ondigo et al., 2018).
Though there is no magic bullet to realizing the shared vision articulated by the?Kenya Ministry of Water, Sanitation and Irrigation[6] “To ensure water resources availability and accessibility by all”,there is consensus that a positive step lies in first making better use of the resources already available especially for an increasingly urbanizing society.
The Water Services Regulatory Body (WASREB) views Non-Revenue Water as a governance issue. Governance encompasses the rules (both formal and informal), relationships and information flow among different actors to hold the people in charge accountable. This is easier said than done. Water management in Kenya is a devolved function with polycentric actors. It’s a maze in determining where the buck stops in all the interconnected parts.
Quoting Albert Einstein, the CEO of KEWASNET, Malesi Shivaji quipped “In the midst of every crisis lies great opportunity”. The present day COVID – 19 pandemic and the demand for Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) has elevated the question of water on the policy table with policy makers thirsty for an effective way to engage and realized desired outcomes.??
领英推荐
?
Utafiti Sera Approach
Acknowledging on the one hand, the centrality of improved water governance in moving the needle to bridge the vision gap and on the other hand that at the heart of better governance is inclusive stakeholder engagement informed by evidence, PASGR in partnership with KEWASNET constituted the Water Governance Utafiti Sera house that brings together key actors in the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene sector from grassroot, civil society, academia, county to national policy making level.
Utafiti Sera is a PASGR flagship approach to Evidence Informed Policy Making (EIPM) that entails forming of community of stakeholders and facilitating structured activities that enable appropriate and negotiated civic action and policy uptake around a public problem where there is research evidence.
On 24 September 2021 the members of the Water Governance Utafiti Sera house officially kicked off the 8 – month evidence informed deliberations aimed at improving water governance in Kenya under the leadership of the House Champion Engineer Festus Ng’eno[7].
The House champion, well knowledgeable in the technical and policy matters from national to county level will support the house in framing the public problem and policy solutions from a position of knowledge and authority particularly connecting the deliberations to the policy levers of Sustainable Development Goal -SDG 6, Kenya Vision 2030 and the Big 4 Agenda in Kenya.
The initial Evidence informed focus areas for the Water Governance House include:
?The desired outcome in April 2022
Whereas at the end of its term in April 2022 we may not see a tsunami of transformation in the number of running water taps, the Water Governance house will desire to have deepened trust and engagement with key stakeholders in the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Sector, have buy in from key stakeholders to drive policy uptake in improving governance as well as identified key follow up actions to see to the full implementation of policy recommendations arising from the stakeholder deliberations.?
[5] See 1