Privatisation, participation and potable water

Mathare valley slums, Nairobi. Source: Thomas Mukoya / Reuters

Neoliberal reform has had a marked impact on Africa and on the wider global south. The 1980s saw structural adjustment programmes by the World Bank and IMF intent on opening up the domestic markets of developing countries to global trade (see Cammack 2004). The outcome has been an extension of market doctrine and, as regards water in the urban environment, the idea that the consumer must always pay. 

It’s the concern of Jaglin’s (2002) article that in those parts of SSA where consumers can’t stump up the cost, participatory action has become the key mechanism of cost recovery. That is to say that where they cannot afford to pay in full, individuals and user groups are made to carry out infrastructure maintenance, local network enhancements and management system improvements by themselves (see my last blog on Kisumu for a groundwater-based example).

At first glance this might seem a clever way to ensure that the poor aren’t left behind in a market-orientated economy. However, participatory action carries with it some quite considerable drawbacks. Of the two that I will mention here, the first is that it places the responsibility for infrastructural improvements at the feet of the people who have the least means to carry them out. Where a tax based system might be used to ensure equitable access across an urban area, participatory measures can only serve to entrench inequalities. 

The second, and related, criticism is that participatory action encourages a continued reliance on informal resellers and networks, as opposed to the extension of better quality services to low income neighbourhoods. Whilst unpiped supplies have some recognised benefits (see Solo 1999), they tend to result in less potable water and associated problems with sanitation (see blog here). 

I hope that this post has provided some insights into the relationship between one of the main development theories and the problems of urban water access in Africa. If anyone wants to dig deeper into this topic Jaglin’s paper is definitely worth a look!