Water
Services Trust Fund was established under 2002 Water Act to provide
support in the access of water and sanitation facilities to under-served
areas.
Services Trust Fund was established under 2002 Water Act to provide
support in the access of water and sanitation facilities to under-served
areas.
This is done though Community Project Cycle (CPC) programme in the
poorest rural sub-locations in the country as well as the Urban Project
Concept (UPC) programme in the urban informal settlements.
Water Services Trust Fund attracts proposals from Communities,
District Water Offices (DWOs) and Water Service Providers (WSPs) on an
annual bases through CPC and UPC Calls. These water institutions answer
to the calls with proposals and WSTF then decides which proposals are to
be funded.
Benefits of the Urban Project Concept (UPC)
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| Every Kenyan has the Right to adequate quality water |
- Improvement
of water supply infrastructure in the informal urban settlements (
Network extension, Water storage, Different delivery models- Water
Kiosks and Yard taps) - Regulation and efficient management of service provision in the informal settlements ( Metering, Reducing NRW, Improved Revenue)
- Improvement of public sanitation in markets, bus parks or densely populated settlements
- Promoting the WSPs’s delivery presence in low income areas
- Ultimately; improved service levels- Quantity, Quality, Time and
Cost ( vis a vis water vendors); and increased coverage ( MDGs)
For a Proposal to be Approved;
- Application form must be completely filled, and be consistent
- Application must have all the requisite attachments- MoU on Land,
Pipeline layout, Profile drawings, Water quality report etc, as
stipulated in the toolkit - Target area:The area selected for the project must meet the WSTF
criteria- beneficiaries must be urban poor. Majidata – Mapping out of
poor areas done in collaboration with the service providers - Data should be comprehensive: In some cases, where Majidata team had
not yet done the mapping, the service providers had to get data from
public health office, for instance – Get data that is as up to date as
possible - Project Concept: The project must meet the requirements as
stipulated in the call – Target area and beneficiaries, Funding
ceilings, Scope, etc - Proposal must meet the required timeframe – challenge!
- District Water Officers assisted the WSPs especially in surveys, preparation of profiles
Challenges Faced when Preparing the Proposals and how to Tackle Them
1.Staff constraintsTo deal with this constraint;
- Plan and stick to plan to avoid being time barred
- Conceptualize the project early and think through possible
bottlenecks ( source of water, land issues e.t.c. Then you can assign
tasks) - Seek technical support if technical capacity in the company is constrained – DWO?
2. Lack of equipment required – GPS, survey equipment e.t.c
- Liaising with the District Water Officers helps; through the Water Services Board if difficult
4. Sanitation proposals are few.
- Very few Water Service Providers have sewerage treatment plants.
The other challenges is whether the target beneficiaries will pay for
the service
5. Lack of commitment
- Prepare a proposal that will stand the test- think about the big
picture, ( mandate to serve those in low income areas); as well as the
details (presentation, completeness etc)
6. Time frame for proposal preparation too short?
- Utilities should identify as many projects as possible ( Through Performance Contract)
- Refine rejected proposals based on feedback from Water Services Trust Fund.
Useful Tools for Water Sector Investment Planning
- Majidata is an important database that gives information on water and sanitation situation in low income areas.
- Wasbit is another tool that can be used to identify the needy sub-locations.