National Water Supply and Sanitation Policy - An Overview

National Water Supply and Sanitation Policy - An Overview Dr. D. Bashir National Water Resources Institute Presentation at the National WASH Policy Workshop at Crest Hotel, Jos on 7th to 9th Nov., 2006

Outline of Presentation • Preamble • Justification for Policy • Policy Goal and Targets • Consumption Standards • Policy Objectives, Strategies and Instruments • Institutional Provisions • Manpower Development • Funding Principles and Cost Sharing • Management of External Grants and Loans • Inter Agency Relationships • Observations D.Bashir: An Overview of the National WSS Policy

Preamble • The National Water Supply and Sanitation (WSS) Policy was approved and lunched in 2000 • The Policy started with giving the historical perspective of the WSS sector including: • Development of water supply in Nigeria • De-merging and merging of the FMWR • Development of the RBDAs • Involvement of ESAs especially UN Agencies in these developments • Water resources situations in the country were highlighted D.Bashir: An Overview of the National WSS Policy

Preamble • The Policy then presented the water supply situation in the country at both rural, small town and urban levels • The sanitation in the country was also presented • Lessons learnt from the WSS Decade (in the 1980s) were also highlighted • The existing organizational structure of the WSS sector was discussed • The existing funding arrangements were also highlighted D.Bashir: An Overview of the National WSS Policy

Need for Policy • Inadequacies in the Nigerian WSS industry call for a well articulated approach to WSS towards a systematic development of the industry over a defined period of time • The approach should define an acceptable National Policy that will set up: • a planning process, • research and manpower development, • institutional structure, • legal framework, and • financing strategy D.Bashir: An Overview of the National WSS Policy

Policy Goal “The centre-piece of Nigeria's water supply and sanitation policy, shall be the provision of sufficient potable water and adequate sanitation to all Nigerians in an affordable and sustainable way through participatory investment by the three tiers of government, the private sector and the beneficiary” D.Bashir: An Overview of the National WSS Policy

Policy Targets • The initial target is to meet the national economic target of improving service coverage from 40% to 60% by the year 2003. • Extension of service coverage to 80% of the population by the year 2007. • Extension of service coverage to 100% of the population in the year 2011. • Sustain 100% full coverage of water supply and wastewater services for the growing population beyond the year 2011 D.Bashir: An Overview of the National WSS Policy

Consumption Standards • Rural Water Supply • ≥ 30 litres per capita per day • ≤ 250 m to community of 150 to 5,000 people • 250-500 people per water ponit • Small Town Water Supply • Population of 5,000 – 20,000 • ≥ 30 litres per capita per day • With reticulation and limited or full house connections • Urban Water Supply • Population > 20,000 • ≥ 120 litres per capita per day • Full reticulation and consumer premises connections D.Bashir: An Overview of the National WSS Policy

Policy Objectives • Increase service coverage for water supply and Sanitation nationwide to meet the level of socio-economic demand of the nation in the sector. • Ensure good water quality standards are maintained by water supply undertakings. • Ensure affordability of water supply and sanitation services for the citizens. • Guarantee affordable access for the poor to basic human need level of water supply and sanitation services. • Enhance national capacity in the operation and management of water supply and sanitation undertaking D.Bashir: An Overview of the National WSS Policy

Policy Objectives … • Privatise water supply and wastewater services (where feasible) with adequate protection for the poor. • Monitor the performance of the sector for sound policy adjustment and development for water supply and sanitation. • Legislations, regulations and standards for water supply and sanitation. • Reform of the water supply and sanitation sector to attain and maintain internationally acceptable standards D.Bashir: An Overview of the National WSS Policy

Policy Strategies • Increase service coverage • Ensure maintenance of good water quality standards by all providers • Ensure affordability of WSS services for citizens • Guarantee affordable access for the poor to basic human need level of WSS services • Enhance national capacity in O&M of WSS undertakings • Privatise water supply and wastewater services (where feasible) with adequate protection for the poor • Monitor the performance of the sector for sound policy adjustment and development of WSS D.Bashir: An Overview of the National WSS Policy

Policy Strategies … • Develop or review legislations, regulations, standards and laws for WSS • Reform the WSS sector to attain and maintain internationally acceptable standards based on the following guiding principles: • Water is an economic good • Equity and poverty alleviation • Autonomy of WSS services providers • Management at the lowest appropriate level • Participaion: Government MDAs, OPS (operators, banks, consultants), NGOs & communities • Policy making and regulatory role of government D.Bashir: An Overview of the National WSS Policy

Policy Instruments • The instruments for the operation of WSS policy shall be: • the various Federal, State and Local Government laws and bye-laws establishing the: • RBDAs, • State Water Agencies, and • Local Government WES Departments • and their respective water supply regulations and water quality standards D.Bashir: An Overview of the National WSS Policy

Existing Legislative Provisions • Federal Level: • Decree 101 of 1993 vesting rights and control of water to the FG • Decrees establishing 12 RBDAs as implementing agencies • Decree 3 of 1985 establishing the NWRI as the training and research arm in the sector • State Level: • Acts setting up State Water Boards, RWSSAs and STWSSAs • LGA Level: • Various laws setting them up defining rural water supply as one of their primary functions D.Bashir: An Overview of the National WSS Policy

Institutional Responsibilities • Federal Ministry of Water Resources • Policy formulation, resources & demand surveys, M&E, Coordination, R&D • Establishment and operation of WQL & MN • Maintenance of database on WSS facilities and performances • Mobilisation of national and international funding and technical support • Provision of technical support to States and LGs WSS Agencies and Committees • Creating enabling environment for PSP • Provision of framework for the regulation of PSP • Assist individual agencies and be responsible for the maintenance of the hydrological network D.Bashir: An Overview of the National WSS Policy

Institutional Responsibilities … • River Basin Development Authorities • Establishment and supply of bulk water • National Water Resources Institute • Manpower training, Research, Development and studies under the National Water Supply Training Network D.Bashir: An Overview of the National WSS Policy

Institutional Responsibilities … • State Water Supply Agencies • Establishment, operation, quality control and maintenance of urban and semi-urban water supply systems • Licensing and monitoring of private water supply • Monitor the quality of water supply to the public • Provide technical assistance to the Local Government rural water supply units D.Bashir: An Overview of the National WSS Policy

Institutional Responsibilities … • LGAs • establishment, operation and maintenance of rural water supply schemes in conjunction with the benefiting communities through; • the establishment of a unit that shall be • technically equipped, • adequately funded and • Appropriately mannedunder the National Water Supply Training Network D.Bashir: An Overview of the National WSS Policy

Manpower Development • Policy recognised the inadequacy of manpower and provides that: • The 3 tiers of Government should provide adequate training programs to meet manpower requirements • To achieve this, 5% of the annual personnel and overhead costs for water supply shall be allocated to manpower development at each tier of Government D.Bashir: An Overview of the National WSS Policy

Funding • To meet policy objectives, N404.5b will be required to address the absolute demand gap as at 2000 • An average of about 25 billion Naira per year to meet up with the additional increase in capacity of the existing water supply systems and establishment of additional ones • the 3 tiers of government shall accord this the highest ranking in priority by allocating adequate funds to enable raising the urban and rural coverage for water supply to a national average of 60 percent from the then 40% D.Bashir: An Overview of the National WSS Policy

Funding Principles for Capital Projects • The following funding principles shall apply for capital projects: • The Federal, State, Local Governments and beneficiary communities shall share cost of capital investment in water supply and wastewater projects. • The funds shall be raised through budgetary allocation, loans from financial institutions, raising bonds, contribution from communities by rates and levies, and external loans • Banks shall be directed to loan money to the water supply sector as they are now lending to the agricultural sector D.Bashir: An Overview of the National WSS Policy

Cost Sharing for Capital Investment S/Town WS 50% 30% 15% 5% Rural WS 50% 25% 20% 5% Urban WS 30% 60% 10% 0% Federal Gov. State Gov. Local Gov. Community D.Bashir: An Overview of the National WSS Policy

Funding Principles for Recurrent Costs • The principle of sustainability ensures that little or no subvention from Government is required to support O&M: • For rural water supply operation government intervention will be in the form of technical assistance in the training of local private tradesmen and community mobilization. • For small towns water supply O & M is to be funded though tariff paid to private operator where the community retain ownership of the facility. • For urban water supply appropriate tariff structure should cover the cost of production, O&M as well as replacement D.Bashir: An Overview of the National WSS Policy

Cost Sharing for O & M S/Town WS 0% 0% 0% 100% Rural WS 0% 10% 20% 70% Urban WS 0% 100% - Tarrif 0% 0% Federal Gov. State Gov. Local Gov. Community D.Bashir: An Overview of the National WSS Policy

Management of External Grants Assistance • The policy recognises the need for external grant assistance to supplement Local, State, and Federal funding for the implementation of the RWSS Programme. • These funds can be channelled through the Federal Government to State and LGA Construction Grants Accounts as done for external loans. • A project management unit at the state level linked to the State RWSSA may be established to provide technical assistance and to recommend to the Federal Government disbursement from the grant funds. • To ensure overall coordination of external inputs; ESAs should collaborate and plan their assistance through the FMF, NPC and FMWR. • The State RWSSA Director and FMWR would be expected to report periodically on the status of disbursements of grant funds to the relevant ESA D.Bashir: An Overview of the National WSS Policy

Management of External Loans • External grants/soft loans for RWS/S will be negotiated at the Federal level and on lent to the State Governments. • The FMWR, through the FMF, should act as the central recipient agency for lending in the sector. • As external-financing agencies will generally require specific accounting, disbursement, and auditing procedures to enable them to monitor the use of loan/ funds, a separate domiciliary account should be opened for this purpose. • Whichever agency is implementing (State or Federal) should be responsible for producing the counterpart funds D.Bashir: An Overview of the National WSS Policy

Inter Agency Relationships • Federal Ministry of Water Resources shall: • Formulate National Policy • Coordinate the activities of all the Water Supply Agencies (WSAs) in the country • Through its Department of Water Supply and Quality Control, give policy advise to the States on • water supply activities, • issues concerning expected levels of service (quality and quantity), • standards for equipment and materials, • guidelines on loan sourcing, and • other technical information necessary for planning and effective operation D.Bashir: An Overview of the National WSS Policy

Inter Agency Relationship… • The River Basin Development Authorities shall: • report to the Ministry on the quantity of water harnessed, sold and/or released for water supply and • other relevant data on their dams, storage and appurtenances D.Bashir: An Overview of the National WSS Policy

Inter Agency Relationship… • External Support Agencies shall: • Clear their programs, including loans and grant proposals with the Federal Ministry of Water Resources before embarking on their implementation. • Made available to the Ministry records of such ensuing arrangements biannually D.Bashir: An Overview of the National WSS Policy

Inter Agency Relationship… • The State Water Agencies shall: • provide information on their existing and proposed projects to the FMWR including • water supply sources, • volume of water pumped, • quantity of chemicals, • data on water quality, • pipe types, sizes and lengths, and • any other relevant information that would be required by the FMWR. • provide technical support to the LGAs in the areas of planning, design and supervision of their water supply schemes D.Bashir: An Overview of the National WSS Policy

Inter Agency Relationship… • The State Water Agencies shall: • be autonomous and self-accounting; with the following conditions • establish a supervisory outfit which shall be headed by a personnel higher than the General Manager of the SWA who • shall have direct access to the State Chief Executive and/or the State Executive Council • should preferably also act as the chairman of the Board of the SWA • coordinate all water supply activities in the State, including rural water supply D.Bashir: An Overview of the National WSS Policy

Inter Agency Relationship… • The Local Governments shall: • be responsible for water supply to the rural areas in conjunction with the benefiting communities • Maintain records of their water supply activities including their operational outfit • make copies of the records available to the State Supervisory Outfit on a bi-annual basis D.Bashir: An Overview of the National WSS Policy

Observations • The Policy has greatly marginalize sanitation • Virtually all the policy provisions are related to water supply • The Sector has long realized this and the National Water Sanitation Policy has been approved by the NCWR and is awaiting approval of Federal Executive Council and National Council of States D.Bashir: An Overview of the National WSS Policy

Observations … • Policy vested the responsibility for rural water supply to the LGs • Provisions for funds requirements and sources were adequate but policy guidelines for implementation are missing • Cost sharing arrangements are rational but require tremendous political will D.Bashir: An Overview of the National WSS Policy

Observations … • Too much responsibilities vested with the FMWR while its implementing agencies (RBDAs and NWRI) have few • Following responsibilities could have been assigned to the implementing agencies: • Data collection • Water resources and demand surveys • Research and Development • Database management • Maintenance of hydrological network • Operation of the National Water Quality Laboratories and Monitoring Network D.Bashir: An Overview of the National WSS Policy

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National Water Supply and Sanitation Policy - An Overview