Water for the urban poor : Côte d'Ivoire's experiment with private and informal sector cooperation

Abstract

The urban poor in developing countries, many of whom live in illegal squatter settlements at the periphery of the city, often have insufficient access to affordable, clean water. Both public and private utilities are often unable or unwilling to install piped water connections in these neighborhoods, and, as a result, the poor tend to rely on individual, informal vendors who sell water at very high prices. In an effort to bridge this service gap and provide the urban poor with easy and affordable access to water without investing in costly infrastructure, some public utilities have tried to form agreements with vendors to use them as an extension of their distribution network. In an era of increasing private sector participation in water treatment and distribution, some private companies are considering similar arrangements. This thesis presents the results of field-work conducted in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, where the private water utility has, since 1960, attempted to forge a partnership with vendors in the informal sector. The system of "registered vending" that the utility has implemented is promising in that, as long as the utility is prohibited by law from extending the network into illegally settled neighborhoods, it enables the residents of these neighborhoods to obtain at least a minimal amount of clean water. However, the system could be strengthened, and the lessons learned from this experiment may be helpful for other private utilities considering similar cooperative arrangements with water vendors in the informal sector.