Water supply and sanitation in Mozambique is characterized by low levels of access to at least basic water sources (estimated to be 47% in 2015), low levels of access to at least basic sanitation (estimated to be 24% in 2015) and mostly poor service quality. In 2007 the government has defined a strategy for water supply and sanitation in rural areas, where 62% of the population lives. In urban areas, water is supplied by informal small-scale providers and by formal providers.
Beginning in 1998, Mozambique has reformed the formal part of the urban water supply sector through the creation of an independent regulatory agency called CRA, an asset-holding company called FIPAG and a public-private partnership (PPP) with a company called Aguas de Moçambique. The PPP covered those areas of the capital and of four other cities that had access to formal water supply systems. However, the PPP ended when the management contracts for four cities expired in 2008 and when the foreign partner of the company that served the capital under a lease contract withdrew in 2010, claiming heavy losses.
While urban water supply has received considerable policy attention, the government has no strategy for urban sanitation yet. External donors finance about 85% of all public investments in the sector. The main donors in the water sector are the World Bank, the African Development Bank, Canada, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States.
Access
Only about 47% of the Mozambican population has access to an at least basic water source, and only 24% has access to at least basic sanitation. Consequences on living conditions are multiple, ranging from poor health to lower productivity due to the time needed to fetch water.
Figures on access are controversial. For example, the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Program for Water Supply and Sanitation estimates access to an at least basic source of water supply at 79% in urban areas and 32% in rural areas as of 2015. However, the Ministry of Public Works uses the water access figures of 38% in urban areas and 40% in rural areas. The numbers for rural access are derived from the number of boreholes and an estimated average number of households using a borehole.World Bank: WATER SERVICES AND INSTITUTIONALSUPPORT PROJECT, Project Appraisal Document, p. 32
Urban (38% ofthe population) Rural (62% ofthe population) TotalWater 'At least basic' definition 79% 32% 47% House connections not available not available not availableSanitation 'At least basic' definition 47% 12% 24%Sewerage not available not available not available Source: Joint Monitoring Program for Water Supply and Sanitation of WHO and UNICEFJoint Monitoring Program for Water Supply and Sanitation:Data Table Mozambique , retrieved on 19 August 2012
There are also conflicting figures about what are the target figures to meet the MDGs for water and sanitation by 2015. According to a World Bank document it means urban access to water increasing to 78% and rural access increasing to 56%. However, according to a MDG status report it means increasing access to 70% in both urban and rural areas.
Service quality There are few published reliable data on water and sanitation service quality in Mozambique. Many water systems provide water intermittently. However, four cities – Beira, Pemba, Quelimane and Nampula – have achieved continuous or almost continuous water supply as a result of private sector participation, increasing the hours of water supply per day from 9 hours (Beira and Quelimane) and 17 hours (Nampula and Pemba) in 2002 to 22–24 hours in 2007. Water supply in Maputo remains intermittent, increasing only slightly from 12 to 14 hours.
History
National Water Policy of 1995 and institutional reforms In 1995, Mozambique approved a National Water Policy that emphasizes community participation and, for urban water supply, private sector participation. In 1998 the World Bank approved its First National Water Development Project in support of the National Water Policy. Other donors provided co-financing for the project.
In 1998 two key institutions were created to implement the National Water Policy: The regulatory agency CRA and the Asset Holding Company FIPAG. The government also approved a water tariff policy aiming at cost recovery.
Private sector participation (1999–2012) In 1999 the government competitively awarded a hybrid lease/management contract for seven cities to an international consortium called Aguas de Moçambique (AdeM), which was led by the French firm SAUR (35%) and included Aguas de Portugal (32%). For Maputo and Matola the contract consisted of a 15-year lease and for the other cities of a 5-year management contract.Horacio Zandamela:The Maputo water concession, 2002 p. 17 AdEM also included a 30%-shareholding by a Mozambican holding company called Mazi of Mozambique consisting of six local shareholders. AdeM's financial bid was substantially lower than that of the closest competitor. According to a World Bank study, it ultimately proved to be unrealistically low.Horacio Zandamela:The Maputo water concession, 2002, p. 6
By 2001 AdeM had encountered serious financial difficulties, exacerbated by the impact of the disastrous 2000 Mozambique flood. When an independent review denied tariff increases to compensate for the flood damages, SAUR withdrew from the contract in October 2001. In December it sold its shares for a nominal amount to Águas de Portugal. Subsequently, FIPAG and AdeM renegotiated the contracts, obtaining higher fees and improvements in the specification of service obligations and procedures.World Bank/Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility: Delegated Management of Urban Water Supply Services in Mozambique, accessed on August 26, 2009
In 1999 the World Bank approved the Second National Water Development ProjectWorld Bank: National Water Development Project (02), retrieved on 29 December 2012 In 2004 the five-year management contract for the smaller cities was extended by three years. The contract was subsequently extended by another year and ended in March 2008, so that only Maputo remained under private management. The World Bank's 2006 completion report of the first project "rated the outcome for the project satisfactory, its sustainability likely and its institutional development impact substantial".
In December 2010 the government, through FIPAG, bought the 73 percent of the shares in AdeM held by Águas de Portugal, thus effectively and unspectacularly ending the era of private sector participation in urban water supply in Mozambique four years before the end of the lease contract in 2014. Águas de Portugal said it had made losses of 10 million Euros. The sales price had been determined by the International Finance Corporation and was set at 2.6 million Euros. In August 2011 AdeM changed its name to Águas da Região de Maputo (Waters of the Maputo Region), reflecting in its name the reduction of its service area that had occurred in 2008.
In 2004, FIPAG entered into a three-year contract with the Dutch company Vitens under which the latter provided management support services and training in four small southern cities – Xai-Xai, Chokwe, Inhambane and Maxixe. Another contract between FIPAG and Vitens was signed in 2006 for services in five additional small cities in central Mozambique – Tete, Moatize, Chimoio, Manica and Gondola. At the time, these contracts were considered transitional arrangements to prepare the services for more conventional delegated management.
While Vitens' obligations under the first contract were similar to those in AdeM's management contract, its services were provided free of charge and its staffing arrangements were quite different. While AdEM management changed constantly and its expatriate-only team was based in Maputo only, according to a World Bank study, Vitens used a staffing model with only the team leader residing in Mozambique, assisted by short-term experts from the Netherlands. The Dutch team developed a close working relationship with Mozambican team members, thus strengthening local capacity.
National Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Program (2007 onwards)
Through the Decentralization Law of 1997, which created municipal governments with elected leaders, and the Law of Local State Organs of 2003 the 129 district and 11 provincial governments of Mozambique are supposed to gradually take over more responsibilities in various fields including water supply. Decisions about investments are expected to be taken at the local level. However, the district and provincial governments often still lack the financial and human resources to carry out their responsibilities. In 2007 a National Rural Water and Sanitation Strategic Plan has been adopted, which led to the decision to create Provincial Water and Sanitation Services (SPAS) in 2009 and the establishment of a common fund for rural water supply and sanitation (PRONASAR) in 2010.
Canada, the Netherlands, UNICEF, Switzerland, the UK and the African Development Bank contributed to the Common Fund. The 129 districts of Mozambique are the focal point for planning and implementing the program. In 2010/11 a baseline water supply and sanitation survey has been carried out covering 2,500 households in 75 districts.
In mid-2011 the director and financial administrator of the central regional office of the Asset Holding Company (FIPAG), José Duarte and Henriques Leonardo, were fired because they were accused of having created a private water supply company, Recta, which competed with FIPAG to supply water to ships in Beira port. A year later they were arrested after the case against them had been compiled. The affair is said to have caused FIPAG losses of 37 million meticais (US$1.23 million).
Responsibility for water supply and sanitation For urban two public Asset Holding Companies – FIPAG in the 13 largest cities, AIAS in secondary towns – own the water and sewerage assets. Besides them, informal small-scale independent water providers own and operate local piped water systems in urban areas without a formal license. In Maputo alone, there are 450 such operators that provide water to 350,000 people. In rural areas, community-based organizations are in charge of maintenance of water infrastructure.
Policy and Asset Holding Companies The National Directorate of Water (DNA) in the Ministry of Public Works and Housing is in charge of policy for water supply. The Water Supply Investment and Asset Fund – the Fundo de Investimento e Patrimonio do Abastecimento de Agua (FIPAG) – is an asset holding company in Maputo and several other cities. It operates under triannual performance contracts with the Ministry of Public Works and Housing. In 2009 a second asset holding company – the Administração de Infraestruturas de Abastecimento de Água e Saneamento (AIAS) – was created for urban sanitation and water supply in secondary towns. The Ministry of Health is in charge of setting and monitoring compliance with drinking water standards.
Regulation The urban water supply sector is regulated by the regulatory agency Conselho de Regulacao do Abastecimento de Agua (CRA). Its mission is “to ensure a balance between the quality of the service, the interests of consumers and the financial sustainability of the water supply systems.” It does so by approving tariffs, setting service quality targets, monitoring compliance with the targets, reviewing investment programs and hearing complaints by users and municipalities. CRA does not yet have the mandate to cover urban sanitation service or small-scale independent water providers.Quem somos – Apresentação do CRA , retrieved on 29 December 2012
Service provision