Delegated management of water and sanitation services in urban areas: experiences from Kumasi, Ghana

Historically, water and sanitation service providers in lowincome
countries have struggled to accommodate rapid
urban expansion, and particularly to serve the poor in
peri-urban areas. One way to approach these challenges
is to develop alternative approaches to service delivery,
incorporating innovative institutional and contractual
arrangements, and involving partnerships between
communities, utilities, the private sector and regulators.
This Topic Brief focuses on a delegated management model
developed in Kumasi (Ghana), where a WSUP-facilitated
partnership between the water utility, the Metropolitan
Assembly and a community management committee is
starting to play a key role in expanding the provision of clean,
affordable water and improved public toilet facilities in the
low-income district of Kotei. The Brief explores the nature of
the model, the contractual arrangements, and the central role
of the community management committee. It also examines
the potential for scale-up and replication.