The Mozambican Minister of Public Works, Felicio Zacarias, said on 29 June 2009 that the reforms in water supply that began in 1995, and which have led to delegating the management of urban water supply in major cities to private consortia, have produced positive results. Investments in water systems have lead to an increase in the number of people they serve, and in the number of hours of supply per day.

Zacarias was speaking in Maputo during the launch of a World Bank case study [1] on the decentralisation of water supply in Mozambique. Based on a study from 2000-2007 the average period of supply in the area under delegated management is 18 hours a day, and in some cases it reaches 24 hours a day. In the urban areas covered by delegated management, 54 per cent of the population now has access to clean drinking water. Many challenges still remain, including the need to ensure improved levels of satisfaction among consumers and expanding water systems to peri-urban areas.

[1] Triche, T. (2009). Delegated management of urban water supply services in Mozambique : case study of FIPAG and CRA. Washington, DC, USA, World Bank. iv, 60 p. Available in English and Portuguese

Related news: Mozambique: agreement signed for sector wide approach in water, Source Weekly, 03 Oct 2009

Source: Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique / allAfrica.com, 30 Jun 2009

Tags: africa, financing, governance, policies & legislation, urban wash, water supply