Sustainable Water and Sanitation for Africa – Nigeria (SUWASA-Nigeria)
Sustainable Water and Sanitation in Africa (SUWASA) is a regional initiative of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), implemented by Tetra Tech, with a mission of fostering the transformation of water and sanitation delivery services in Africa to achieve long-term financial sustainability through the application of market-based principles. SUWASA is designed to spread effective models of reform at the water utility and sector levels, and to facilitate innovative financing approaches for African water providers.
The program is building partnerships with utilities and small service providers, governments, donors, communities and businesses to demonstrate and promote best practices both for water service reform and governance, as well as innovative financing strategies. SUWASA puts special consideration on improving and expanding the delivery of water and sanitation services in urban and peri-urban settings, with a focus on meeting the needs of the poor. Working through local partners and networks, the program supports countries committed to reform initiatives with technical assistance and capacity building, supplemented with limited financial support for infrastructure as required.
Activity Description
SUWASA worked with the state government, the Bauchi State Water Board, and key stakeholders to design and implement an urban water sector reform project. This included developing a state water and sanitation status overview, as well as developing a strong institutional structure built on the foundation of a clear legal and regulatory framework, in order to create an enabling environment for better and improved utility operations. The main goal of this was to improve and expand access to safe, affordable, sustainable, and reliable water services.
The SUWASA Reform Project aims to implement critical reforms to address institutional weaknesses in the sector and create an enabling environment for better urban water service provision. To achieve this, SUWASA is working with the Ministry of Public Utilities to help identify the sector-specific constraints and systematically address identified issues to improve the overall performance of the sector.
To address these structural weaknesses, SUWASA is supporting the Ministry of Water Resources and Rural Development in finalizing its reform agenda set out in two frameworks - the Rivers State Water Policy 2012 and the Rivers State Water Sector Development Law No.7 of 2012. Specifically, SUWASA is helping Rivers State to develop a regulatory framework, establish a regulatory commission and establish the Rivers State Small Towns Water Agency to provide services to secondary towns outside of Port Harcourt.
