Enabling policy environment for water operator partnerships in the Southern African Development Community

Water service provision has typically been primarily regarded as a government endeavor, especially in developing countries. Various concepts of partnerships have been promoted over the past five decades in the sector, primarily to improve service provision. Among these partnerships, water operator partnerships (WOPs) have been distinguished as a leading concept that promotes easy access to water supply and sanitation. Several WOPs exist worldwide with varying partnership types and characteristics. For WOPs to thrive effectively globally, an enabling environment has to be provided. More so for developing countries that are more susceptible to socio-economic and climate change factors that affect water service delivery. This paper evaluates the enabling policy environment for WOPs in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region. Data used for the study include literature from the Global Water Operator Partnerships Alliance (GWOPA) WOPs database, as well as other online resources, enabling a detailed understanding of different case studies in the SADC region on a North–South and South–South basis. It must, however, be noted that data availability on the database is dependent on the utilities engaged in the WOP recording and uploading it, and this affected the scope of the study. The database provided three in-depth case studies from Mozambique, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe, and extensive literature review provided an additional in-depth case study from Malawi. Strategies such as water reforms and multi-stakeholder partnerships are highlighted in aiding the WOPs. Findings show that current policies in the region make provisions for partnerships but are not explicit or exhaustive on the different forms of partnerships. The lack of an intermediate third party in countries such as Malawi negatively affects the relationship between the utilities and, subsequently, the success of the WOP. Strategies such as capacity building and stakeholder participation can assist in creating a more enabling policy environment for WOPs.