Aims
To build towards introduction of a sanitation surcharge that can provide a revenue stream for supporting the recurrent costs of sanitation services in low-income areas of Kenyan cities.
Findings
Findings indicate that 1) feelings of trust that money raised through a surcharge would be spent properly, and 2) solidarity with neighbours who have to use poor sanitation facilities are both important. The research also found that it will be easier to introduce a surcharge of this type if it’s associated with improvements in the quality of water and sanitation services as experienced by bill-payers themselves.
Median WTP was 100 Kenya shillings (Ksh) per month, around $1. If applied across all of Kenya’s 91 utilities, this could potentially raise up to 1.6 billion Ksh annually, around $16 million.
Next steps
This research project received excellent support from WASREB, the Kenyan national water regulator. WASREB are now working with the County Government of Nakuru and NAWASSCO (the utility in Nakuru) to introduce a pilot surcharge. The exact design of the surcharge is in development, and the pilot is scheduled to begin in 2019.
Read more
- Blog: August 2017 – Are water utility customers in Kenya willing to pay more to improve sanitation in low-income communities?
- Report: Feb 2018 – WASREB workshop report: Sanitation surcharges: a potential contribution to urban sanitation financing?
- Policy Brief: March 2018 – Willingness of Kenyan water utility customers to pay a pro-poor sanitation surcharge
- Blog: March 2018 – Could a new ‘Sanitation Development Fee’ improve sanitation for low-income urban Kenyans?
- Journal article (World Development): March 2019 – Cross-subsidies for improved sanitation in low income settlements: Assessing the willingness to pay of water utility customers in Kenyan cities