Performance of management contracts in small towns water services

Although national and international institutions have put much effort in the field of water supply improvement during thelast few years, coverage figures are still low. Many developing countries are taking initiatives to develop mechanismsof improving delivery of water supply services. One of the initiatives being employed is delegated management of waterservices to the private sector, through management contracts. Uganda started water sector reforms in 1997 and took stepsto increase involvement of the private sector in management of its urban water services through management contractsin 2001. In Uganda, only 60% of urban areas and 55% of rural areas have access to improved water services. Againstthis background, this paper reports on research undertaken in Uganda, with the objective of analysing the performance ofmanagement contracts in the recent and still on-going reform and private sector participation process of the water sector.The research, which was undertaken as part of an MSc study, followed a case study methodology, and comprised a literaturereview, customer surveys, focussed group discussions and key informant interviews. The paper presents the researchfindings, and concludes that well planned and designed management contracts can potentially improve performance ofsmall towns water systems for the benefit of the users of services.