Editorials
Defer new water tariffs to ease consumer burden
Monday March 13 2023
Water and sewerage costs are set to rise under new World Bank-backed reforms. FILE PHOTO | NMG
Kenya’s ageing water and sanitation infrastructure could certainly do with some upgrades and expansion.
Service providers blame its condition for their inability to meet the growing demand for clean and safe drinking water and proper sanitation in the country, especially in highly populated urban areas.
Their view is shared by the World Bank, which has in its latest advisory recommended, among other reforms, increasing water and sewerage tariffs to cover 150 percent of the operating costs of the State-backed water firms from the current 105 percent.
The push for tariff adjustment is understandable given that the last time the charges were reviewed was five years ago.
But introducing higher water and sewerage tariffs for consumers amidst a high cost of living crisis in the country would be problematic.
It would add to the burden on households currently grappling with costly energy, cooking oil and staple maize flour.
Official data show households have had to knock off some goods and services from their budgets to navigate the turbulent times.
For its part, the government has allowed duty-free imports of essential food items to address shortages and high prices.
The high cost of living aside, adjusting tariffs isn’t the only option available to the water companies if they need to reasonably improve service delivery.
They should consider, for example, sealing loopholes for revenue leakages in their operations and conducting regular maintenance of the infrastructure to minimise water losses.
While the water companies need better funding, the tariff adjustments should be deferred until such a time that the cost of living pressure on households will have eased considerably.
