EAP - The Pacific Infrastructure Challenge - World Bank (2006).pdf

executive management for decisions. Executive management has not agreed to
the commercial targets suggested
Samoa: In 1992, the Samoa Water Amendment Act created an independent,
corporatized utility owned and regulated by the Samoan Government.
Corporatization has introduced some positive improvements, particularly in the
areas of billing, collection and operational efficiency. Although the Samoa Water
Authority is still primarily financed via grants, the organization has significantly
improved collections, introduced a separate commercial tariff and implemented
an overall tariff increase in 2003. The utility is focused on increasing metered
connections to assist with billing and collection. Around 50% or water supply in
Samoa is now metered and all new connections are installed on a metered basis.
In addition to the tariff increase, the Water Authority has introduced connection
and disconnection charges and penalties for non-payment. The Samoa Water
Authority has also reduced staff numbers from 320 to 148 over the past five
years. Non revenue water remains a key focus for the utility. It increased from
15% in 1992 to 50% in 1996 50 and is currently at around 55% 51 . A leak detection
program has been successful in helping the authority to focus on areas in which
major pipes have fallen into disrepair. The Authority aims to achieve a target of
between 20% and 30% non-revenue water in the next three years.
Papua New Guinea: In the Papua New Guinea Water Board, technical
assistance efforts were focused on developing management and information
systems to strengthen the capacity of executive management, upon whose
decisions the existing Board of Directors depend. Operational and financial
indicators have improved in some, but not all coverage areas. This is an example
of where technical assistance can work, given the right environment. Success
factors include a Board comprised of both public and private members, a level of
independence from the Government and a utility allowed to recover its full
operating costs with Government support for reasonable tariff increases.
Private Sector Involvement: The Pacific country with the best performing water utility is
Vanuatu. Compared with the other Pacific countries it has:
High levels of access to improved water and sanitation
Low levels of non-revenue water
The lowest ratio of staff to connections
24 hour, high quality water supply
Vanuatu’s success in delegating water service responsibility to a private company may offer
lessons for other Pacific Island countries. Until the mid-1990s, urban water services in
Vanuatu were provided by the Public Works Department. During this time, the utility’s
performance mirrored that of some of the other Pacific countries: it was unable to cover
50 “Regulatory Framework and Transaction Models for Private Participation in Infrastructure in Pacific Island
Countries”, Meritec Limited Report for the World Bank, October 2001.
51 Castalia interview with Samoa Water Authority
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