Kenya Water Sector Review 2008

The Ministry of Water and Irrigation (MWI) carries out an in-depth annual water sector reviews since 2007. The review focuses on Kenya’s water sector performance, needs, challenges and objectives in the development of its water and sanitation sector agenda. The review has a retrospective view and focuses on the performance of the sector and making practical recommendations on further developing the sector.

The 2008 Review Mission aimed at:

1. Identifying detailed achievements, challenges and identified recommendations for the sustainable development of the sector. The recommendations will be incorporated into the sector plans and/or be useful inputs into the annual sector review.
2. Producing an initial proposal (pointers to priority areas) for the future development support to the sector in Kenya. These priority areas will point to the areas of possible corporation with the Development Partners
3. Identifying priority areas in which the sector will concentrate in the next year.

The Team review the following sub-sectors Rural and Urban Water Supply and Sanitation (WSS), Water Resources Management (WRM), Irrigation and Drainage Land Reclamation. The overall objective of the consultancy, carried out within the framework of the ‘Kenya Water and Sanitation Programme’, was to assist the RWSS sub-sector review team to:

1. Review performance of the sector institutions and the impact (target groups, environment, etc.) in the sub-sector.
2. Review specific targets and outputs as agreed upon in annual Work Plan of the on-going programs in the sub-sector.
3. Assess policy guidance (ownership), budget allocations and realization of sector principles in the implementation of sector policy and strategies.
4. Identify key sector and sub-sector developmental challenges and make recommendations on the way forward.
5. Identify and assess progress and challenges in the sub-sector linked to donor harmonization.
6. Assess both long and short term TA requirement in the sub-sector in future and give recommendations.

The 2008 review put special emphasis on the following issues:
a) 2007 Sub-Sector Review recommendations

• Progress made on the sub-sector reviews recommendations
• Identification of challenges and lessons learnt

b) 2007 Sector Undertakings

• Progress made in implementation of the undertakings
• Recommendations on handling any challenges
• Document lessons learnt from the implementation of the undertakings
• Review linkages between sector undertakings and performance contracts

c) Sector Coordination and Monitoring

• Fulfillment of the mandate by MWI on coordination within the sector and control. Links, Coordination and support frameworks between institutions.
• Appropriateness of legal and institutional framework
• Coordination between Ministries on national level
• Harmonization and alignment efforts by the MWI and among Donors and NGOs
• Progress in the SWAP process with anchorage of the overall sector instruments such as SIS, SIP, sector coordination through WSWG and other means
• Profile of Sanitation in the reforms
• Review performance of institutions’ tools and instruments (WARIS, PROMIS, CPC, UPC, PPIP etc.)

d) Institutional Performance

• Take stock of the performance of the sector against the medium-term indicators in the NWSS 2007-2015. Several of the indicators in the NWSS are pegged against milestones during 2008 or 2009.
• General fulfillment of the mandate and performance of sector institutions
• Financial, managerial and operational viability / sustainability of sector institutions
• Good governance at the institutions with particular emphasis on the role of the Boards and top management.