Preparation and Support for Water Sector Reforms

Kenya embarked on a radical water sector reform in order to improve water services and water resources management. It is supported through the Kenya Water and Sanitation Programme (KWSP) and aims at paving the way for a future Sector Wide Approach to planning (SWAp). The overall objective of the Water Sector Reform (WSR) component is to enhance capabilities of restructured institutions.

The basic strategy is to provide the necessary support to ensure that the reform and restructuring process is completed and implemented, and that this in turn will lead to a SWAp. The focal point of activities is the Water Sector Reform Secretariat (WSRS), and the wider forum is the Ministry of Water Resource Management and Development (MWRMD) restructured and enabled to manage its new role in regards to the two other components of the KWSP, Rural Water Supply and Sanitation (RWSS) and Water Resources Management (WRM).

This assignment specifically aimed to provide technical assistance and initial input in support of the WSR component of the KWSP. The context is that the water reform process was delayed, and in response the WSRS required strengthening, and a new initiative on improved communication of the reforms was planned. Following this new initiative, it was expected that the institutional design of the reforms and most of the subsidiary legislation and the major new institutions envisaged would be inaugurated during 2004. It was identified that there would still however remain a major challenge of restructuring the existing institutions, in particular the MWRMD, which would involve significant staff transfers from the central to the local level.