Factors affecting the financial sustainability of water service providers in Tana Water Service Board, Kenya

Abstract

The Water sector reforms that resulted in the enactment of Water Act 2002, has resulted into liberazation of the water sector. Some of the key notable results of this Act are the creation of Water Services Boards and the Water Service Providers. In this context, the financial sustainability of Water Service Providers is critical if the water sector reforms agenda is to succeed. This therefore led to the need of undertaking a study to analyze the factors that affect the financial sustainability of Water Service Providers in Tana Water Services Board, Kenya.

Specifically the study assessed operating and maintenance cost, financing, project development process and sector coordination and communication affects on the financial sustainability of water service providers in Tana Water Services Board. The analysis was done through inferential statistics and fmdings of the study presented in form of frequency table, percentage charts and bar graphs. The study has been able to confirm the conceptual framework that high operating and maintenance cost, low funding, lack of appropriate project development process and lack of proper sector coordination and communication threatens the financial sustainability of water service providers in Tana Water Services Board.

The findings of the study summarized the regression model as follows; Financial Sustainability of water service providers in Tana Water Services Board, Kenya = 7.492 - 0.421 (High Operating and maintenance cost) + 0.436 (Funding of the water sector) + 0.185 (Availability of appropriate project development process) + 0.201 (Availability of effective and reliable Sector coordination and communication).