Status:
On-going
Location:
Kitwe - Zambia
Region:
Africa
Total cost:
USD $622,500
Duration:
3 years
Start:
27 February 2022
End:
27 February 2025
Working Areas
Partnership Management
Climate Change Adaptation
Customer Relations
Energy Efficiency and Climate Change Mitigation
Gender Mainstreaming
Investment Projects
Production Processes & Service Quality & Water Safety (Drinking Water)
Service in Low-Income Areas
Organizations Involved
Nkana Water and Sewerage Company, Zambia — Lead Mentee
National Water and Sewerage Corporation, Kampala, Uganda — Lead Mentor
The European Union
Funder
SDGs
6.1Universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all
6.bSupported and strengthen the participation of local communities in improving water and sanitation management
Project description
The WOP aims at capacity enhancement for improved WATSAN service provision in NWSC-Zambia with a focus on pro-poor.
Project main objectives
The EU WOP project is aimed at further transformation of NWSC-Zambia and will lead to improved capacity of staff in the selected thematic areas and ultimately result in improved service delivery to all its customers including LICs and efficiency in operations.

Specifically, the following results are expected;
i. Improved capacity for NRW Management; Consistent efforts towards reduction of water losses will result in improved revenue base. NWSC-Zambia has sought support since 2016 from North/South partners and the prolonged contact with mentors is believed to provide catalyst for sustained NRW Management. The capacity for improved NRW Performance will be realised through;
a) Hydraulic zoning and improved NRW Measurement using DMA Approach and Water Balance Audits,
b) Improved meter management to resolve metering inaccuracies and meter replacements,
c) Improved strategy on active leakage control, pressure management and response time to network failures,
d)Better control over illegal water use, partnerships with Police and communities in implementing water theft reduction initiatives,
e) Improved network management, and
f) Adequate staffing and training for NRW Unit. Reduced NRW will ensure more water reaches the customers. Women and children will move shorter distances to draw water and thus more time will be spent engaging in developmental activities such as trading and school attendance

ii. Sustainable water and sanitation services provision to LICs in NWSC-Zambia; Capacity for identification of gaps and obstacles in water and sanitation services provision as well as development of relevant actions to address them will be strengthened as a result of the WOP. Through tool development and joint assessment of the LIC water and sanitation systems, a holistic understanding of the constraints and opportunities will be gained by the partnership facilitating cross learning. The tools will be customized for NWSC-Zambia system and made available for utilization even after the WOP closure. This will facilitate sustained management of future WASH systems. The different WOP activities will encourage and promote community participation especially the women and vulnerable groups in LICs in dissemination workshops, community engagements and seminars to provide understanding of key issues surrounding water and sanitation systems. Training on critical cross cutting issues of climate change, environment protections will form a key ingredient in these community engagements.

iii. Literacy and empowerment of communities to make proper choices related to WASH will be promoted; Several workshops and community engagements are planned during the WOP period to empower LIC populations with beneficial knowledge on climate change, human rights, FSM, economic opportunities within WASH. During the previous WOP, trainings were carried out on community mobilization and engagement, which will be continued and expanded to cover local leadership and vulnerable groups to facilitate organized management of local water and sanitation facilities. Improved service in LICs is expected to address poverty and with employment of residents in service improvements projects, their standard of living will go up resulting in growth of communities. The girl child and women productivity will improve as a result thus increasing chances for rewarding future and prosperity.

iv. Improved Capacity for Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E); M&E function in NWSC-Zambia will be strengthened through prolonged exposure and training during the PIP quarterly evaluations in the WOP. The M&E framework developed during the previous WOP will be updated and utilized in the proposed WOP project, with NWSC-Zambia taking the lead in the process supported by NWSC-Uganda. This is expected to entrench performance improvement planning and management in the Utility facilitating continuous improvement in operations. Performance database will be developed for maintenance of data collected during the WOP and shared in the various workshops.

v. Cross learning and strengthened delivery of mentorship and capacity building programs; Through the experience sharing and various WOP sessions, capacity of the mentor and mentees will be strengthened. This will catalyze knowledge and information exchange which will promote upscaling of project activities within the beneficiary utilities and cross learning between partners. This will ensure sustained achievement of WOP objectives and continued learning after its closure further promoting change in water and sanitation services delivery across utilities. Dissemination and sharing of experiences in national and regional water sector conferences will create platform for wider outreach and impact of different initiatives.

vi. Support to development of proposals for securing additional financing for improved FSM; The proposed WOP will support development of conceptual design for modification of existing WWTP to include Feacal Sludge treatment. Capacity to source for funding for construction will be built and experience gained will form basis for exploring additional opportunities in future for investment in WASH sector in NWSC-Zambia.