Open AccessWater Access Today and Tomorrow: Domestic Water Sustainability under Informal Water Supply Markets in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Author(s) -
Francis Dakyaga,
Alphonce G. Kyessi,
Joel Msami
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of sustainable development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1913-9071
pISSN - 1913-9063
DOI - 10.5539/jsd.v11n6p120
Subject(s) - business , water supply , sustainability , informal sector , tanzania , economic growth , marketing , natural resource economics , economics , socioeconomics , ecology , environmental engineering , engineering , biology
The article examined domestic water access sustainability under informally driven water supply market, drawing on suppliers-consumers’ perspectives. Analysis was done on the capacities of the informal water suppliers for sustainable water provision, how the informal water markets operate, and clients’ perspectives of water access today and tomorrow. Four different data set were comparatively analyzed from interviews with the Municipal Water Engineer (MWE), Ward Health Officer (WHO), 3 Mtaa leaders from 3 informal settlements, interviews with 43 informal water sellers from three informal settlements, including a survey of (n = 292) clients in three informal settlements. It was realized that though informal water suppliers are sociocultural capable of providing flexible and gender-sensitive water supply services, households have unsustainable access to improved water due to the financial, hydro-technical, institutional and organizational in capacities of the informal water sellers coupled with the low financial abilities of low-income earning households to continuously purchase water for domestic activities. It was observed that informal settlements’ dwellers are less likely to meet their water supply needs in the near future if their income status together with the financial, hydro-technical, organizational and institutional capacities of the informal water sellers are not improved.