NWASCO notes strategic role of improving regulation of sewerage services

The National Water Supply and Sanitation Council (NWASCO) has noted that improving regulation of sewerage and onsite sanitation services in Zambia is strategic in improving access to adequate sanitation.

Nwasco public relations and communications manager Rose Tembo says overall, access to improved sanitation for both urban and rural households is low.

Ms. Tembo says Sanitation infrastructure has been unable to cope with urban growth to serve new urban dwellers with adequate services with currently only 59.7% of urban households having access to sanitation as per 2014 NWASCO Sector report.

She says Pit latrines remain the main form of sanitation in peri-urban areas of Zambia where the majority reside, with the 2010 census revealing that an estimated 65% of households use unimproved pit latrines, whereas only 25% of the urban population is connected to the sewers and 5% are connected to a septic tank.

Ms. Tembo says there is need for a holistic mechanism in dealing with the country’s sanitation challenges.

She notes that the improvement in regulating sanitation will equip the regulator in economic, tariff and service regulation as well as consumer protection thereby emphasising the value chain of sanitation.

Ms Tembo however states that NWASCO through the Lusaka Sanitation programme being funded by The World Bank, the African Development Bank (AfDB), (German Bank) KfW, and European Investment Bank (EIB) will be able to adequately regulate sanitation challenges in Lusaka.

The Lusaka sanitation programme is valued at 300 Million US Dollars and will be implemented from 2015 to 2019.

The programme will implement investments consistent with the Lusaka Sanitation Master Plan up to 2035 and develop the Lusaka Water and Sewerage Company’s capacity to manage various aspects of sanitation, from conventional sewerage, condominial system, on-site system to feacal sludge management.