Role of private operators

Private operators and service providers are also frontline workers who play a key role in making WASH services accessible to communities.

Private suppliers may supply WASH-related products such as soaps, sanitary pads or household water treatment chemicals.

Privately hired technicians may provide maintenance services for water distribution systems, mainly in household connections and related plumbing tasks. In smaller towns, they also provide minor operation and maintenance of the water supply system, for example, they may be called in to repair electromechanical components.

Micro- and small enterprises (MSEs) are increasingly participating in the WASH sector (see Study Session 3). Many towns in low-income countries use the services of MSEs to collect solid waste from households and transport it to a centralised collection site or sometimes to final disposal sites.

In some towns, the service by MSEs has grown to include septic sludge emptying using vacuum trucks (Figure 7.4).

Figure 7.4 A tanker pumping out sludge from a septic tank.

Others are selling items for household use (Figure 7.5), or producing and selling pre-cast concrete slabs for use in household latrines (Figure 7.6).

Figure 7.5 Selling jerrycans as a small business enterprise.

Figure 7.6 Young men producing concrete slabs for use in household latrines, as part of a youth employment scheme

The number of private operators is growing in many places, although they currently provide only a small proportion of WASH services. Organised groups can manage public WASH facilities, such as public showers and latrines, which have been constructed by NGOs or other development partners. Other private operators can include water vendors (Figure 7.7) and informal waste collectors like the cart that you saw in Figure 3.1 in Study Session 3.

Figure 7.7 Informal water sellers

Private sector participation is still developing in most low-income countries. Urban settings and their communities provide a number of opportunities for entrepreneurs. Innovative approaches and best practices are important to accelerate private sector participation in the WASH sector.

With time, urban communities will benefit more from services provided by the private sector, as the public sector shifts its focus to regulation of the services.