quently water vendors (who chieflyuse these traditional sources)charge less for water in Ardamattathan they do in El-Geneina (Spound230100 litres in Ardamatta as comparedwith Spound560 in EI-Geneina)Ardamatta also contains a highproportion of military personneland their families and since mili-tary personnel in Sudan are nowpaid above average wages this mayhave some impact on the results

These results in Table I show nosignificant difference in water con-sumption between the two surveyareas In health benefit terms anincrease in the quantity of waterused is more often associated withbenefits in health than is improvedquality of water which the projecthas most certainly provided fromthe new water kiosks As work inMozambique has shown however

completely out of action duringmuch of September and October1989 Ardamatta a suburb of EI-Geneina was chosen as the controlor comparison area At the time ofwriting its only sources of water arethe traditional wells situated in andaround the Wadi Kaja Work isunderway in Ardamatta and newwater kiosks should be functioninglater in the year

There are two interference fac-tors which affect the validity of adirect comparison between thesetwo areas Ardamatta is muchcloser to the old traditional watersources in the wadi than is the kioskarea in El-Geneina thus watertakes less time to fetch from thetraditional sources and subse-

There are often long queues at the kiosks In the afternoon it can take anhour or more to get two jerry cans filled

Socio-economic aspects of water sellingby Brian MathewA survey compares the service delivered and thecost of water between two areas one with newwater kiosks the other still relying on thetraditional wellsTHE AIM OF the NyalajEl-Geneina project in Darfur WestSudan has been to improve watersupplies to the urban populationsof Nyala and El-Geneina This hasbeen done by improving the physi-cal infrastructure installing newpipes pumps generators wellsetc and by conducting a pro-gramme of institutional develop-ment to ensure that managementand staff are able to run the newequipment and systems on a sustain-able basis The principal method ofexpanding access to safe watersupplies has been to construct waterkiosks (stalls where water is ex-tracted and sold) with the resultingrevenues paying for the costs of theservice A strong emphasis has beenput on involving the communitiesin the management of their kiosksThree women and three men wereelected by each community to formthe kiosk committees which thenselected a male guard and a femaleminder to run each kiosk on aday-to-day basis

The survey used an interviewquestionnaire and was carried outamong women householders tocompare EI-Geneina where thewater kiosks are operating withArdamatta a suburb where kiosksare still under construction Thetotal number of women interviewedwas 30 and the number of peopleliving in the households they repre-sented 245 about one per cent ofthe target population Permissionto carry out the interviews wasobtained from area sheikhs andwhere necessary husbands House-holds were chosen in a randommanner with the intention of cover-ing as much of the areas involvedas possible

In EI-Geneina interviews tookplace in the area around the ninewater kiosks in the town whichhave been operating since March1989 Mechanical problems and fuelshortages have affected supply fromtime to time indeed the kiosks were

Brian Mathew is WaterAids TanzaniaCountry Director Dodoma PO Box 2190Tanzania

WATERLINES VOL 10 NO2 OCTOBER 1991 21

Table 1 Daily per capita water consumption

Table 2 Percentage of income spent on water

PUMPNO

the kiosk area of Spound71330 thismeans that an average family isspending 4 per cent of their incomeon water instead of 34 per cent -a very big saving

Water kiosksSo why do people who live in kioskareas still use other sources ofwater Of the female householdersin the kiosk area 40 per cent usedthe water kiosks only 33 per centused vendors as well as the kiosksand 13 per cent used their owndonkeys to collect water from tradi-tional wells as well as using thewater kiosks Two respondentsclaimed not to use the kiosks at allone was from Kiosk 7 area (Kiosk7 had not been working recentlybecause of pressure problems) andone old woman had a broken handand could not carry water from thekiosks

People used other water sourceswhen the water kiosks were notworking This happens on Fridays(the weekend) and when the fuelhas run out or when there is atechnical problem They also usedother sources when there was a longqueue at the kiosks as they did notlike waiting for water Early usersof the kiosks can usually get their

3879

175136

192182184182185

of income

WATER

Litrescapitaday

295505

2070739

S(JlAR

Sfmonthcapita

Water vendor - averagemonthly household water bill

185 litres per person per day8 members of the householdCost of water SpoundO0561itre from thewater vendorsCost of water for one month fromthe water vendors = Spound24864

The potential monthly saving foraverage households in the kioskarea is Spound22089 Taking the surveyfigure for average family income in

from

from

Water source

Water source

Water kiosk onlyKiosk and vendorVendorWell and vendor

Area

Area

EI-Geneina Water kiosk onlyEI-Geneina Kiosk and vendorArdamatta VendorArdamatta Well and vendorAverage daily per capita water consumption

EI-GeneinaEI-GeneinaArdamattaArdamatta

the quantity of water used percapita is related to how far it has tobe carried This relationship is onein which water consumption re-mains largely the same until thepoint of collection is actually withinthe compound or house when itoften more than quadruples2

Economic analysisThe survey asked householders howmuch money they spent on waterand the proportion this representedof their income

The results in Table 2 show quiteclearly the economic advantage forhouseholds within using distance ofthe new water kiosks This is soeven when comparing people whouse both water kiosks and watervendors with those who use vendorsand traditional wells The straightbenefit for the kiosk user in thekiosk area over the vendor user inArdamatta is Spound1775 per monthper person

Taking into account the differ-ence in cost between using watervendors in Ardamatta and EI-Geneina and calculating the coststhat kiosk area residents would haveto pay for their water if they wereusing only water vendors (as was thecase for the majority prior to theintervention of the project) thesaving which results is substantialin the order of a factor of ten

Water kiosk - average monthlyhousehold water bill

185 litres per person per day8 members of the householdCost of water SpoundO006251itrethe kiosksCost of water for one monththe water kiosks = Spound2775

22 WATERLINES VOL 10 NO2 OCTOBER 1991

If the committees douhled the opening hours it would mean hetter servicefor both individuals and water vendors

water within 15 minutes but laterwhen queues have built up it cantake an hour or more to get twojerry cans filled This is not simplya matter of coming early as mostwomen need to make several tripsa day to collect water from thekiosks and so cannot avoid thequeuing The solution here wouldappear to be to keep the waterkiosks open longer - at presentthey are open for just four hoursper day It might also be necessaryto build more water kiosks

Filling each jerry can take be-tween 15 and 6 minutes dependingon the kiosk and the pressure in thepipes Thus a kiosk which has alleight taps running at a rate of 4minutes per 20-litre jerry can willsupply 2400 litres of water per houreach or enough for about 130people Over four hours it willsupply enough water for 520 peopleDoubling the opening hours woulddouble the potential amount ofwater available

The kiosks opening hours havebeen restricted becauseo EI-Geneina Nationa] Urban

Water Corporation (NUWC) suf-fers from continual fuel short-ages

o The production well for the ki-osks is also used to supply the oldtown system

o Preventing pressure build-up inthe pipes while water is pumpeddirectly into the system has beendesirable so while the waterkiosks were open they were be-ing used constantly

o A reliab]e system of providingspare parts for the equipmentother than through project infra-structure has not yet beenworked outSteps are being taken to improve

this situation Optimistic notes tothis are thato A fuel supply is being arranged

for EI-Geneina NUWCo As new wells come into produc-

tion the need to switch off thekiosk supply so that water canbe pumped to the town willcease

o The tank at the main well site forthe kiosks is virtually completedand once in operation will helpprovide even pressure to thesystem throughout the dayThe difficulty of transporting

water back to the home is anotherreason people use other sourcesFor old and ill people this can be aserious problem as in the case ofthe old woman with the brokenhand

Water vendorsSome water vendors use water fromthe kiosks rather than going to thewadi This is to be encouragedespecially when the opening timesat the kiosks are extended Alreadysome water vendors using the waterkiosks have dropped their pricesbecause they are able to makeshorter trips and thus more of themIf the opening hours are extendedit will encourage more water ven-dors to use the kiosks

The NUWC management musthowever ensure thato maximum access is afforded to

women collecting water for theirown homes and

o there is equal access among ven-dors to the kiosks In the past

some vendors have cornered notonly the market but also thesupply A suggestion that sepa-rate water kiosks be constructedfor the vendors using hoses tofacilitate filling the leather waterbags should also be consideredThe issue of the water vendors is

important as they are one of themain suppliers of water to El-Geneina and in times of fuel short-age and breakdown they are theonly suppliers of water to the townThey provide a vital service whichthe water project should in no waythreaten other than by providingfair competition

The role of water vendors assuppliers to the old and the ill andto those who do not have the timeto carry water is also important to

WATERLINES VOL10 NO2 OCTOBER 1991 23

Donkey vendor cost-benefitanalysis

WATER

wellsupply

Tel 071 43630212Fax 071 4364394Telex 262549 Virtu G VIRTUS

VirtusLtd ~164 New CavendiSh51 London W1M 7FJEngland

Casing wellscreen drilling fluids and tools pumpslogging treatment and maintenance supplies forwater welts

responsive to the committeesThese comments are a bit sad butnot altogether unexpected as theNUWC in EI-Geneina did not havea qualified engineer or manager letalone anyone to deal with customerservices As part of the institutionaldevelopment of the project such adepartment is to be formed and partof its role will be to liaise with thecommittees and keep them activeThe community fund derived froma small percentage of the watercharges has not yet been imple-mented once a proper customerservices department is in operationit should be possible to revive thisand with it the lagging enthusiasmof the committee members

The kiosks supply clean water but only community management will ensuretheir continued operation

ReferencesI Esrey SA Habict JP Epidemiologi-

cal Evidence for Health Benefits fromImproved Water and Sanitation in Deve[-oping Countries Epidemiological Re-iel1s Vol8 1986 Johns Hopkins Uni-versity School of Hygiene and PublicHealth USA pp1 [6-28

2 Cairncross S The Benefits of WaterSupply Deleloping World Water I (edJ Pickford) Grosvenor Press London1987 pp30-34

3 Cairncross S Cliff JL Water use andhealth in Mueda Mozambique Transac-tions of the Royal Society of TropicalMedicine and Hygiene ( 1987) 81 pp51-4

3600

10000

5pound185

3650036500

87 300

22200

Spound

109500

(using current prices throughoutand assuming a ten-year useful life)Donkey vendor costs Spound

Cost of purchasing 700donkeyLeather water bags(new one every 3months)Food (SpoundIOday)Operator wages (Spound I0day)Water-well use charge(SpoundIday)

Total costs

Donkey vendor income

15 productive trips perlday ( Spound2)Income minus costsover ten yearsMonthly profit

consider There is no way in theforeseeable future that each andevery house in EI-Geneina will getits own tap however desirable thismight be in practice it simply is nota possibility (unless of course some-one was to strike oil in the surround-ing hills) This being the case it issurely preferable to support a don-key-powered water delivery servicefor those that require it

It has also been suggested that theprices for water delivered by ven-dors should be controlled but thisis wrong The current rate is set bythe free market and is relatedclosely to the real costs incurred bythe vendors If the government setsa rate it is unlikely that the ratewould be fair to the vendors and itmight well result in the end of theservice The following cost-benefitanalysis of a donkey vendor fromArdamatta illustrates the economicposition of the vendors

The finances of a water vendorin EI-Geneina differ slightly -generally more money is chargedper bag of water because thedeliveries are to areas further fromthe wadi and fewer trips are made

Discussions with the respondentsrevealed that most people in thekiosk area know who their commit-tee members are but said that thecommittees did not do very muchand it seemed that the men metoccasionally to discuss problemsbut not the women When problemsdid develop the NUWC was not

24 WATERLINES VOL 10 NO2 OCTOBER 1991

Table 1 Daily per capita water consumption

Table 2 Percentage of income spent on water

PUMPNO

the kiosk area of Spound71330 thismeans that an average family isspending 4 per cent of their incomeon water instead of 34 per cent -a very big saving

Water kiosksSo why do people who live in kioskareas still use other sources ofwater Of the female householdersin the kiosk area 40 per cent usedthe water kiosks only 33 per centused vendors as well as the kiosksand 13 per cent used their owndonkeys to collect water from tradi-tional wells as well as using thewater kiosks Two respondentsclaimed not to use the kiosks at allone was from Kiosk 7 area (Kiosk7 had not been working recentlybecause of pressure problems) andone old woman had a broken handand could not carry water from thekiosks

People used other water sourceswhen the water kiosks were notworking This happens on Fridays(the weekend) and when the fuelhas run out or when there is atechnical problem They also usedother sources when there was a longqueue at the kiosks as they did notlike waiting for water Early usersof the kiosks can usually get their

3879

175136

192182184182185

of income

WATER

Litrescapitaday

295505

2070739

S(JlAR

Sfmonthcapita

Water vendor - averagemonthly household water bill

185 litres per person per day8 members of the householdCost of water SpoundO0561itre from thewater vendorsCost of water for one month fromthe water vendors = Spound24864

The potential monthly saving foraverage households in the kioskarea is Spound22089 Taking the surveyfigure for average family income in

from

from

Water source

Water source

Water kiosk onlyKiosk and vendorVendorWell and vendor

Area

Area

EI-Geneina Water kiosk onlyEI-Geneina Kiosk and vendorArdamatta VendorArdamatta Well and vendorAverage daily per capita water consumption

EI-GeneinaEI-GeneinaArdamattaArdamatta

the quantity of water used percapita is related to how far it has tobe carried This relationship is onein which water consumption re-mains largely the same until thepoint of collection is actually withinthe compound or house when itoften more than quadruples2

Economic analysisThe survey asked householders howmuch money they spent on waterand the proportion this representedof their income

The results in Table 2 show quiteclearly the economic advantage forhouseholds within using distance ofthe new water kiosks This is soeven when comparing people whouse both water kiosks and watervendors with those who use vendorsand traditional wells The straightbenefit for the kiosk user in thekiosk area over the vendor user inArdamatta is Spound1775 per monthper person

Taking into account the differ-ence in cost between using watervendors in Ardamatta and EI-Geneina and calculating the coststhat kiosk area residents would haveto pay for their water if they wereusing only water vendors (as was thecase for the majority prior to theintervention of the project) thesaving which results is substantialin the order of a factor of ten

Water kiosk - average monthlyhousehold water bill

185 litres per person per day8 members of the householdCost of water SpoundO006251itrethe kiosksCost of water for one monththe water kiosks = Spound2775

22 WATERLINES VOL 10 NO2 OCTOBER 1991

If the committees douhled the opening hours it would mean hetter servicefor both individuals and water vendors

water within 15 minutes but laterwhen queues have built up it cantake an hour or more to get twojerry cans filled This is not simplya matter of coming early as mostwomen need to make several tripsa day to collect water from thekiosks and so cannot avoid thequeuing The solution here wouldappear to be to keep the waterkiosks open longer - at presentthey are open for just four hoursper day It might also be necessaryto build more water kiosks

Filling each jerry can take be-tween 15 and 6 minutes dependingon the kiosk and the pressure in thepipes Thus a kiosk which has alleight taps running at a rate of 4minutes per 20-litre jerry can willsupply 2400 litres of water per houreach or enough for about 130people Over four hours it willsupply enough water for 520 peopleDoubling the opening hours woulddouble the potential amount ofwater available

The kiosks opening hours havebeen restricted becauseo EI-Geneina Nationa] Urban

Water Corporation (NUWC) suf-fers from continual fuel short-ages

o The production well for the ki-osks is also used to supply the oldtown system

o Preventing pressure build-up inthe pipes while water is pumpeddirectly into the system has beendesirable so while the waterkiosks were open they were be-ing used constantly

o A reliab]e system of providingspare parts for the equipmentother than through project infra-structure has not yet beenworked outSteps are being taken to improve

this situation Optimistic notes tothis are thato A fuel supply is being arranged

for EI-Geneina NUWCo As new wells come into produc-

tion the need to switch off thekiosk supply so that water canbe pumped to the town willcease

o The tank at the main well site forthe kiosks is virtually completedand once in operation will helpprovide even pressure to thesystem throughout the dayThe difficulty of transporting

water back to the home is anotherreason people use other sourcesFor old and ill people this can be aserious problem as in the case ofthe old woman with the brokenhand

Water vendorsSome water vendors use water fromthe kiosks rather than going to thewadi This is to be encouragedespecially when the opening timesat the kiosks are extended Alreadysome water vendors using the waterkiosks have dropped their pricesbecause they are able to makeshorter trips and thus more of themIf the opening hours are extendedit will encourage more water ven-dors to use the kiosks

The NUWC management musthowever ensure thato maximum access is afforded to

women collecting water for theirown homes and

o there is equal access among ven-dors to the kiosks In the past

some vendors have cornered notonly the market but also thesupply A suggestion that sepa-rate water kiosks be constructedfor the vendors using hoses tofacilitate filling the leather waterbags should also be consideredThe issue of the water vendors is

important as they are one of themain suppliers of water to El-Geneina and in times of fuel short-age and breakdown they are theonly suppliers of water to the townThey provide a vital service whichthe water project should in no waythreaten other than by providingfair competition

The role of water vendors assuppliers to the old and the ill andto those who do not have the timeto carry water is also important to

WATERLINES VOL10 NO2 OCTOBER 1991 23

Donkey vendor cost-benefitanalysis

WATER

wellsupply

Tel 071 43630212Fax 071 4364394Telex 262549 Virtu G VIRTUS

VirtusLtd ~164 New CavendiSh51 London W1M 7FJEngland

Casing wellscreen drilling fluids and tools pumpslogging treatment and maintenance supplies forwater welts

responsive to the committeesThese comments are a bit sad butnot altogether unexpected as theNUWC in EI-Geneina did not havea qualified engineer or manager letalone anyone to deal with customerservices As part of the institutionaldevelopment of the project such adepartment is to be formed and partof its role will be to liaise with thecommittees and keep them activeThe community fund derived froma small percentage of the watercharges has not yet been imple-mented once a proper customerservices department is in operationit should be possible to revive thisand with it the lagging enthusiasmof the committee members

The kiosks supply clean water but only community management will ensuretheir continued operation

ReferencesI Esrey SA Habict JP Epidemiologi-

cal Evidence for Health Benefits fromImproved Water and Sanitation in Deve[-oping Countries Epidemiological Re-iel1s Vol8 1986 Johns Hopkins Uni-versity School of Hygiene and PublicHealth USA pp1 [6-28

2 Cairncross S The Benefits of WaterSupply Deleloping World Water I (edJ Pickford) Grosvenor Press London1987 pp30-34

3 Cairncross S Cliff JL Water use andhealth in Mueda Mozambique Transac-tions of the Royal Society of TropicalMedicine and Hygiene ( 1987) 81 pp51-4

3600

10000

5pound185

3650036500

87 300

22200

Spound

109500

(using current prices throughoutand assuming a ten-year useful life)Donkey vendor costs Spound

Cost of purchasing 700donkeyLeather water bags(new one every 3months)Food (SpoundIOday)Operator wages (Spound I0day)Water-well use charge(SpoundIday)

Total costs

Donkey vendor income

15 productive trips perlday ( Spound2)Income minus costsover ten yearsMonthly profit

consider There is no way in theforeseeable future that each andevery house in EI-Geneina will getits own tap however desirable thismight be in practice it simply is nota possibility (unless of course some-one was to strike oil in the surround-ing hills) This being the case it issurely preferable to support a don-key-powered water delivery servicefor those that require it

It has also been suggested that theprices for water delivered by ven-dors should be controlled but thisis wrong The current rate is set bythe free market and is relatedclosely to the real costs incurred bythe vendors If the government setsa rate it is unlikely that the ratewould be fair to the vendors and itmight well result in the end of theservice The following cost-benefitanalysis of a donkey vendor fromArdamatta illustrates the economicposition of the vendors

The finances of a water vendorin EI-Geneina differ slightly -generally more money is chargedper bag of water because thedeliveries are to areas further fromthe wadi and fewer trips are made

Discussions with the respondentsrevealed that most people in thekiosk area know who their commit-tee members are but said that thecommittees did not do very muchand it seemed that the men metoccasionally to discuss problemsbut not the women When problemsdid develop the NUWC was not

24 WATERLINES VOL 10 NO2 OCTOBER 1991

If the committees douhled the opening hours it would mean hetter servicefor both individuals and water vendors

water within 15 minutes but laterwhen queues have built up it cantake an hour or more to get twojerry cans filled This is not simplya matter of coming early as mostwomen need to make several tripsa day to collect water from thekiosks and so cannot avoid thequeuing The solution here wouldappear to be to keep the waterkiosks open longer - at presentthey are open for just four hoursper day It might also be necessaryto build more water kiosks

Filling each jerry can take be-tween 15 and 6 minutes dependingon the kiosk and the pressure in thepipes Thus a kiosk which has alleight taps running at a rate of 4minutes per 20-litre jerry can willsupply 2400 litres of water per houreach or enough for about 130people Over four hours it willsupply enough water for 520 peopleDoubling the opening hours woulddouble the potential amount ofwater available

The kiosks opening hours havebeen restricted becauseo EI-Geneina Nationa] Urban

Water Corporation (NUWC) suf-fers from continual fuel short-ages

o The production well for the ki-osks is also used to supply the oldtown system

o Preventing pressure build-up inthe pipes while water is pumpeddirectly into the system has beendesirable so while the waterkiosks were open they were be-ing used constantly

o A reliab]e system of providingspare parts for the equipmentother than through project infra-structure has not yet beenworked outSteps are being taken to improve

this situation Optimistic notes tothis are thato A fuel supply is being arranged

for EI-Geneina NUWCo As new wells come into produc-

tion the need to switch off thekiosk supply so that water canbe pumped to the town willcease

o The tank at the main well site forthe kiosks is virtually completedand once in operation will helpprovide even pressure to thesystem throughout the dayThe difficulty of transporting

water back to the home is anotherreason people use other sourcesFor old and ill people this can be aserious problem as in the case ofthe old woman with the brokenhand

Water vendorsSome water vendors use water fromthe kiosks rather than going to thewadi This is to be encouragedespecially when the opening timesat the kiosks are extended Alreadysome water vendors using the waterkiosks have dropped their pricesbecause they are able to makeshorter trips and thus more of themIf the opening hours are extendedit will encourage more water ven-dors to use the kiosks

The NUWC management musthowever ensure thato maximum access is afforded to

women collecting water for theirown homes and

o there is equal access among ven-dors to the kiosks In the past

some vendors have cornered notonly the market but also thesupply A suggestion that sepa-rate water kiosks be constructedfor the vendors using hoses tofacilitate filling the leather waterbags should also be consideredThe issue of the water vendors is

important as they are one of themain suppliers of water to El-Geneina and in times of fuel short-age and breakdown they are theonly suppliers of water to the townThey provide a vital service whichthe water project should in no waythreaten other than by providingfair competition

The role of water vendors assuppliers to the old and the ill andto those who do not have the timeto carry water is also important to

WATERLINES VOL10 NO2 OCTOBER 1991 23

Donkey vendor cost-benefitanalysis

WATER

wellsupply

Tel 071 43630212Fax 071 4364394Telex 262549 Virtu G VIRTUS

VirtusLtd ~164 New CavendiSh51 London W1M 7FJEngland

Casing wellscreen drilling fluids and tools pumpslogging treatment and maintenance supplies forwater welts

responsive to the committeesThese comments are a bit sad butnot altogether unexpected as theNUWC in EI-Geneina did not havea qualified engineer or manager letalone anyone to deal with customerservices As part of the institutionaldevelopment of the project such adepartment is to be formed and partof its role will be to liaise with thecommittees and keep them activeThe community fund derived froma small percentage of the watercharges has not yet been imple-mented once a proper customerservices department is in operationit should be possible to revive thisand with it the lagging enthusiasmof the committee members

The kiosks supply clean water but only community management will ensuretheir continued operation

ReferencesI Esrey SA Habict JP Epidemiologi-

cal Evidence for Health Benefits fromImproved Water and Sanitation in Deve[-oping Countries Epidemiological Re-iel1s Vol8 1986 Johns Hopkins Uni-versity School of Hygiene and PublicHealth USA pp1 [6-28

2 Cairncross S The Benefits of WaterSupply Deleloping World Water I (edJ Pickford) Grosvenor Press London1987 pp30-34

3 Cairncross S Cliff JL Water use andhealth in Mueda Mozambique Transac-tions of the Royal Society of TropicalMedicine and Hygiene ( 1987) 81 pp51-4

3600

10000

5pound185

3650036500

87 300

22200

Spound

109500

(using current prices throughoutand assuming a ten-year useful life)Donkey vendor costs Spound

Cost of purchasing 700donkeyLeather water bags(new one every 3months)Food (SpoundIOday)Operator wages (Spound I0day)Water-well use charge(SpoundIday)

Total costs

Donkey vendor income

15 productive trips perlday ( Spound2)Income minus costsover ten yearsMonthly profit

consider There is no way in theforeseeable future that each andevery house in EI-Geneina will getits own tap however desirable thismight be in practice it simply is nota possibility (unless of course some-one was to strike oil in the surround-ing hills) This being the case it issurely preferable to support a don-key-powered water delivery servicefor those that require it

It has also been suggested that theprices for water delivered by ven-dors should be controlled but thisis wrong The current rate is set bythe free market and is relatedclosely to the real costs incurred bythe vendors If the government setsa rate it is unlikely that the ratewould be fair to the vendors and itmight well result in the end of theservice The following cost-benefitanalysis of a donkey vendor fromArdamatta illustrates the economicposition of the vendors

The finances of a water vendorin EI-Geneina differ slightly -generally more money is chargedper bag of water because thedeliveries are to areas further fromthe wadi and fewer trips are made

Discussions with the respondentsrevealed that most people in thekiosk area know who their commit-tee members are but said that thecommittees did not do very muchand it seemed that the men metoccasionally to discuss problemsbut not the women When problemsdid develop the NUWC was not

24 WATERLINES VOL 10 NO2 OCTOBER 1991

Donkey vendor cost-benefitanalysis

WATER

wellsupply

Tel 071 43630212Fax 071 4364394Telex 262549 Virtu G VIRTUS

VirtusLtd ~164 New CavendiSh51 London W1M 7FJEngland

Casing wellscreen drilling fluids and tools pumpslogging treatment and maintenance supplies forwater welts

responsive to the committeesThese comments are a bit sad butnot altogether unexpected as theNUWC in EI-Geneina did not havea qualified engineer or manager letalone anyone to deal with customerservices As part of the institutionaldevelopment of the project such adepartment is to be formed and partof its role will be to liaise with thecommittees and keep them activeThe community fund derived froma small percentage of the watercharges has not yet been imple-mented once a proper customerservices department is in operationit should be possible to revive thisand with it the lagging enthusiasmof the committee members

The kiosks supply clean water but only community management will ensuretheir continued operation

ReferencesI Esrey SA Habict JP Epidemiologi-

cal Evidence for Health Benefits fromImproved Water and Sanitation in Deve[-oping Countries Epidemiological Re-iel1s Vol8 1986 Johns Hopkins Uni-versity School of Hygiene and PublicHealth USA pp1 [6-28

2 Cairncross S The Benefits of WaterSupply Deleloping World Water I (edJ Pickford) Grosvenor Press London1987 pp30-34

3 Cairncross S Cliff JL Water use andhealth in Mueda Mozambique Transac-tions of the Royal Society of TropicalMedicine and Hygiene ( 1987) 81 pp51-4

3600

10000

5pound185

3650036500

87 300

22200

Spound

109500

(using current prices throughoutand assuming a ten-year useful life)Donkey vendor costs Spound

Cost of purchasing 700donkeyLeather water bags(new one every 3months)Food (SpoundIOday)Operator wages (Spound I0day)Water-well use charge(SpoundIday)

Total costs

Donkey vendor income

15 productive trips perlday ( Spound2)Income minus costsover ten yearsMonthly profit

consider There is no way in theforeseeable future that each andevery house in EI-Geneina will getits own tap however desirable thismight be in practice it simply is nota possibility (unless of course some-one was to strike oil in the surround-ing hills) This being the case it issurely preferable to support a don-key-powered water delivery servicefor those that require it

It has also been suggested that theprices for water delivered by ven-dors should be controlled but thisis wrong The current rate is set bythe free market and is relatedclosely to the real costs incurred bythe vendors If the government setsa rate it is unlikely that the ratewould be fair to the vendors and itmight well result in the end of theservice The following cost-benefitanalysis of a donkey vendor fromArdamatta illustrates the economicposition of the vendors

The finances of a water vendorin EI-Geneina differ slightly -generally more money is chargedper bag of water because thedeliveries are to areas further fromthe wadi and fewer trips are made

Discussions with the respondentsrevealed that most people in thekiosk area know who their commit-tee members are but said that thecommittees did not do very muchand it seemed that the men metoccasionally to discuss problemsbut not the women When problemsdid develop the NUWC was not

24 WATERLINES VOL 10 NO2 OCTOBER 1991