Water Supply Institutional Approach

Namibia has a unique water supply institutional approach. For smaller supplies, communities are asked to take ownership of their local infrastructure by funding and performing routine maintenance with the support of a rural water extension officer. For most urban centers with more than 2,000 people, a state-owned enterprise called the Namibia Water Corporation (NamWater) takes some of the responsibilities of the national Department of Water Affairs. NamWater extracts water from ground and surface resources via boreholes and dams. The water is sold as bulk water to local authorities such as municipalities, who then supply residents. The commercialization of bulk water supply improved management by phasing out state subsidies and instituting full cost recovery and generation of investment funds, as well as flexible planning of internal (financial, personnel, technical) and external (free market) operations (GWP, 2009).