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formidable access barriers, particularly for lowincomehouseholds, and may require subsidies.Private sector participation in water and sanitationprovision has had mixed results for availabilityand affordability. There are cases of successin increasing access to water and sanitationthrough privatization. In Senegal, for example,the private company SdE (Sénégalaise des Eaux)expanded the number of connected householdsfrom 58 per cent to 87 per cent, with many ofthese being subsidized ‘social’ connectionswhere the connection fee is waived and 20cubic meters of water is provided every twomonths at a subsidized rate. 270 Meanwhile, theGovernment continues to support the installationand maintenance of infrastructure, particularlyin rural areas. 271 However, there have also beenspectacular failures in water privatization. Inthe early 2000s, for example, Argentina, thePlurinational State of Bolivia, Indonesia andthe Philippines all terminated their concessionagreements with private providers in response topublic protest—often with women at the forefront—or court disputes over tariff hikes. 272In any case, an effective regulatory frameworkis key to ensuring that services continue to beextended to underserved areas, are providedto all groups without discrimination and remainaffordable for the whole population.Ensuring access and affordabilityA variety of approaches can be used to enhanceaffordability in networked water supply. Theseinclude waiving or subsidization of connection andsupply charges, regulating tariffs and providingtargeted subsidies to ease the financial burden onpoor households.In Cambodia, for example, the publicly ownedPhnom Penh Water Supply Authority (PPWSA), set upin the 1990s, was particularly successful in providingwater access to the urban poor. The company’spro-poor approach includes connection subsidies(up to 100 per cent), possibilities to pay in instalmentsfor poorer households and a ban on disconnection.The cost of water is reportedly 25 times cheaper thanbefore, while the service level has been maintained. 273The company has also been proactive in seeking outhouseholds in need of financial assistance and raisingawareness about the availability of subsidies.In South Africa, the right to water is enshrined in theConstitution. To fulfil this right, public authorities usevarious strategies for the provision of free basic waterand sanitation services. Each household is entitledto a supply of 6,000 litres of free, safe water permonth, and ventilated improved pit latrines and flushtoilets are being installed to replace bucket latrinesin townships. However, the implementation of thispolicy has highlighted concerns about how minimumentitlements are defined (see Box 3.13).BOX 3.13Women claiming the right to water at South Africa’s Constitutional CourtIn 2009, the Constitutional Court of South Africa ruled on a case concerning access to water in Soweto,Johannesburg: Mazibuko and Others v. City of Johannesburg. The five complainants from an informalsettlement, of whom four were women, were from households with between 3 and 20 people living inthem. In line with South Africa’s constitutional guarantee of the right to water, Johannesburg implementedthe Free Basic Water policy to provide all households with at least 25 litres of water per day by installingprepaid meters that provide water up to a defined maximum (6 kilolitres per month). Beyond this, users wererequired to purchase credit to obtain water from the meters.