2005 - 2006 - Pinsent Masons Water Yearbook 2012

KENYA PART 2: COUNTRY ANALYSIS
Kenya
Economics (2003)
GDP per capita US$400
GDP per capita (PPP) US$1,030
GDP in Agriculture 16%
GDP in Industry 20%
GDP in Services 65%
Water and sewerage services
Approximately 93% of Nairobi receives potable water and 35% some form of sewerage. 65% of the
overall population have access to safe water – 70% of the urban and 46% of the rural population.
There are 742,000 water connections and 680 piped systems in the country, along with 350
community water schemes. 145,000 connections to 35 sewerage systems serve 2 million people. In
2003, 7.6% of the population had piped water within their dwellings, 19.2% for urban areas and 33.2%
for Nairobi.
Total water demand was approximately 3,150 million m 3 in 2000 and is forecast to rise to 4,343 million
m 3 in 2010 and to 5,552 million m 3 in 2020. The Kenyan Aftercare Study of 1998 forecast total
spending of US$2.6 billion being needed to upgrade and extend the water and sewerage networks.
Studies carried out in 2001-03 point to an immediate need for US$1.0–1.4 billion for the water system.
This does not include the need for more water storage capacity, which is becoming a critical issue due
to periodic droughts in recent years. In reality, investment has been falling, with capital spending in
2001-02 42% of its 1994-95 level. This has in part been due to the economic consequences of
drought and flooding between 1997 and 2001.
Water is a wealth issue
Access to safe water supplies by
household income, 2003
Poorest 20% 28.0%
Second 20% 37.7%
Middle 20% 50.6%
Fourth 20% 63.8%
Richest 20% 93.7%
And a waste of time
In 2004, it was estimated that 53.2% per cent of households in Kenya walk for less than 15 minutes
each day to fetch water. Even in urban areas, 16.2% of the population have to spend more than this
time carrying water.
Population
2003 (million) 31.9
2015 (million) 37.5
Urbanisation in 2003 36%
Urbanisation by 2015 52%
In urban agglomerations, 2015 10%
Vendors being brought into the mainstream
Water vending is widespread in larger cities. Under a scheme developed in 2005, they are
collaborating with official agencies in Kibera (Nairobi) and Kisumu to improve water supply service for
underserved consumers. Maji Bora Kibera, an association of 500 small-scale water vendors serving
approximately 500,000 Kibera inhabitants, have a partnership with the Nairobi Water and Sewerage
Company. Between 40-60% of the population of Nairobi’s informal settlements lack access to safe
drinking water and pay almost 20 times more than well-to-do city residents. In Kisumu, 200 of the
total 1000 small-scale private water providers receive bulk water at concessional rates of US$0.40
(€0.31) per m 3 from the Kisumu Water and Sewerage Company (Kiwasco). The vendors will also
manage secondary water distribution branches installed by Kiwasco, serving poor settlements. In
Kisumu the total population now unserved is 200,000.
128 Pinsent Masons Water Yearbook 2005 – 2006