Preliminary assessment of economic sustainabilityof water supply schemes in rural highlands of Oromia

摘要

The study consists in a preliminary analysis about the economic sustainability of rural water supplyschemes management in the highlands of Oromia region and it aims at providing the WaSH sector inEthiopia with a methodology for reviewing tariffs and post-project management. A quantitative analysisis carried out through the Average Incremental Cost method and by assessing the Break-Even Pointachievement of a stratified sample of water schemes, respectively considering: O&M, Depreciation andCapital Investment Return. Despite the limited sample dimension, the methodology has been provenconsistent with the challenging situation of the rural water supply sustainability. Hence the study offersrelevant findings and reflections on the fragile link between tariff setting and cost-recovery necessitiesand the implications of low economic sustainability, which is often the main cause of water schemesmalfunctioning. Finally, a more comprehensive investigation on the same theme across the sector inEthiopia is suggested.