summary
Event: 2nd Sub-Saharan Africa Water Utility Executive Forum
Date: Wednesday, March 7 – Friday, March 9, 2023
Location: Johannesburg, South Africa
Main Participants
A total of 100 people, including 27 executives from 17 entities in 11 sub-Saharan African countries, Water Resources Group, Global Environment Department, JICA
Group photo of executives from 17 entities in 11 countries
Background and Objectives
From March 7 to 9, 2023, the 2nd Sub-Saharan African Water Utility Executive Forum (hereinafter referred to as “Forum”) was held under the theme of “Business Management for Sustainable Water Supply Services,” with a total of 100 participants including 27 executives from 17 utilities in 11 countries gathered in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The Water Resources Group of the Global Environment Department of JICA regularly holds “Executive Forum” in Asia and Africa as one of the platform activities for leaders of water utilities in developing countries to learn from each other from the same perspective, transcending national boundaries and positions. After holding the first forum in Rwanda in 2019, the Africa region had to postpone the forum due to the new coronavirus infection.
Contents
“Each one, Teach one” – Connecting and learning together to achieve better water utility management.”
On the first day, JICA’s Global Environment Department gave keynote speeches on “1) Approaches and Results of the Growth Spiral in the ‘Water Utility Growth Support’ Cluster,” “2) Case Studies on Management Improvement in Cambodia and Prepaid Meters in Palestine,” and “3) Cross-national Learning Exchange Related to JICA Projects. The next session was held in Rwanda. Next, Ms. Gisele, Acting President of the Water and Sanitation Corporation of Rwanda (WASAC), gave a presentation on the significance of the Forum as the first host country and the development of cooperation with other entities through the Forum. Both presentations raised expectations for the Forum, especially for first-time participants. Thereafter, five entities presented good practices, in particular, the National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) of Uganda’s efforts in strategic human resource development, including the introduction of systems and incentives to improve staff capacity, and Embu Water and Sanitation Ltd. of Kenya’s efforts to develop human resources through the introduction of a funding mechanism. Ltd. in Kenya, as examples of the use of two blended finance schemes (Output Based Aid [OBA] and Aid on Delivery [AOD]) as a means of raising funds! The participants showed a high level of interest in the two schemes, with many requesting to visit and exchange opinions with the participants.
The second day was divided into three sub-themes: 1) Financing to improve water supply services and infrastructure development, 2) Human resource development by organizations, and 3) Business strategies of water utilities. The group discussions were divided into “1) Human resource development through organization”, “2) Human resource development through organization”, and “3) Business strategies of water utilities”. In the afternoon of the same day, the participants toured the water supply facilities of Johannesburg Water, the host city, and inspected the installation site of prepaid meters. On the final day, after reviewing the previous day’s activities, each entity summarized the Key Takeaways (K/Ts) that they had gained through the forum, initiatives they would like to refer to, and items on which they would like to exchange opinions and information with other water utilities in the future, and each gave a presentation. In the summary session that followed, representatives of the participants presented their impressions of the forum, including “The forum was an opportunity to strengthen my mindset and insight,” “We need healthy competition like this forum,” “It is important to teach and learn from each other (Each one, teach one),” and “I will continue to participate in the forum in the future. It is important to teach and learn from each other. Participants also expressed their gratitude to JICA for organizing the Executive Forum and their expectations for the 3rd Forum.
For the future
The Executive Forum was not only an opportunity for the participating entities to learn from each other and to build and promote networking, but also a meaningful forum for JICA to hold individual meetings and gather information with related organizations that are implementing projects on a daily basis or may do so in the future. （The forum also showed its potential as an eye-opening forum for executives. Although the forum has come to an end, how the lessons learned by the participants will be put into practice at each entity and how the network established at the forum will be utilized will be the key to the future. Based on this, follow-up activities will be conducted over the next year to monitor the improvement of projects and performance of each entity by utilizing the lessons learned in the forum, and to promote networking. It is expected that these activities will continue to boost awareness and initiatives at each entity.
© Source JICA
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