Experiences with Pre-Paid Dispensers: Lessons from Three Kenyan Cities

In this report we seek to contribute and facilitate the decision-making process of utilities concerning PPDs. We examine experiences with the installation and operation of pre-paid dispensers. By trying to understand how pre-paid dispensers are used and function in practice we hope to provide a basis that allows practitioners to reflect on their own ideas regarding the desirability of using pre-paid dispensers.

We do this by examining three case studies where water utilities installed and operated pre-paid dispensers in the Kenyan water services sector: Kisumu, Nakuru and Nairobi. The Kisumu Water and Sewerage Company Limited (KIWASCO) and the Nakuru Water and Sanitation Service Company (NAWASSCO) are part of the Performance Enhancement of Water Utilities in Kenya through Benchmarking, Collective Learning and Innovative Financing (PEWAK) Project. Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company (NCWSC) is engaged in a water operator partnership with the Dutch water utility Waternet under the WaterWorX Programme. These connections allowed for the authors to have access to information regarding these cases and facilitated the arrangement of interviews and field visits to develop this report. Fieldwork for this report was undertaken from April 29th until May 10th, 2019. In addition to interviews with staff at the three water utilities and site visits, interviews were also conducted with the Water Services Regulatory Board (WASREB), the Water Sector Trust Fund and a supplier of pre-paid dispensers (Maji Milele).