GWOPA was established as an Alliance of organizations in 2009, dedicated to promoting and supporting peer-to-peer solidarity exchanges between water and sanitation operators. The objective is to support them in fulfilling their mandates as frontline providers of fundamental services that enable progress in virtually all aspects of development goals.
From public utilities that supply water and sewerage services to millions of customers in capital cities, to small units in local governments of small towns and community-based operators in rural areas or slums, water and sanitation operators are diverse, and their needs vary.
The Steering Committee (SC) is one of the governing bodies of the Alliance with the following objectives:
The GWOPA Steering Committee is an elected body that provides strategic guidance to the GWOPA Secretariat. It helps define direction, review progress and work plans, and provide critical feedback on implementation to ensure GWOPA continues to reflect the views of its member stakeholder groups.
Steering Committee members act as focal points and advocates for GWOPA within their respective regions and communities of practice. They are elected by the members of their constituency for a four-year mandate. Elections are staggered to ensure some continuity in the work of the Steering Committee. Only the institutional members of GWOPA are eligible. Applications are made by organizations, not individuals. The representatives of the applicant organizations must be endorsed by their organizations.
GWOPA’s current Steering Committee is comprised of a fixed number of representatives from the following stakeholder categories: public water operators or associations representing different regions, development partners, civil society organizations, labour unions and private operators, international multi-stakeholders organizations or networks, Development Cooperation agencies, Development Finance Institutions, national and sub-national governments, research and learning institutions, regulators, asset holding companies. Current donors to GWOPA also have a seat on the SC.
The composition of the Steering Committee, which is chaired by the UN-Habitat Executive Director, reflects the geographical and institutional diversity of the Alliance as established in GWOPA’s charter.
Elections for seats at the Steering Committee are now open. List of pre-election Steering Committee Members. List of current Steering Committee Members. Read more about the role and functions of the Steering Committee and the Rules of Procedure of the GWOPA Steering Committee in the GWOPA Charter here (Pages 11-13 and Annex 3, pages 27-30).Candidacies were open until 15 September for the following constituencies:
| Seats per Constituency | To Elect in 2024 |
|---|---|
| Public water and sanitation utilities - Africa | 1 |
| Public water and sanitation utilities – Latin America | 2 |
| Public water and sanitation utilities - the Caribbean | 1 |
| Public water and sanitation utilities - Western Europe | 2 |
| Public water and sanitation utilities- North America | 1 |
| Public water and sanitation utilities – Eastern Europe | 1 |
| Public water and sanitation utilities – Asia | 2 |
| Public water and sanitation utilities - Pacific | 1 |
| Public water and sanitation utilities - Arab States | 1 |
| Private water and sanitation utilities and associations | 2 |
| Civil Society Organizations | 1 |
| Worker and Trade Unions | 1 |
| Other NGOs, UN Orgs, International Stakeholders | 2 |
Voting: Voting was conducted electronically from 18 September at 11:59 PM CEST to 29 September at 11:59 PM CEST. Only institutional members from constituencies with open seats participated in the voting.
For constituencies where GWOPA received the same number of candidacies as available seats, those seats were considered filled without elections.
No Candidature Received for the Following Constituencies:
- Public water and sanitation utilities - North America
- Public water and sanitation utilities - Pacific
- Private water and sanitation utilities
- Civil Society Organizations
- Trade Unions
According to the GWOPA Charter, the current Steering Committee members are invited to extend their mandates until the next elections.
We are pleased to announce the provisional results of the 2024 GWOPA Steering Committee elections held in three constituencies. These results will be formally endorsed at the GWOPA Assembly on 2 November 2024, and the newly elected members will serve a four-year term.
Public Water and Sanitation Utilities – Africa
- Nyeri Water and Sanitation Company Limited (Kenya), Representative: Ms. Esther Ngugi
Public Water and Sanitation Utilities – Western Europe
- Società Metropolitana Acque Torino S.p.A. (Italy), Representative: Mr. Armando Quazzo
- World Waternet (Netherlands), Representative: Mr. Frodo Van Ostveen
Others (NGOs, UN, International Stakeholders, Development Agencies)
- ICLEI (Germany), Representative: Mr. Anton Earle
- Water Integrity Network (Germany), Representative: Ms. Rebecca Sands
We congratulate the newly elected Steering Committee Members and thank everyone who participated in the elections.
The following seats have been filled without elections, as they received the same number of candidacies as the available seats:
Public Water and Sanitation Utilities – Latin America
- Unidad Municipal Aguas de Siguatepeque (Honduras), Representative: Mr. Fernando Luis Villalvir Martinez
Public Water and Sanitation Utilities – Caribbean
- Dominica Water and Sewerage Company (Commonwealth of Dominica), Representative: Mr. Magnus Williams
Public Water and Sanitation Utilities – Eastern Europe
- Budapest Waterworks (Hungary), Representative: Mr. Géza Csörnyei
Public Water and Sanitation Utilities – Asia
- Indah Water Konsortium (Malaysia), Representative: Mr. Azuan Ahmad Zahdi
- Tirta Mayang Jambi City (Indonesia), Representative: Mr. Dwike Riantara
Public Water and Sanitation Utilities – Arab States
- Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (WSSA) (Bethlehem, State of Palestine), Representative: Mr. Akram Nassar
Candidacies were received from the following constituencies:
Public Water and Sanitation Utilities – Africa
- Luapula Water Supply & Sanitation Company (Zambia), Representative: Mr. Golden Manyanga
- Rand Water (South Africa), Representative: Mr. Asief Alli
- National Water and Sewerage Corporation (Uganda), Representative: Dr. Rose Christine Kaggwa
- Ghana Water Limited (Ghana), Representative: Mr. Michael Botse-Baidoo
- Nyeri Water and Sanitation Company Limited (Kenya), Representative: Ms. Esther Ngugi
- Nakuru Water and Sanitation Services Company Limited (Kenya), Representative: Ms. Emmaculate Mutuku
Public Water and Sanitation Utilities – Latin America
- Unidad Municipal Aguas de Siguatepeque (Honduras), Representative: Mr. Fernando Luis Villalvir Martinez
Public Water and Sanitation Utilities – Caribbean
- Dominica Water and Sewerage Company (Commonwealth of Dominica), Representative: Mr. Magnus Williams
Public Water and Sanitation Utilities – Western Europe
- Società Metropolitana Acque Torino S.p.A. (Italy), Representative: Mr. Armando Quazzo
- World Waternet (Netherlands), Representative: Mr. Frodo Van Ostveen
Others (NGOs, UN, International Multi-stakeholders, Development Cooperation Agencies, Development Finance Institutions, National and Sub-National Governments, Research and Academics, Regulators, Asset Holding Companies)
- MEYAH-Arab International Water Foundation (Egypt), Representative: Ms. Dahlia Sabri
- ICLEI (Germany), Representative: Mr. Anton Earle
- Water Integrity Network (Germany), Representative: Ms. Rebecca Sands
- WaterAid UK (United Kingdom), Representative: Mr. Rob Fuller
- International Water Association (United Kingdom), Representative: Prof. Kalanithy Vairavamoorthy
We congratulate the newly elected Steering Committee Members and thank everyone who participated in the elections.
