In newsrooms, certain issues are known as perennial stories, problems that return year after year with little sign of resolution. For lazy reporters, they become easy assignments: rewrite last year's article, update the date, add a few fresh quotes, and publish. If WASAC&039;s persistent struggle to provide reliable water to Kigali residents is not a perennial story, then what is?
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In a recent interview on Rwanda Broadcasting Agency (RBA), Prof. Egide Karuranga offered a timely and practical prescription. He urged WASAC to work more closely with the private sector to decentralize water service delivery. His proposal deserves serious consideration. As Kigali continues to grow, the city's water challenges can no longer be solved through public investment alone. The question is no longer whether the private sector should participate, but how that participation should be structured to serve public interest.
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One answer lies in a well-designed hybrid Public Private Partnership (PPP).
Rather than treating Kigali's water system as a single challenge, the model separates it into two distinct functions: producing sufficient treated water and distributing it efficiently to consumers. Each responsibility is assigned to the institution best equipped to perform it, combining public oversight with private sector efficiency.
Private companies would finance, design, build and operate new water treatment plants, intake facilities and major transmission pipelines. They would abstract raw water from sustainable sources, treat it to the required standards, and sell bulk treated water to WASAC through long-term Take-or-Pay contracts. These agreements provide investors with predictable revenues while guaranteeing Kigali the additional water volumes needed to keep pace with rapid urbanization and recurring dry season shortages.
WASAC would remain the strategic custodian of the sector. Rather than relinquishing control, it would purchase bulk water from producers and coordinate citywide supply. The distribution network would then be leased to specialized private operators through clearly defined service zones. These operators would maintain pipelines, install customer connections and smart meters, manage billing and collections, repair leaks, respond to customers, and improve overall service quality under performance-based contracts.
The result is a simple but effective value chain. Private investors produce treated water, WASAC coordinates supply, private operators distribute it efficiently, and consumers receive a more reliable service.
Such a model addresses Kigali's biggest constraint, insufficient water production, without relying entirely on government budgets. Mobilizing private capital accelerates investment in treatment capacity while transferring construction and operational risks to experienced developers. At the same time, distribution operators have strong commercial incentives to reduce water losses, improve pressure management across Kigali's hilly terrain, and modernize customer service through digital technologies and smart metering.
Risk allocation is equally sensible. Bulk water producers assume financing and production risks, while distribution operators manage commercial and operational risks. WASAC retains responsibility for planning, regulation and ensuring equitable access. Government therefore remains accountable for tariff policy and protecting vulnerable households through targeted subsidies or lifeline tariffs.
This is not an untested idea. Rwanda has already demonstrated the value of private participation through the Kigali Bulk Water PPP, which successfully expanded treated water production. Internationally, Senegal's affermage model in Dakar has become one of Africa's most successful examples of private participation in urban water distribution, delivering high service coverage, improved efficiency and financial sustainability while preserving public ownership.
Combining these proven approaches offers Kigali an opportunity to build a more resilient and responsive water system. Dividing the city into operational zones would allow service providers to tailor solutions to local conditions while encouraging healthy competition based on performance.
Prof. Karuranga's call to "bring water closer to citizens" finds practical expression in this hybrid model. Private operators can introduce innovation, technology and customer-focused service delivery, while WASAC continues to provide strategic leadership and safeguard public interest.
Of course, success depends on transparent procurement, robust contracts with measurable performance targets, effective regulation and independent monitoring. But delaying greater private participation has itself become costly for consumers who continue to endure recurring shortages.
Rwanda has repeatedly shown that well-structured Public-Private Partnerships can deliver transformative infrastructure. Applying the same pragmatism to the water sector could finally end Kigali's perennial water story, not in the newsroom, but at every household tap.
The writer is an ideator and alternative development financing strategist.