Rawalpindi Water and Sanitation Agency, Punjab, Pakistan : laying the blueprint for a model water utility

Water utilities in Pakistan face a number of challenges as they struggle to provide efficient and reliable water and sanitation services to their consumers. Lack of sector policy, poor governance, weak institutional framework, a nonexistent regulatory regime, and a lack of political commitment for reform are the major factors hindering service delivery. The impacts of poor governance are most sharply felt in the effectiveness of development projects and their benefits on the lives of the poor. Issues such as technical incapacity, lack of trained personnel, political tensions, no clarity in roles and functions (for instance, overlaps with other civic agencies), and lack of social accountability are some of the many hurdles that inhibit the efforts of public water utilities in Pakistan to achieve functional viability. However, Rawalpindi Water and Sanitation Agency (RWASA), located in Punjab province of Pakistan, is a public utility that has made impressive strides in reversing this downward spiral. It now aims to serve as a role model for others, and script a success story on how a public water utility can achieve optimum performance within a politically, technically, and administratively constrained environment. Documented in this Field Note are the processes, and the resulting achievements and outcomes, which enabled this transformation. Also presented are the initiatives that have since broken new ground in Pakistan. The impacts serve to further enhance the utility’s potential to sustain its growth as it aims to rub shoulders with well- performing utilities at the international level. [authors abstract]