A study supported by WSUP sheds light on why many utilities in sub-Saharan Africa continue to struggle to establish and scale safe pit emptying and faecal sludge management services, despite growing political momentum and new mandates for citywide sanitation coverage.
Across sub-Saharan Africa, more than 84% of urban residents rely on onsite sanitation systems such as pit latrines and septic tanks. While these systems are quick to install and often the first step toward improved sanitation, they generate a major portion of unsafely managed waste, particularly in low-income neighbourhoods. The public health toll is staggering. Diarrhoeal diseases remain a leading cause of child mortality, and poor sanitation continues to cost economies billions.
A new research paper, drawing on case studies from Livingstone, Zambia and Malindi, Kenya, provides a rare real-time snapshot of utilities attempting to build safe manual and semi-mechanised pit emptying services, just as they prepare to scale beyond the pilot phase. The work was conducted through WSUP and Sanivation under the TRANSFORM Utility Intrapreneur Challenge, a partnership between Unilever, the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and EY.
Utilities face “pivotal moment” in sanitation expansion.
Both the Southern Water and Sanitation Company (SWSC) and Malindi Water and Sewerage Company (MAWASCO) recently received new mandates to provide complete sanitation coverage, expanding well beyond their historical focus on sewer networks. The study applies the Citywide Inclusive Sanitation (CWIS) framework and includes 34 key informant interviews, offering one of the most detailed examinations to date of early-stage onsite sanitation service development in secondary African cities.
The research confirms several long-standing constraints:
- The high cost of safe services in low-income settlements
- The technical challenge of emptiability, with many pits poorly designed for safe emptying
- The precarious working conditions and limited formal recognition of manual pit emptiers
- The need for sustained investment in supporting systems, from treatment to regulation
But it also uncovers new, under-documented issues shaping service delivery, particularly around disgust, stigma, and the complex identity of public utilities that must balance commercial performance with deep social obligations.
TRANSFORM Utility Intrapreneur Challenge participants
The political reality: private delivery is viable, but insufficient
One of the strongest insights from the research is that governments and utilities are gravitating toward a model where private providers deliver emptying services, while public utilities play a regulatory or facilitation role. This approach reduces operational risk and cost for utilities and is often seen as the most politically feasible option.
However, the study warns that this model will not enable utilities to reach the lowest-income areas, nor deliver the universal coverage countries are now mandating under CWIS principles. “The model is politically viable,” the researchers note, “but it is likely to leave the utilities unable to scale sanitation to low-income areas.”
This finding challenges a core assumption in sector financing that safe, inclusive faecal sludge management can be sustainably delivered solely through commercial service models in low-income urban contexts.
New research questions emerge from household decision fatigue to decent work
The study highlights several areas where further evidence is urgently needed, including:
- Reducing the decision load on households: Households often delay ordering pit emptying due to cost, uncertainty, or competing priorities. Researchers suggest exploring routine, utility-led services with smaller but more frequent payments, shifting the burden away from households and towards a more predictable service model.
- Understanding the motivations of pit emptiers: While pit emptiers consistently express willingness to engage with formal regulation, the study finds a more nuanced reality. Non-financial motivations, social networks, and relationships with utilities all shape compliance and professionalism. Regulators will need to account for these dynamics when designing engagement models.
- Designing regulation suited to low enforcement capacity: Emerging mandates place utilities at the centre of sanitation regulation, yet enforcement capacity remains limited. Future research should explore light-touch regulatory models that still encourage incremental progress, risk-taking, and investment in human resources.
A turning point for sanitation policy in Africa
Both Kenya and Zambia have shown strong political commitment to onsite sanitation, with national regulators WASREB and NWASCO drafting frameworks that recognise faecal sludge management as integral to urban sanitation. Yet implementation lags, and the lack of subsidies for sanitation in contrast to sectors like agriculture and education remains a significant structural barrier.
The paper argues that if countries are serious about universal sanitation, they will need to revisit national funding models and regulatory norms to support the scale-up of onsite services, especially in secondary cities where population growth is fastest.
Implications beyond Livingstone and Malindi
The study’s findings are directly relevant for secondary cities across Africa with similar socio-economic conditions and institutional arrangements. It provides critical insights for regulators, urban planners, utilities, and development partners working to advance CWIS in rapidly urbanising regions. For WSUP and partners, the research reinforces the importance of supporting utilities as they navigate this transitional phase, balancing commercial realities with a renewed mandate for inclusive, safe sanitation for all.
Grisaffi C, Oluoch P, Hamuchenje EM, Phiri J, Salano G, Hawkes L and Parker A (2022) Transforming citywide sanitation provision: Utility voices on pit emptying and transport services in Kenya and Zambia. Front. Water 4:1055227. doi: 10.3389/frwa.2022.1055227