CABO VERDE: Structuring Corporatized Multi-Municipal Water and Sanitation Utilities (MMU)

WASH sector operations in Cabo Verde are primarily confined to 22 municipalities on nine islands. The management and operation of WASH activities has been distributed to a wide range of actors within these municipalities. In most of the islands, each municipality has an autonomous WASH agency (SAAS - Municipal Services for Water and Sanitation). The SAAS however have limited autonomy as there is significant involvement of municipal authorities, and many of the SAAS are not financially sustainable.

Following the example of the nine (9) Municipalities of Santiago, the three Municipalities of the Island of Santo Antão – Porto Novo, Ribeira Grande and Paúl- and the two Municipalities of the island of São Nicolau – Ribeira Brava and Tarrafal -, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), to restructure the traditional SAAS in view to forming two corporative utilities – one on each island – for the provision of water supply and sanitation services.

PPIAF assisted the two municipalities in preparing the setting up of MMU in the Islands of Santo Antão and in São Nicolau. The results of the project are presented in four reports and in 2 additional technical notes as follows:

Task A: Desk review of reform processes undertaken by similar water utilities which includes (i) the review of documentation available for Empresa Agua de Brava and Aguas de Santiago, (ii) review documentation of a similar utility in other countries.

Task B: Design the institutional structures for Aguas de Santo Antão and Aguas de S. Nicolauwhich includes (i) a review of documentation and records of the service providers’ legal and institutional framework.

Task C: Setting up of the Aguas de Santo Antão and Aguas de S. Nicolau MMUs

Task D: Develop a transition plan from the current institutional arrangement to being fully formed and functioning MMUs

For task E, instead of a technical assistance to prepare projects for IGF financing, two notes were produced including:

• Analysis of alternative scenario of St. Anthony Waters constitution PPP regime
• Operating procedures and financing model of the IGF/FASA Fund.