Previous research has shown that despite the low-income levels in developing countries, cost recovery is a prerequisite for sustainability of urban water services. The challenge for service improvement is continually growing, as it is projected that 88% of all the increase in global population will live in urban centres of low-income countries by the year 2015. Yet bill collection efficiency in some African urban water utilities is lower than 50%. In order to improve cost recovery levels, the new public managerialism paradigm suggests that water utility managers need to change their business philosophy from being supply-driven to engendering customer focus. This study used empirical data, obtained through a cross-sectional survey in eleven major towns of Uganda to establish customer perceptions that influence bill payment behaviour of water utility customers. Regression analysis of data obtained showed that service value and customer satisfaction contribute about 20% of the variation in customer loyalty, which in turn significantly influences bill payment behaviour. Therefore, in order to improve cost recovery, utility managers have to work towards improving customer satisfaction and perceived value of the services delivered. The effect of corporate image, of significance in high-income countries, was not found to be relevant in Uganda.

Keywords:urban water services, cost recovery, household characteristics Maximising cost recovery is currently a top priority for managers of urban water utilities in low-income countries. This research was carried out in 11 major towns of Uganda to establish which household characteristics influence payment for water services. A questionnaire was used to collect data on Customer Satisfaction, Customer Loyalty and several socio-economic variables. Using regression techniques, it was established that the following attributes of the household head moderated the satisfaction/loyalty relationship: gender, occupation and level of education. Other significant factors were household income, and property tenure status. These results could be used to make water utilities customer-focused.

Increasingly, governments in developing countries recognise that the public sector alone cannot provide adequate water and sanitation services to all. Non-state providers (NSPs) including both formal and informal private providers, as well as civil society institutions, also have important roles to play. There are clear challenges for governments intending to work with NSPs, not least of which is the institutional compatibility between bureaucratic agencies and informal water and sanitation NSPs. However, positive examples of government agencies working effectively with NSPs are emerging in many countries. Government engagement with water and sanitation NSPs can be split into five main types: recognition, dialogue, facilitation/collaboration, contracting and regulation. In many situations, a lack of formal recognition of water or sanitation NSPs is an impediment to more productive forms of engagement. There are a number of potential intervention options within each of the five types of engagement that government agencies should carefully consider when supporting the development of NSP water and sanitation services.

Using a two-round Delphi study, 15 faecal sludge emptiers from 11 cities in Sub-Saharan Africa have expressed views on the regulation of faecal sludge emptying services. Their responses identify the regulatory mechanisms in place where they operate, their opinions of these mechanisms, and prioritisation of those considered most useful to enable safe emptying services for all urban residents. All respondents (100%) support regulation, with 80% finding the regulation they encounter useful. However, all also state that regulatory mechanisms should extend beyond only rules and sanctions, to incorporate support, incentives and pro-poor mechanisms. This study is the first to provide a first-hand account of Sub-Saharan African private emptiers' willingness to accept clear regulation. In that regard, regulation should be flexible and adapted to the context in order to facilitate fair competition, safe and satisfactory service for customers and workers alike, and to alleviate the public and environmental health risks.

SUMMARYNon-governmental organisations (NGOs) and local governments differ in their ways of working and are subjected to very different conditioning factors. However, some NGOs engaged in community-based sanitation are increasingly collaborating effectively with the local governments in South Asia. NGOs considered in this article have taken advantage of a more conducive environment to develop some well-designed community-based sanitation programmes in low-income areas, in conjunction with the local government. Some NGOs have also participated in the development of government policies related to sanitation that have enabled the replication of their approaches. In making the transition from distrust between NGOs and local governments to working towards common ends, NGOs have demonstrated their comparative advantages and focused on developing productive relationships with both the local government and the communities in which they work.