Aseessment of independence of regulatory bodies in the water and sanitation sector: a case of the national water supply and sanitation council of Zambia (NWASCO)

The study was aimed at analyzing the independence of regulatory bodies in the Water and Sanitation Sector, which were formed to protect public interest owing to the market failures associated with this Sector with NWASCO of Zambia being the Case study. Independence indicators were identified in terms of financial, functionality and institutional and independence. The independence index of NWASCO was established based on a derivative of the Oliveria et al, 2005 index. 70 independence indicators were identified and grouped into 8 variables. Based on these indicators, a variable-based questionnaire was designed that also served as a framework to test the independence of NWASCO. Experts answered the questionnaire and this was complemented by desk top study and interviews with stakeholders. The Overall Independence index for NWASCO was later on established by the summation of all calculated averages on all the 8 variables. Conclusions drawn from this study were that the overall independence of NWASCO was high, index 6.51 (81%). Functional independence indices were also high (above 0.75) except for the sub-variable Appointments index (0.5).Financial independence was also high, index (1) while Structural independence recorded a medium index (0.75). The study recommended that some clauses in the legal framework of NWASCO be amended to enhance its independence, and that similar studies be conducted on similar institutions in other countries. It was further recommended that the scope of the study be widen to relate independence to performance of the regulated firms in the sector.