The provision of an improved water supply service to the poor urban areas of Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia is essential, given that large numbers of people living in the city have problems of
access to a reliable and adequate potable water supply. Only 62% of residents receive an
adequate water supply in the City. Clearly, much still needs to be done in this regard.
Additionally, water resources need to be managed far more efficiently. This study examines
water resource management in Ethiopia using the political ecology framework focusing on
issues of equity with regard to access to safe and clean water in the poor areas of the city of
Addis Ababa. The key objectives of this study are: to evaluate existing water resource
management practices in Ethiopia; assess access to drinking water and; propose sustainable
and social justice based management strategies to water resources in Addis Ababa.
Qualitative and quantitative research techniques within a purposive sampling methodology
are used in this study. The study covers water use and consumption patterns; availability and
reliability of water; gender; income; monthly water expenditure and time taken to fetch water
from existing sources. The results indicated that more than 37% of the sample households use
less than 20 litres per person per day. Most households pay a relatively high price for
drinking water with the average cost of ETB 12.87/m3, or 9.19/m3 Rands for water. The
majority of households are willing to pay for a new improved water supply. However, the
initial connection fee has to be in small instalments linked to their level of income. An
innovative financing and cost recovery mechanism is required to increase the coverage of a
reliable and safe water supply at an affordable price. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2009.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:ukzn/oai:http://researchspace.ukzn.ac.za:10413/7099 |
| Date | January 2009 |
| Creators | Woldemariam, Berhanu Hailu. |
| Contributors | Narsiah, S. |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Detected Language | English |
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