Moving the goalposts: reconfiguring the role of the private sector in the provision of water

This chapter is concerned with privatisation and PPPs in the water sector. The chapter traces the evolution of private sector involvement in water services, This initially expanded in the 1980s and 90s, led by the extreme form of water privatisation in the UK, and promoted by donors, notably the World Bank. By the early 2000s, it became increasingly clear that the policy was not working as planned. Contracts were difficult to establish and sustain, and many were cancelled or renegotiated. Little investment was raised from the private sector and the evidence of efficiency gains was weak. Privatisation tailed off in the late 2000s. In addition a number of cities remunicipalised their water, mainly in France, in an explicit rejection of the profit motive in the water supply. More recently, policy attention has turned to the potential of the private sector as a financier for the water sector, in line with trends in development finance more generally. The paper shows that this is problematic for a number of reasons and calls for greater attention to be directed towards supporting public sector water services