Possibilities of increasing efficiency of local water supply

U disertaciji se istražuje efikasnost lokalne vodoopskrbe u Bosni i Hercegovini (BiH) i participacija privatnog sektora kao način poboljšanja efikasnosti. Razlog je što se u BiH loše upravlja vodoopskrbom. Nisku kvalitetu usluga prate visoki i rastući gubici vode, koji iznose oko 61%. Uz izuzetak Albanije, najveći su u Europi. Radi smanjenja pristranosti ocjena i donošenja općenitijih zaključaka u ocjeni efikasnosti korištene su kvantitativne metode: analiza omeđivanja podataka i podešena metoda najmanjih kvadrata. Ustanovljeno je da se ista količina vode može isporučiti uz smanjenje ulaganja faktora proizvodnje za minimalno 38.3%, što pokazuje nisku razinu relativne efikasnosti. BiH je koncem 1990-tih godina otvorila procese participacije privatnog sektora u oblasti lokalne vodoopskrbe. Procesi nisu bili dobro pripremljeni i upravljani pa je došlo do zastoja i sudskih sporova koji traju već desetljeće. Iskustva gradova europskih tranzicijskih zemalja pokazuju da participacija privatnog sektora može povećati efikasnost vodoopskrbe. To pokazuje i kvaziprivatizacija vodovoda u Modriči. Studije slučajeva pokazuju da participacija privatnog sektora može biti neuspješna i u najrazvijenijem zemljama i uspješna u najnerazvijenijim zemljama. Proizlazi da nije jednostavno ali ne i nemoguće razviti pravila uključenja privatnog sektora u lokalnu vodoopskrbu radi povećanja efikasnosti i kvalitete usluga. Preduvjet su uspostavljeni pravni, institucijski i regulacijski okviri. Oni omogućavaju restrukturiranje operatera, liberaliziranje tržišta i povećanje cijena vode do razine pokrivanja objektivno utvrđene razine troškova i pravične dobiti. Na temelju ocjene efikasnosti operatera identificirano ih je deset za participaciju privatnog sektora u općinama/županijama: Bosansko Grahovo, Kreševo, Ljubuški, Neum, Posušje, Prozor, Sarajevo, Sokolac, Srbac i Stolac. Participacijom privatnog sektora u BiH može se razviti tercijarno tržište lokalne vodoopskrbe, tj. imati 10-50% stanovništva opsluživanog od privatnih operatera. Sarajevo je jedini relativno veći operater u zemlji, pa se odnosna razina opsluženosti populacije, koju primjerice imaju SAD i Španjolska, može postići dodjelom koncesije za vodoopskrbu Sarajeva. Tako je dodjelom koncesija za vodoopskrbu Sofije odnosno Tallinna razvijeno tercijarno tržište u Bugarskoj odnosno Estoniji. Sustavno mjerenje efikasnosti vodoopskrbe razvija od 1996, a globalno zamjećuje od 2000. Europske tranzicijske zemlje od skora uvode participaciju privatnog sektora u vodoopskrbu pa još ne postoji velik interes za regulaciju sektora, primjenu metode usporedbe i ocjenu relativne efikasnosti vodnih operatera. Kao prvo kvantitativno istraživanje efikasnosti lokalne vodoopskrbe u BiH, ovaj rad može poslužiti kao orijentir za buduće ocjene efikasnosti. Izuzev jednog istraživanja, također disertacije, za slučaj Slovenije, ne postoje druga istraživanja za tranzicijske zemlje Jugoistočne Europe.The dissertation examines efficiency of the local water supply in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and the private sector participation as a way to improve efficiency. Justification for this work is the reality that the water supply system in BiH is poorly managed. Low quality of service is associated with high and increasing water losses that amount to approximately 61%. They are in Europe second only to Albania. In order to reduce biasness and draw more general conclusions in efficiency assessment, quantitative methods were applied – the data envelopment analysis and corrected least squares method. It was found that the same amount of water can be provided with at least 38.3% decrease in production factors used; this indicates a low level of relative efficiency. At the end of the 1990s, BiH opened processes of the private sector participation in the local water supply. These processes were not well prepared and governed managed, this resulting in a standstill and litigations that have been going on for a decade now. The experience of cities in the European transition countries shows that private sector participation can increase the efficiency of water supply. The quasi-privatisation of water supply system in Modrica (BiH) shows that as well. As case studies show, private sector participation can fail in the most developed countries and be successful in the least developed countries. Accordingly, it is not easy, but not impossible, to develop rules of private sector involvement in the local water supply with the purpose of increasing efficiency and quality of services. As a prerequisite, legal, institutional and regulatory frameworks should be established. They would allow restructuring operators, market liberalization and increasing water prices to the level of coverage of realistically determined cost levels and fair profit. In the area of the efficiency assessment of operators, ten operaters were identified for private sector participation in municipalities/counties: Bosansko Grahovo, Kresevo Ljubuski, Neum, Posusje, Prozor, Sarajevo, Sokolac, Srbac and Stolac. The introduction of the private sector participation in BiH can develop a tertiary market for local water supply, i.e., to have 10-50% of the population served by private operators. Because Sarajevo is the only relatively large operator in the country, a relative level of population served by the private sector, for instance as currently exists in the United States and Spain, may be achieved by granting a concession for Sarajevo water supply. This way, granting concessions for water supply for Sofia and Tallinn tertiary markets were developed in Bulgaria and Estonia, respectively. The systematic measurement of water supply efficiency has been developed since 1996, and it is globally noticeable since 2000. Only recently have European transition countries introduced private sector participation in water supply. Consequently, there is until now no great interest in the regulation of the involving conducting benchmarking and assessing the relative efficiency of water operators. As the first quantitative study of local water efficiency in BiH, this work can serve as a guide for future efficiency assessments. With the exception of just one study in Slovenia, also a doctoral thesis, there are no similar studies for transition countries of the Southeast Europe