Briefing Note 2 - Decentralisation and use of cost data in WASHCost project countries 2009
Decentralisation has been in progress for many years in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mozambique and the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, but the process of devolving and de-concentrating powers to local bodies is slow and incomplete. Bodies responsible for water and sanitation at regional, provincial and district/Mandal levels need strengthening. Donors and NGOs that pursue their own programmes and projects hinder the proper development of local and national plans. The use of cost data by those responsible for planning and delivering services is limited to capital costs (CapEx). However, there is a growing understanding of the need to cover maintenance costs (CapManEx) and indirect support costs (ExpIDS). WASHCost can help authorities to develop an understanding of the life-cycle costs approach and a methodology for capturing and using data. WASHCost has the potential to improve planning and reporting processes however it is important to manage expectations, since this will take time.
http://www.washcost.info/page/842
Briefing Note 1b - Services are forever: the importance of capital maintenance (CapManEx) in ensuring sustainable WASH services
A dearth in available data, methodologies and analyses in understanding the full life-cycle costs of maintenance in planning is among the major challenges faced by the water and sanitation sector. This often results to systems failure, overly-expensive investments, and serious disruptions in service delivery and access to water. This briefing note introduces the concept of capital maintenance expenditure (CapManEx) as a potential way forward to filling this gap. It is a valuable resource for policymakers, practitioners, donors and researchers and '...clarifies the concept of CapManEx relative to capital expenditure (CapEx) and operating expenditure (OpEx), outlines reasons to investigate these cost classifications and addresses some challenges in collecting and using the data.'