The encyclopedia · Strategy & Leadership · Strategic decision · 2001–2018
Burkina Faso's ONEA became one of Africa's top water utilities via performance contracts
A 2001–06 service contract with an international operator, then an IDA-funded 2009–18 project, made ONEA one of Africa's best water utilities.
ONEA (Burkina Faso water utility)
The solution
Burkina Faso's urban water utility ONEA was restructured around performance: from 2001 to 2006 it operated under an innovative performance-based service contract with an international operator while remaining publicly managed. The World Bank's case study credits the government's unceasing commitment to reform as key to the success.
The follow-up, IDA-financed Urban Water Sector Project (2009–2018), funded expansion at scale: about 700,000 people gained improved water supply, 440,000 gained improved sanitation, and 120,000 students benefited from better school sanitation. The project's completion report rated the outcome highly satisfactory.
By the end of the project ONEA ranked among the top-performing water utilities in Sub-Saharan Africa, with full recovery of operating and maintenance costs and debt service, partial contribution to capital expenditure, 2.9 staff per 1,000 connections and a bill collection ratio of 97.7 percent. Strengthened governance opened the door to commercial capital and private engagement.
Why it worked
- The service contract imported commercial targets without giving up public ownership
- Sustained government commitment kept the reform credible through leadership changes
- Measurable results let IDA fund expansion on a proven operating model
- Near-full bill collection made the utility bankable, not donor-dependent
What can be applied
A public utility can import private-sector discipline via a performance-based service contract, then borrow on its improved creditworthiness — better than state drift or full privatization.
Aftermath
IDA now cites ONEA as a model result: a state utility that reached full cost recovery on operations and debt service with 97.7 percent bill collection, and that used its track record to pursue commercial financing and private participation for the next round of investment in a rapidly urbanizing country.
Sources
- Burkina Faso - Urban Water Sector Project (Implementation Completion Report 4934)
- Water Supply and Sanitation — Key Achievements
- Corporatizing a Water Utility: A Successful Case Using a Performance-Based Service Contract for ONEA in Burkina Faso (Grid Lines No. 53)
spotted an error? The archive wants to know.