On January the 30th, 2013 was held a conference on Public-Private-Partnerships in Port-of-Prince, Haiti, a joint initiative from the Inter-American Development Bank and the World Bank.
Francis Périneau, General Manager of the water services operator SESAM (Société des Eaux de Saint-Marc) and Antoine Masson, LYSA’s senior institutional advisor, presented, in presence of Mrs. Marie Carmel Jean-Marie, Minister Of Economy and Finance of Haiti, the experience of the public service delegation entrusted to SESAM for the management of the drinking water service in the city of Saint-Marc.
Public Private Partnership for drinking water: the example of SESAM in Saint-Marc, Haiti
On January the 30th, 2013 was held a conference on Public-Private-Partnerships at the Karibe Convention Center in Port-of-Prince, Haiti, a joint initiative from the Inter-American Development Bank and the World Bank. Among the participants was present Mrs. Marie Carmel Jean-Marie, Minister Of Economy and Finance of Haiti.
Public-Private-Partnership, she insisted, is a mean to valorize and promote national assets, as illustrated by a statement from the Council of Modernization of Public Companies. The Ministry of Economy and Finance, through its Central Management Unit of Public Private Partnerships, works to strengthen institutional capacity at every level of the administration and promote Public-Private-Partnerships.
SESAM was invited to present its experience of delegated management of the public water service for the city of Saint-Marc, a pilot experience in Haiti. Francis Périneau, its General Manager, underlined that such a partnership implies not only a strong political will relayed by the delegating authority, but also a strong commitment from the local operator that takes over the service. Indeed, the latter commits itself on quantified objectives to improve the quality of the water service delivered as well as financial objectives on which depends its proper remuneration. The operator is therefore bound to an obligation of result. The delegating authority remains the owner of the infrastructure and financial mechanisms are included to finance the initial ramp up, as well as network extensions and renewals. The operator has full responsibility regarding the management of the utility and its human resources, as well as the infrastructure and the service delivered to the population. The delegating authority plays a monitoring and regulating role. Therefore, the success of the scheme relies on the synergy between both partners.
The main challenges drawn from this experience are social, such as the absence of local public service culture or the economic insecurity of water users, lacking in most cases of social insurance. In addition to these contextual elements comes the difficult learning process and acceptance of the volumetric water tariffs, as inscribed in the Haitian Law on Water and implemented universally for the first time in a Haitian city.
The exemplarity of public administrations would undoubtedly ensure a better promotion of the public service payment culture but the different ministries and government bodies have yet to be allocated an annual water budget.
Francis Perineau finished its intervention by redrawing the multiple challenges and issues SESAM overcame since the initial takeover of the management of the service with the support of LYSA, private operator of the contract responsible for transferring technical and work skills. He then concluded on the upcoming milestones, which include the management transfer of SESAM to the local team and the launch of the second phase of modernization of the water network aiming to ensure by the end of 2013, 24-hours-per day drinking water service delivery thanks to the elimination of old pipes’ water leaks and the reduction of water spillage on user connections that were not yet equipped with metering devices.
The audience showed its interest for this kind of return of experience and encouraged the promotion of similar public service delegation management schemes, which illustrate in a concrete way the implementation of a Public-Private-Partnership.