By: Godfred Fiifi Boadi, ESQ, PE-GLawyer, Sanitary Engineer
The notion that sanitation services should be self-sustaining through user charges alone is a myth that needs to be debunked. The reality is that user payments alone cannot deliver safe, universal, and reliable sanitation services. This is not an emotional plea, but a structural issue that requires a nuanced understanding of the complexities involved.
Sanitation is a public good with strong externalities, meaning that when waste is managed properly, everyone benefits through reduced disease, cleaner environments, and safer cities. However, markets do not price these collective benefits, so systems that depend only on user fees inevitably underperform.
In low-income and high-density communities, full cost-recovery tariffs would either exclude large segments of the population or push operators to cut corners, leading to illegal dumping, environmental contamination, and public health risks.
The infrastructure required for sanitation and waste management is expensive and long-term, requiring heavy upfront investment with slow and uncertain returns. Landfills, treatment plants, transfer stations, and faecal sludge facilities cannot be built and maintained through household payments alone, especially where payment discipline is weak.
Subsidies are not only necessary but also economically rational. Governments fund sanitation because prevention is cheaper than cure. Investing in sanitation reduces healthcare costs, environmental damage, and long-term fiscal liabilities. In fact, every functional sanitation system globally relies on public financing.
However, public financing without strong regulation can create moral hazard, leading to delayed payments, weak accountability, and neglect of existing assets. This can result in arrears, service decline, and loss of investor confidence.
The bottom line is that sanitation and waste management are public health services, not commercial luxuries. To achieve clean cities, healthy communities, and credible private sector participation, we must treat sanitation as a regulated public service, not a casual market. It’s time to recognize the value of subsidies in ensuring universal access to sanitation and waste management services.
Source: www.climatewatchonline.com
