Stakeholders

Treated water guarantees healthy living. Privatisation will bring efficient water supply. Pipe borne water should not be wasted. Prompt payment of bills keeps water flowing.
The consumer's representatives through estate managers, landlord associations, market women, etc. are expected to participate fully in running the system.

Private Investor

The private investor can be foreign or local, but most investments that require large funding, high level of technology and foreign exchange attract foreign investors. The investor is expected to:

1. Provide regular water supply at high-level standard of service.
2. Charge reasonable tariff as agreed to by the regulatory authority
3. Entrench the conditions of service and technical standards of employees

World Bank

The World Bank, through its sister agencies MIGA and WC, is to provide guarantee covering sovereign risks and loans to private investors, respectively. The World Bank will also continue to play its advisory and monitoring role in the privatisation strategy implementation as well as assisting in providing funds for the immediate action prior to privatisation.

LSWC or any appropriate body established by legislation will regulate all operators by ensuring that all tariff, labour, social, legal, and water quality issues are complied with.

Capital and Financial Markets

Mobilisation of local capital is also essential to the success of the privatisation programme. The role of the Securities and Exchange Commission and financial institutions is vital to the achievement of these objectives.

Historical

The Lagos State Water Corporation is the government agency saddled with the responsibility of providing potable water to the people of Lagos State . LSWC has been rendering this service since 1981.

Over the years, the notion of “free social goods” attached to water has gradually changed. The reality of the cost implication of raw water abstraction, treatment, transmission, distribution and the administrative cost makes the change inevitable. Coupled with this fact is the increasing demand for public resources by other sectors of the economy, which makes investable government funds scarce.
The increasing pressure on the government from challenges emanating from the water sector has made the private sector involvement inevitable.

Stakeholders

Water, though regarded as an economic good, still retains its social essential position in the hierarchy of needs of the people. The importance of water in the life of the people cannot be overemphasised. This is why the Lagos State Water Corporation cannot single-handedly design water reform policies without recourse to all parties.

All the parties directly and indirectly involved in the production and consumption of water are stakeholders. Individually, every member of the society falls into one group or the other thereby making everybody a stakeholder. However, for proper representation the following stakeholders are identified while their expected roles are elucidated below.

The Federal/State Governments

The Federal Government has the exclusive right over the exploitation of all natural and water resources in the federation. It exercises various controls on the sector through its various agencies like the River Basin Authorities, Federal Ministry of Finance, Federal Ministry of Justice, and Federal Ministry of Water Resources.

The responsibilities of the Federal Government through its agencies are as follows:

1. To control the exploitation of natural resources like raw water abstraction for water supply, hydro-electric power generation, and irrigation.
2. To provide guarantee to cover sovereign risks and other non-commercial risks.
3. To put in place fiscal policies that will attract foreign investors.

The State Government will

1. Put in place a proper regulatory structure that will address tariff regulation, legal issues, and quality standard.
2. Through the House of Assembly back up the privatisation exercise with an Act or Bill.
3. Commence a public awareness campaign to sensitise all stakeholders on the privatisation process.

Consumers

Consumers will determine the viability of the privatisation option. Availability of markets (large number of consumers) and willingness to pay economic rates are major concerns of investors. Consumers must, therefore, be properly sensitised to know that water is an economic good that must be paid for.

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