There is significant political commitment to address the provision of safe water and appropriate sanitation in the country. The availability, storage and proper use of safe water is still a critical challenge for the Government. Following the National Water policy adopted in 1995, and in line with the structural adjustment programme framework, it was decided for private intervention in supplying water.


 This resulted in the first water concession in the country as from 30 November 1999, under a contract signed on 27 September 1999. Some public-private partnerships have emerged. The national water strategy includes the promotion of private sector in the provision of water and sanitation, the implementation of the rural water provision plan based on demand from the interested communities, the rehabilitation and conservation of urban sanitation infrastructure for residual and fluvial waters in the big cities. As a result, there are now a number of actors involved in the provision and distribution of water in Mozambique:




The state through the Ministry of Public Works and Housing under the National Directorate of Water (DNA – Directorate National de Agua) with support of donors takes care of both rural and urban areas. The government owns all water and severage infrastructure through the Water Supply Investment and Asset Fund (Fundo de Investimento e Património do Abastecimento de Água, FIPAG), but leases its operational and management functions to a private consortium,

 • Aguas de Mozambique. The consortium is responsible for rehabilitation and extension of water networks in urban settings. 


Its operation has continually increased, and it is now managing, maintaining, providing services and collecting tariffs in 13 urban settings. The safe water coverage under this arrangement is reported as 36%. 

• The remaining 4 cities rely on municipally owned and managed systems. Regulation of the water service delivery of formal or informal operators is done by the “Conselho Regulador de Abastecimento de Àgua” (CRA)- Regulatory Council for Water Supply. 


Despite this innovative approach, donors still finance the majority of the investments needed, contributing 80% of the funding between 1995 and 2005. Water supply cost between 10 and 35 US Cents per cubic metre in 2001. 


Urban access to water in Mozambique has increased dramatically since the mid-90s. It is now estimated at 78%, up from 56%, ten years earlier. The rural areas are worse off, with only 24% of the population having access to clean water. Given the greater proportion of the population living in rural areas, the national average is 56%. Urban house connections are low, at 20%, with the corresponding rural house connection at 2%. The distance to water connections have both time and risk implications for women and girls, who have the primary responsibility of fetching water. 


Access to water is therefore also a gender issue. The main natural water sources are surface water (rivers, lakes) and underground water (springs, boreholes). Only the water delivered by formal operators has some certainty of not vectoring bacteria or pollutants. A WHO report from 2003 stated that only 3 out of 84 boreholes in the periphery of Maputo are equipped with automatic chlorination systems. The same document reveals that such boreholes are often located close to latrines. 


The cost of water can reduce access to water even if the network distributions cover an area. Although meant for the low income households, public stand pipes in urban areas are more expensive to access than direct housing connections. This forces the urban poor to rely on unsafe sources of drinking water. Maputo has a high concentration of consumers in both urban and peri-urban settlements, who experience low or even non-existent levels of water service delivery. It is a city with great potential for securing some revenue to help its development.