Water Supply and Sanitation in Mozambique - Efficiency of Utilities

Efficiency of Utilities

Because of the poor condition of the networks, illegal connections and vandalism of meters, unaccounted-for water (UfW) was over 50 percent in most areas in 2007. In Maputo, unaccounted-for water apparently increased substantially during the lease contract with AdeM from an estimated 38 percent in 2002 to 62 percent in 2005. Collection efficiency, the share of bills actually paid, reached only 64% in 2004, up from about 30 percent before the lease contract, but far short from the contractual target of 87 percent for 2004. However, these figures are far from precise, and other estimates speak 60 percent UfW and 60 percent collection efficiency before in the late 1990s before the lease contract for Maputo.

According to a World Bank study, staff productivity in Maputo (5.4 employees per 1000 connections) compared favorably with large water companies in the Africa region. Staffing ratios were still high in the other areas, but were improving as the number of connections increased. In 1998 the number of staff per 1000 connections ranged from 10 in Maputo to up to 34 in some towns.