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There is an assumption that the inclusion of civil society in governance processes promotes democratic performance and contributes to 'good governance', in the sense of pluralism, accountability and transparency. This paper refers to the governance process of the water utility in Accra involving the private sector, and examines the validity of the assumed roles regarding the inclusion of civil society in the governance process. For the purposes of this study, civil society is defined as 'non-state and non-market organisations that can, or have the potential to, champion democratic governance reforms and act as agents for political and socio-economic change'. Contrary to assumptions made about the inclusion of civil society, the analysis herein shows that the inclusion of civil groups in the governance process of the water utility led to hostile and undemocratic processes and to weak indicators of 'good governance'. The main concern of the key actors was centred on how to build consensus around the privatisation programme of the water utility. 'Managing consensus', however, is an inappropriate planning measure. It is argued here that the focus should rather be on how to design governance structures and arrangements, mobilised by legitimate and committed political leadership, to build and enhance the capacity of governance processes. ; QC 20100628. QC 20120210 (Published)

The constraints experienced by water utilities in developing countries, with regard to the universal provision of access to water and improved water services, have been defined by international policymakers as "a crisis of governance". This study departs from the theoretical perspectives on governance and aspires to accumulate knowledge and advance understanding on how the performance of water utilities can be enhanced. The thesis comprises five papers and the cover essay. Four of the papers address case studies and one is a theoretically based paper, while all five papers are supported by reviews from the literature relevant to the topic of each paper. The thesis uses insights from literature reviews mapping relevant scientific theories and concepts in the areas of mainly governance, deliberative policymaking and communicative planning, social capital, civil society and institutional theoretical perspectives. The study integrates different research methods and explores theoretical perspectives on governance to examine the governance aspects of water utilities in the transition phase from public to private management and operation. The study investigates whether the governance structure that involves the private sector in the form of Public Private Partnership (PPP) of water utility has produced "good governance" and enhanced water governance in two cases, the Lema Water Company in Amman, Jordan and the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) in Accra, Ghana. The analysis highlights evidence of governance deficiency. Accordingly, the thesis argues against the policy design that assumes that simply transferring the management and operation of water utility to private operators would resolve the problems of water utilities and enhance water governance. The analyses and the conclusions reached in the papers, together with a review of the literature on New Institutional Economics theory that knits together all the theories that are utilised in the papers, offer insights in the understanding of aspects of water ...

The scholarly work shows that the success of the water privatization in the provision of universal water services is questioned and the assumed superiority regarding the efficiency of the private sector is contested. Experiences have also shown that public water operators have succeeded where an effective policy framework and appropriate governance arrangements exist. Supported by lessons learned from water management practices and experiences, both past and present, this paper argues that certain key principles are necessary in order to develop a general policy framework for improving water services. The paper argues that municipal water services should be provided by an autonomous state authority with some degree of decentralization that base its strategy on the recognition of the rights of citizens to municipal water services and the political commitment to fulfil this right. Additionally, water services should be integrated and managed holistically, based on non-profit cost recovery principles and should be open to public participation and public steering with regard to policymaking. The paper finally tests this framework by examining the perceptions of the actors involved in the decision-making process with regard to integrating the private sector in the case study carried out in Accra, Ghana; it shows that these perceptions correspond to the principles stipulated herein for an effective water utility. ; QC20100628

This paper challenges the operational approach of the new policy paradigm of "good governance" thatdischarges the concept of governance from political substance and reduces it to the level of an efficientpublic service authority. The paper therefore develops an alternative analytical framework tounderstand and assess good governance based on institutional perspectives. Accordingly, governanceand good governance notions are re-defined. Using the case of urban water reform policies in Ghanathe validity of the analytical framework is tested. The analysis shows that the framework is useful andhas meaningful contribution to understand governance processes. The assessment of the reform policyreveals into different and entangled institutional constraints at multilevel and in different spheres thatcontinue to hinder the performance of the water utility. To design appropriate public policies toenhance water governance aspects of the water utility require addressing all of these constraints. ; QC 2012