WASREB moves to strengthen water sector regulation
The Water Services Regulatory Board (WASREB) is seeking to strengthen regulatory oversight of Kenya’s water sector following persistent challenges involving delayed regulatory processes, compliance enforcement and staffing capacity.
WASREB Chief Executive Officer Leparan C. Tialal held a meeting with the Cabinet Secretary for Water, Sanitation and Irrigation at Maji House in Nairobi to outline new strategies aimed at improving the regulator’s effectiveness and supporting the country’s water and sanitation development targets.
During the courtesy call, Tialal briefed the Cabinet Secretary on measures being developed to address institutional constraints and enhance the board’s ability to oversee water service providers across the country.
The proposed measures come as Kenya continues to pursue Sustainable Development Goal 6, which calls for universal access to safe water and sanitation and improved water-resource management. Achieving this goal requires effective regulation, sustainable financing, reliable infrastructure and accountability among institutions responsible for delivering water services.
Established under the Water Act of 2016, WASREB is mandated to protect consumer interests while ensuring that water services are affordable, efficient, effective and equitable. Its responsibilities include licensing water service providers, setting service standards, overseeing tariffs, monitoring compliance and addressing complaints concerning the quality and reliability of water services.
The regulator also assesses the performance of water utilities through indicators covering water coverage, sanitation, drinking-water quality, hours of supply, metering, revenue collection and operational efficiency. These measures help identify weaknesses in service delivery and guide improvements across the sector.
However, delays in regulatory processes and limited human resources can constrain the timely review of applications, monitoring of service providers and enforcement of required standards. Addressing these challenges is important as utilities face growing demand for water, rising operational costs and pressure to extend services to underserved communities.
WASREB’s Strategic Plan for 2023–2027 identifies staff capacity, enforcement and stakeholder engagement among the areas requiring attention. The plan seeks to improve regulatory effectiveness, strengthen governance and create conditions that support more efficient investment in water infrastructure.
Compliance enforcement is particularly important in ensuring that water service providers meet licensing requirements and prescribed service standards. Effective oversight can help protect consumers against poor service, promote transparency in tariff decisions and encourage utilities to improve operational performance.
Digital monitoring systems also support the regulator’s oversight responsibilities. The use of water-sector information systems enables the collection and analysis of performance data from service providers, supporting comparisons, reporting and evidence-based decision-making.
Strengthening regulation is also relevant to the protection of consumer rights. Reliable access to safe water and adequate sanitation depends not only on infrastructure development but also on effective monitoring, transparent management and mechanisms through which customers can raise concerns and seek remedies.
The new strategies outlined by Tialal are intended to improve WASREB’s ability to carry out its statutory mandate and support progress towards national water and sanitation objectives. Specific details of the proposed measures were not included in the announcement.
The engagement at Maji House highlights the importance of coordination between the regulator and the Ministry of Water, Sanitation and Irrigation in addressing institutional challenges affecting service delivery.
As Kenya works towards universal access to water and sanitation, stronger regulatory capacity will remain important in promoting accountable utilities, protecting consumers and ensuring that investments translate into reliable and equitable services for communities.
