From Rowdy Cartels to Organized Ones? The Transfer of Power in Urban Water Supply in Kenya

Due to the limited presence of formal water utilities in urban low-income areas in many developing countries, water supply is carried out by informal private providers. As part of efforts towards improving water services to low-income areas, the activities of these informal providers are currently being acknowledged through various formalization approaches. This article investigates one such formalization approach, which consists of partnerships between the utility and the informal providers. This is an approach which allows the utility to partially withdraw from service provisioning to the low-income areas. Based on empirical evidence from three such partnerships in low-income areas in three Kenyan cities, we show in this article that formalization redefines and strengthens the legal capacity of informal providers to gain control of service provision in these areas. This can bring benefits for the utility as well as for consumers. However, it also risks legitimizing and furthering the exploitation of consumers by informal providers.