Comprehensive expansion and sustainable provision of water services in Bosnia and Herzegovina can only be achieved through efficient institutions. A review of the water sector governance and institutional, legal, and regulatory framework in BiH has shown a highly fragmented sector and a lack of clarity with regard to roles and responsibilities, resulting in poor oversight over water utility performance. In addition, tariffs have not been set following the sound cost-recovery principles; they are low in regional comparison and much below the affordability threshold, which puts at risk the sustainability of services and hinders investments and expansion efforts.
The main objective of the BiH Water and Sanitation Services (WSS) sector modernisation, supported by WBIF technical assistance, is to (i) strengthen the institutional capacity at the Republic of Srpska (RS), Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) and local level for improved WSS service delivery, (ii) improve access to safely managed WSS services, and (iii) improve the efficiency of WSS service providers in participating local governments.
The overarching approach is to build the sector’s institutional capacity for better services at BiH/Entity (Component 1) and local (Component 2) levels while creating an incentive framework for gradual improvements of the WSS service providers in BiH toward operational and financial sustainability, good practices, and eventually, creditworthiness (Component 3).
