%0 Conference Paper %A Kayaga, Sam %A Franceys, Richard %D 2018 %T Incentives to serve the urban poor: South Africa's case %U https://repository.lboro.ac.uk/articles/conference_contribution/Incentives_to_serve_the_urban_poor_South_Africa_s_case/9592040 %2 https://repository.lboro.ac.uk/ndownloader/files/17232176 %K untagged %X Urban water utilities often fail to provide adequate water supply services to low-income urban communities for various reasons: a poor infrastructure, a difficult topography, utility perceptions that low income communities are financially unreliable and transient, and/ or lack of the will. As a result, up to 31% and 57% of the urban population in Africa, and Asia, respectively are not served by piped water supply (WHO/UNICEF, 2000). In order to improve service provision to the urban poor drastically, there must be institutional and technological innovations. Institutional innovations can occur at three levels: within the community; at the interface between the community and the utility; and in the national government policies and strategies. This is a case study on provision of water services to low-income communities of Durban, South Africa where a combination of technological innovation and incentives from the central government have greatly improved service coverage to the urban poor. %I Loughborough University