Piloting franchising O&M partnerships: connecting unrelated concepts, to create something innovative

Partnerships, using the basic principles of franchising, could address many challenges in the operation and/or maintenance of water services. Franchising provides appropriate training to people at services sites, and also offers backup off-site skills, with incentives for finding people with the appropriate skills required. The innovative franchising partnership concept is being piloted with considerable success in South Africa. Under the guidance of a franchisor, trainee franchisees are well advanced with initial cleaning and the routine maintenance of the sanitation facilities at 400 schools in the Eastern Cape. Irish Aid is funding concept development, while the franchisees are paid by the provincial Department of Education from the normal departmental budgets for operation and maintenance. Services delivery has shown such a marked improvement that the Department is requesting rollout to a further 1000 schools.