Analysis of Key Performance Indicators of Water Service Providers in the Gaza Strip to Achieve UN Sustainable Development Goal 6

Abstract

This article addresses the causes of instability and non-sustainability of municipal water and wastewater by the 25 Service Providers (SPs) in the Gaza Strip (GS), Palestine. The analysis of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) of municipal water and wastewater SPs in the GS shows a serious deficiency in the administrative, financial, and operational dimensions; such deficiency affects efforts to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6). The deficiencies include inappropriate planning, lack of comprehensive capacity-building programmes, very high levels of Non-Revenue Water, and distortions in the tariff structures of almost all service providers, where the average selling price per m³ of water was less than the average unit cost of m³ of water sold. Moreover, levels of collection efficiency were very low, which resulted in a serious cash flow problem for the SPs'. The study has found a lack or absence of accurate or completed customer complaint, satisfaction, and inquiry logs; this is clearly reflected in customer behaviour related to reluctance to pay bills and high levels of illegal connections.