The Millennium Development Goal (MDG) for water supply will not be achieved in Africa unless about a million new boreholes are drilled. Private drillers form an essential section of the borehole drilling sector in Africa. More needs to be known about their abilities and how to enhance the contribution they can make.

A report from the Water and Sanitation Program in Kenya examines entrepreneurial drilling companies in Ethiopia, Madagascar, Nigeria and Sudan, the business strategies they use and the constraints they face.

External support agencies have tried to increase drilling capacity in government agencies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Most now admit that this approach has failed and are turning to the private sector for solutions. However, the operations of private borehole drillers, who mainly operate in remote areas far from the eyes of donors and government regulators, are not well known or understood.

Recent estimates suggest that in Ethiopia alone as many as 80,000 new boreholes will be needed to meet its MDG for water supply. This will require an investment totalling US$1 billion over the next ten years. Considering that typical African drilling rates are only 10-100 boreholes per rig per year, then at least a thousand drilling teams working continuously for the next ten years will be needed across the continent.

Each of the four private drilling companies studied undertakes similar activities – competing for work, buying equipment and materials, recruiting and training personnel, drilling boreholes and installing pumps. The author describes how:

• an Ethiopian firm invested in a modern drilling rig and has drilled 50 deep wells: the company faces competition from inefficient state-owned companies using old rigs
• a Madagascar company specialises in shallow boreholes: refresher training courses boost village maintenance capacity
• a Nigerian firm loaned a drilling rig by the UK government to drill wells for vulnerable communities also provides water-user maintenance and hygiene training
• a company long established in southern Sudan has been structured to react to the market and enable work to be completed as either a private sector or NGO partner.

The companies face common constraints: lack of finance; difficulties in obtaining spare parts due to inadequate supply chains; excessive bureaucracy; corruption; and ideological resistance by state firms and NGOs to private sector. None of the companies have been able to produce professional promotional materials or invest in corporate marketing campaigns. Several retain more staff than they can use on a regular basis.

More cost-effective and efficient borehole drilling will require:

• central management units to coordinate and support the private sector
• measures to ease bureaucratic delays
• increased transparency in bidding and an end to awarding contracts to businessmen with political connections
• helping public, NGO and private drilling organisations understand each others’ different problems and priorities and work together
• establishing a rolling fund to provide a sustainable solution to the credit problems identified by drillers
• governments and donors to package borehole contracts  into larger clusters of 10–50 wells so that contractors can work more efficiently and tender lower prices.

Source(s):
‘Who is Going to Drill the African Boreholes? Entrepreneurs in the Rural Water Supply Sub-sector’, Water and Sanitation Program, Field Note, by Andy Robinson, October 2006 (PDF) Full document.

Funded by: Water and Sanitation Program

id21 Research Highlight: 2 May 2007

Further Information:
Andy Robinson

Contact the contributor: andyroxhat@yahoo.co.uk

Water and Sanitation Program - Africa

Water and Sanitation Program - Africa
World Bank
Hill Park Building
Upper Hill Road
PO Box 30577
Nairobi, Kenya

Tel: +254 20 3226306
Fax: +254 20 3226386
Contact the contributor: wspaf@worldbank.org

Other related links:
'Lack of spare parts reduces access to water in Africa'

'A brief history of hand drilled wells in Niger' (PDF)

'Ten-step Guide Towards Cost-effective Boreholes: Case study of drilling costs in Ethiopia' (PDF)

'Understanding and helping water vendors'

'Achieving sustainable water supply in rural Africa'