Water Sector Reform Plan 2014-2016.

This Water Sector Reform Plan 2014-16 is an update of the Water Sector Reform Plan (2012-14) and Sector Reform Plan Update (2013-15) and provides an update of the lay-out of the intention of the government of Palestine to reform the water sector over the next 3 years. The Reform Plan aims to (i) collaborate with national and international stakeholders to guide the water sector's reform from 2014 to 2016; (ii) provide recommendations for activities that the Palestinian Water Authority (PWA) and other related government institutions need to undertake as part of a broader medium- and long-term reform process; (iii) enhance a jointly monitoring progress, making modifications, and suggesting additional plans as needed. The document is intended for water sector stakeholders but will be shared with the Palestinian public for transparency and accountability, as well as with other interested national and international parties. The sector reform has been articulated through a set of four complementary components, these being (1) Institutional Water Sector Review (IWSR) to propose the preferred institutional architecture that suit the Palestinian governing system; (2) Legislative Review (LR) to provide a new water law that addresses the identified weaknesses within the 2002 Water Law and reflects the revised institutional architecture; (3) Technical Planning Advisory Team (TPAT) to provide capacity building and technical assistance to enable PWA to be more responsive to the sector needs; (4) other projects to assist, for example, PWA and its affiliates in the transition towards the new architecture.
More in detail, the five objectives of the reform agenda are (1) with regards to institutions, the Sector Reform will establish strong (capable) and sustainable institutions within a legal framework that clearly defines their roles, responsibilities and the interface between them at both governance and management levels; (2) with regards to infrastructure needs, the Sector Reform will improve water supply and sanitation strategies, policies, investment programs, project designs, and the implementation of projects, in an effort to substantially accelerate and maintain infrastructure development; (3) with regards to service provision, the Sector Reform aims to accelerate equitable access to a quality service, while providing improved efficiency and cost-recovery of effectively regulated water operators; (4) with regards to water resources management, the Sector Reform will help to build the institutional knowledge, policies, and monitoring and enforcement capacities, as part of an effort to achieve a more sustainable water resources management strategy, to include conservation, protection and increase of water resources, and securing Palestinian water rights; (5) with regards to water consumers, the Sector Reform will aim at improving water demand management and public health awareness in line with the development of water conservation, environmental and public health policies.
The Plan will be coordinated by the Council of Ministers Steering Committee (COMSC), with target achievement managed by relevant organizations or task teams. The Reform Planning task team will design formats for quarterly and bi-annual progress reports, while the responsible organizations will provide the necessary data. The task team will compile these reports and submit them to the Reform Coordination Unit, which will review them with the COMSC and provide feedback. Joint annual reviews with stakeholders will be organized, and the reform plan will be updated annually.