Southern Water and Sanitation Company (SWSC)

There is a lack of adequate toilet infrastructure, emptying services and waste treatment services, alongside a lack of affordability or willingness to pay in urban and peri-urban areas in the southern province of Zambia.

Southern Water and Sanitation Company (SWSC) is a public water and sanitation utility company, providing clean drinking water and sanitation services, with a vision “to be the leading and viable potable water and sanitation services provider in Zambia”.

SWSC, the lead partner and implementer of the project, together with Water and Sanitation for the Urban Poor (WSUP) as the co-lead, received funding and support from TRANSFORM to test and develop pit latrine emptying services for low-income, urban communities.

Together, they established a comprehensive understanding of the barriers for target customers in accessing and paying for pit emptying services. They then created an investable business case for the utility to run a service for low-income communities. The project tested and launched the provision of an inclusive, formalised pit latrine emptying service including promotion, operations and waste treatment.