THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO’S INFRASTRUCTURE: A CONTINENTAL PERSPECTIVE

**Table 8. High international call charges, driven by technology and market power**

|$|**% cases**|**Call within**<br>**Sub-Saharan**<br>**Africa**|**Call to the**<br>**United States**|**Internet dial-up**|**Internet**<br>**ADSL**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|Without submarine cable|67|1.34|0.86|68|283|
|With submarine cable|33|0.57|0.48|47|111|
|Monopoly on international gateway|16|0.70|0.72|37|120|
|Competitive international gateway|16|0.48|0.23|37|98|

_Source:_ Minges and others 2009. _Note:_ ADSL = asymmetric digital subscriber line.

# Water supply and sanitation

## **Achievements**

Access to improved water and sanitation in the DRC is comparable to that of similar countries. In particular, about 30 percent of the DRC’s population has access to piped water or standposts. Coverage of traditional latrines is also relatively high.

## **Challenges**

Nevertheless, trends in water access rates are extremely worrisome, with a fast-growing dependency on surface water (figure 6). Access to piped water in the DRC is either steady or in slight decline, while there has been a marked fall in the usage of wells and boreholes. The only encouraging sign is the relatively strong expansion of public standposts, with just over 1 percent of the population gaining access each year. But the most striking trend is the rapid acceleration of reliance on surface water, which is affecting an additional 7.5 percent of the population each year, in particular in rural areas, where the number is as high as 10 percent of the population each year.

Access trends for sanitation are more encouraging, even if the share of the population practicing open defecation is still on the rise (figure 7). Although access to improved sanitation modes is expanding only very slowly, there is a very rapid expansion of traditional latrines underway. These are generally built by households, with about 3.6 percent of the population gaining access each year, well above the regional average. Nevertheless, reliance on open defecation continues to increase by 0.5 percent of the population each year.

Finally, the deficient operation of the water utility, Régie de distribution d’eau (REGIDESO), creates major financial losses in the sector. REGIDESO performs far less efficiently than its African peers. Revenue collection stands at only 70 percent, compared to over 95 percent elsewhere, with nonpayment by government institutions being an important contributor. Annual revenues cover only 64.4 percent of operating costs, much below the operating cost coverage ratio of fragile states, which is 82.3. Distribution losses stand at 41 percent, about double the best-practice level of 20 percent. Tariff levels are about a tenth of those found in other African countries, and nonresidential tariffs are particularly low. Overall, the hidden costs of inefficiency amount to a large share of sector revenues. While this is by no means the worst case in Africa (figure 8), the sector is capturing only half of the revenues that it should. This kind of financial hemorrhage limits the funds available for investment and slows the rate of access expansion.

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