National Water Services Commission (Span) And Full Cost Recovery Of Drinking Water Issue
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Date
2014
Authors
Cheong, Yon Khan
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Universiti Sains Malaysia
Abstract
The several attempts initiated by the Malaysian government to restructure the
water sector involving policy and regulations were met with resistance from various
quarters as water related issues like water tariff was politicized. The latest reform
attempt has been successful and as a result, in 2008, SPAN is established as the technical
and economic regulatory body for water supply and sewerage services in Malaysia.
SPAN’s role is vital in safeguarding public, social and environmental aspects through
monitoring of water service operators, management of water. While SPAN may be the
regulator, SPAN’s stated objective in establishing a transparent and integrated structure
for water supply services in the country is seen to be problematic as the organization
needs to set up water pricing mechanism. This becomes the fundamental issue to be
investigated in this study. For this, this study seeks to investigate on how SPAN plays its
role in this aspect as well as to identify the probable components of Full Cost Recovery
(FCR). Using SPAN as a case study, in-depth interviews were carried out with eight
subjects from SPAN, PBA and Capital PI Sdn. Bhd to investigate the issue. From
literature review, SWOT analysis, and Fishbone Analysis, this study found that while the
role of SPAN as the regulatory body is well accepted by the subjects, the challenges in
delivering that responsibility are also acknowledged. As for the components of FCR, the
study could only identify them in general sense but not in detail as the components can
still vary from one state to another. Under such circumstances, full cost recovery
implementation in Malaysia may only be realized within 30 years period from now.
Description
Keywords
SPAN , Water Restructuring , Water Supply Value Chain