Capacity Building for Provision of Urban Services in Provincial Towns

Working with Public Urban Service Organisations (PUSO) in 5 provincial towns in Mongolia, Cowater undertook this project to improve the delivery of urban services of water, sanitation and solid waste collection, leading to financially stable PUSOs capable of sustaining and improving upon the current level of service. This was achieved through institutional development and improvement of financial and management accounting systems and service business planning cycles. The major changes involved decentralizing responsibilities for these services from the national to the municipal/local level and changes to business planning and service delivery approaches, including proposing the application of user fees and appropriate tariffs. The five provincial centers included in the project were situated in remote, isolated areas of Mongolia, and the project achieved successes amidst a complex political climate resulting from the ongoing change from a centrally planned to a market economy.