Angola – Participatory workshop on water subsidy mechanisms
On 28 November, a participatory workshop was held at the Hotel de Convenções in Luanda, dedicated to the presentation and discussion of the recommendations arising from our study.
This workshop marked a key milestone in the second phase of the study on the analysis of alternatives to subsidising vulnerable households’ access to water services and the identification of beneficiaries. Following the presentation of the recommendations report, the objective was to initiate a collective reflection with sector stakeholders in order to jointly examine the different options under consideration.
The discussions were structured around two fundamental questions:
- Who are the vulnerable households and how can they be identified?
Several targeting approaches were examined, including income-based targeting, geographical targeting, household self-declaration, and combined methods. - What types of support should be provided?
Discussions focused on possible subsidy modalities, including subsidies correlated or not correlated with income, applied on the water bill or off-bill, as well as the level of support to be granted.
These two questions open up a wide range of possibilities, each with its own advantages, limitations and, in some cases, constraints linked to the national context.
To structure the discussions and encourage participants to take ownership of the options, Phoenix developed a serious game inspired by the ‘fresco’ format. The aim was to enable participants to examine each option in a structured manner, systematically considering its prerequisites, advantages, disadvantages and suitability for the Angolan context. At the end of the game, each table had to reach a consensus on the option deemed most relevant and present its conclusions in a plenary session.
The active participation of the stakeholders involved made this event a success and enabled us to gather relevant comments for the development of an implementation roadmap, the final stage of our study.
