Análisis del reporte de quejas y demanda del servicio Caso SEMAPA y Agua[s] del Tunari

This analysis was prepared with archival data provided by SEMAPA in 2001 (that is to say once the company had returned to municipal hands after the water wars). The study analysed complaints about the existing service and complaints about the demand for new connections. It compares the situation in SEMAPA before the concession (Jan – Oct 1999) and the situation during the concession (Nov 1999- March 2000). There were some problems with this time frame as Aguas de Tunari modified the way in which complaints were recorded in March 2000, therefore some of the categories used previously registered zero after this date. Our hypothesis aimed to examine one of the basic premises of the private sector-led pro-poor paradigm that links managerial efficiency with greater benefits for the poor. It assumed that the granting of the concession and subsequent changes in the operating system would be reflected in the complaints lodged. The paper finds no major change in complaints (either amount or type) between SEMAPA and Aguas de Tunari. The only difference registered in the amounts and types of complaints reflected seasonal shifts. Complaints about the service declined in the rainy season when ample water flowed through the system. (Author's abstract)