Why Utility Services Fail in Africa: Water, Electricity, and the Behavioural Economics Problem – by Dr. Kefentse Mzwinila

Performance trends across utility services in Africa reveal a consistent pattern showing that technical upgrades alone do not solve service delivery problems. Utility systems fail because they are human systems, shaped by behaviour and knowledge flows. In such a perspective, productivity and performance are viewed as behavioral patterns, or a conglomeration of behavioral patterns. 

A fundamental assumption error exists in that such systems assume that customers behave in a rational manner and that employees are compliant. In addition, a further assumption is that consumption patterns are predictable and static. However, from my observation, service delivery challenges in Africa demonstrate that behaviour is rarely rational, and that there is a pervasive fundamental assumption error.

Key behavioural drivers which affect the fundamental assumption error include confidence challenges in the billing systems which logically contribute to resistance towards tariff changes. Apart from the justifiable resistance in reducing household disposable income created by tariff changes there is also the lack of confidence in the optimal functioning of the utility. 

The behavioral drivers directly affect utility management challenges, and these tend to be compounded by knowledge management factors. Fragmented knowledge systems and

weak documentation of operational learning contributes to repeated failures in public utilities performance.

In the overall assessment the failure of Utilities is not just technical, it is behavioural and informational.

This article is part of a broader series on behavioural economics and knowledge management in African resource systems.

Dr. Kefentse Mzwinila