The capacity of the municipality to develop a partnership focused on delivering benefits to the poor will also be influenced by the more general understanding of the poverty context and services in relation to the livelihoods of the poor. Increasingly in South and South-East Asia, municipalities have dedicated community development staff and extension workers, who have developed extensive first-hand knowledge of poor communities. The problem is often that this knowledge is not effectively absorbed at decision-making levels. Yet in the context of long-term changes in basic service delivery, it is critical that decision-makers are informed about poverty and its implications in their city.
In Cartagena, Colombia, for instance, the process of establishing the joint venture for water and sanitation services paid only minimal attention to the water and sanitation needs of the urban poor, and in more recent years it has been necessary to initiate efforts outside that arrangement.2 Partnerships developed without this understanding of poverty are unlikely to be targeted effectively. In the city of Gaborone in Botswana, the shift to household water connections for all brought with it a policy for removing communal standpipes.3 The authority's lack of understanding of the poor's livelihoods, and their willingness and ability to pay for this level of service, meant that many households were left without access to water. Authorities thought that by removing the standpipes, households would be forced to connect, but they did not. This ultimately led to the reinstatement of the communal standpipe, with significant consequences for cost recovery. Those who could afford it and had household connections still used the communal standpipe for some of their (mostly bulk) water needs as this kept their water bills low. Better understanding of the poor and their perceptions would surely have led to a more informed solution.