It has now been nine months since I left the USAID Maji Safi (Clean Water and Sanitation) Project, following the decision by the U.S. Government to terminate funding. While the project regrettably ended prematurely, these past months have provided an important period of transition—one that allowed me time for deep self-reflection and renewed energy to serve my country in other capacities.

Looking back at how quickly the months have passed, it has been quite a journey. From supporting former colleagues and staff as they adjusted to a new reality, to exploring new avenues where I can contribute meaningfully, the period has been both challenging and inspiring.

On a personal level, this transition also gave me the opportunity to reconnect more closely with my family here in Dar es Salaam. Relocating and settling back into family life has been both grounding and rewarding. It also meant navigating an important milestone at home—supporting my daughter, Lyonelle, as she transitioned to a new school to join her brother Lancelot. Like many parents know, helping a child adjust to a new environment comes with its own mix of excitement and uncertainty. Seeing her gradually settle and thrive has been one of the most meaningful parts of this period.

Professionally, this transition created a space to reflect on how I can continue contributing to Tanzania’s development journey in new ways. One outcome of this reflection has been the establishment of Third Alternative, a not-for-profit platform advancing community-led transformation by strengthening local institutions, systems, and enterprise-driven solutions for sustainable futures.

Third Alternative is built on a simple but powerful belief: lasting transformation comes from local leadership, local innovation, and community ownership. Its vision is “Empowered local institutions and communities driving sustainable systems transformation,” and its mission is “Partnering with communities and local institutions to strengthen systems and unlock enterprise-led solutions for sustainable futures.”

Our motto— “Shaping tomorrow, today”—reflects the belief that the future we aspire to see in our communities and systems must be actively built through the decisions, partnerships, and actions we take today.

Through this platform, we aim to support initiatives that strengthen local and community institutions, unlock local entrepreneurship, and bridge the gap between development investments and sustainable service delivery.

At the same time, the past months have also marked a transition from full-time employment into consulting. I have had the opportunity to work with a diverse set of partners on strategic planning and policy initiatives with institutions such as the Ministry of Energy, the National Planning Commission, and the Tanzania Investment and Special Economic Zones Authority. Alongside this, I have been involved in community climate-resilience initiatives in Kagera, Iringa, Mbeya, and Njombe, focusing on locally led approaches to climate-smart agriculture and livelihoods.

While my work has diversified across several sectors, I have remained strongly engaged in the water sector—a field where I have built much of my professional experience and remain deeply passionate about contributing to its transformation. This includes ongoing work supporting DAWASA’s journey toward becoming a performance-driven utility, as well as providing short-term strategic advisory support to RUWASA as it continues strengthening rural water service delivery across the country.

More recently, through my engagements in the sector over the past few weeks, I had the privilege to meet and engage with the senior leadership of the Ministry of Water, particularly the Minister for Water Hon. Jumaa Aweso (MP), Permanent Secretary Eng. Mwajuma Waziri, and colleagues from the private sector and development partners in several forums. These included the DAWASA Leadership Retreat, Boards of Directors Conference for Water Supply and Sanitation Authorities, and most recently the RUWASA and CBWSOs Annual General Meeting.

These engagements were both insightful and encouraging. It became clear that the current leadership of the Ministry of Water is focusing on the next phase of sector transformation—moving beyond expanding access toward improving service quality, reliability, and sustainability, recognizing that coverage has already improved significantly over the past decade.

From these discussions, four strategic priorities clearly emerged.

First – Human Capital Development

Strengthening leadership, technical capacity, and professionalization across WASH institutions is essential. The UN-Water GLAAS 2025 report highlights a critical workforce gap: globally, fewer than one-third of countries have sufficient human resources for core WASH functions—only 26% for drinking water, 15% for sanitation, and 18% for hygiene. Shortages span key functions such as planning, regulation, monitoring, infrastructure development, operations and maintenance, and community engagement.

In Africa, many countries—including Tanzania—operate with less than half of the required workforce, particularly in engineering, system maintenance, and regulatory surveillance. The report also highlights persistent gender disparities: while women play a vital role in water management at household and community levels, they remain underrepresented in the professional workforce and leadership.

This year’s World Water Day theme on Gender and Water is therefore a timely reminder: women and girls must be at the centre of water solutions—not only as users, but as leaders, engineers, scientists, and changemakers. Closing the WASH workforce gap through better training, workforce planning, gender-inclusive recruitment, and incentives for rural water service providers will be critical to turning infrastructure investments into sustainable services.

Second – Alternative Financing

Mobilizing new financing models—including private sector participation and market-based instruments—will be critical to sustain investments in water infrastructure and services.

Tanzania’s FYDP IV financing framework estimates that TZS 477.747 trillion is required. Of these, TZS 24 trillion will be required for WASH and urban development over the next five years, with conservative estimates showing that WASH alone would require at least TZS 12 trillion. Importantly, the framework anticipates a major shift in financing sources: 70% from private capital, 30% from public financing, and 9–13% from innovative financing instruments.

For the water sector, this translates into mobilizing roughly at least TZS 8.2 trillion from private investment and TZS 1.1–1.6 trillion through innovative mechanisms such as blended finance, climate funds, and water bonds.

However, attracting this scale of financing will depend fundamentally on strong utility governance, improved operational efficiency, and enhanced creditworthiness of water utilities. Investors will only participate where utilities demonstrate transparent governance, reliable revenue streams, and sound financial management. Achieving cost-reflective tariffs, while protecting vulnerable households through targeted subsidies, will therefore be essential to strengthen utilities’ balance sheets and unlock long-term financing for water infrastructure. At the same time, there is a growing opportunity to strategically link WASH investments with major flagship infrastructure projects under FYDP IV—including new industrial zones, urban development corridors, and agricultural growth areas—where reliable water supply and sanitation services are essential for economic productivity and investment. Aligning water infrastructure development with these national economic priorities can help create bankable projects, attract blended finance, and position water utilities as critical enablers of Tanzania’s broader structural transformation agenda.

Third – System Transformation through Technology, Digitalization, and Innovation

Transforming Tanzania’s water and sanitation services will require modern, professionally managed, and digitally enabled systems. Technology and digitalisation can significantly improve the efficiency, transparency, and reliability of service delivery.

Priority areas include the adoption of digital asset registers, GIS-based infrastructure mapping, smart metering and billing systems, SCADA-based monitoring, real-time water-quality monitoring, and integrated customer and asset management platforms.

At the sector level, interoperable national information systems—including Maji IS, NSMIS, RSDMS, and MajIS—can provide a single, authoritative view of sector performance across rural and urban areas.

These digital tools will enable data-driven planning, real-time performance monitoring, improved non-revenue water management, stronger revenue collection, and enhanced regulatory oversight.

Fourth – Accountability for Results

For too long, success in the water sector has been measured by pipes laid, pumps installed, or projects completed. But what matters to citizens is simple: does water flow and do sanitation systems work every day?

The sector must therefore shift from input-driven planning to results-driven service delivery.

Encouragingly, this shift is already taking shape. The ongoing work with DAWASA to become a performance-driven utility is helping realign incentives so that staff focus on service results rather than compliance-driven reporting, while giving greater recognition and support to frontline teams—technicians, operators, and customer service staff—who keep the system running every day.

By linking performance management, financing, and regulation to measurable outcomes, utilities can move beyond infrastructure reporting toward continuous service assurance.

Ultimately, accountability for results means aligning leadership, financing, technology, and people around a single goal: delivering reliable water and sanitation services for every citizen, every day.

Looking Ahead

Looking ahead, transforming Tanzania’s water and sanitation sector will require more than infrastructure investments—it will demand strong institutions, capable people, innovative financing, modern technology, and a relentless focus on results.

Encouragingly, the Ministry of Water is already laying important foundations for this transition. The new National Water Policy (2002, version 2005), the finalization of the Private Sector Engagement (PSE) Strategy, and the broader shift toward the priorities of FYDP IV signal a new direction for the sector. At the same time, flagship initiatives such as the National Water Grid are beginning to take shape, aiming to strengthen long-term water security and climate resilience by connecting major water sources to growing urban centres, economic corridors, and water-stressed regions. In a context of increasing climate variability, declining dry-season flows in some basins, and rising demand from cities, agriculture, and industry, such strategic infrastructure will be critical to ensure dependable and climate-resilient water supply systems for the future. Encouragingly, the sector can also build on emerging innovative financing successes—such as the Tanga UWASA’s Water Green Bond—which has demonstrated the potential for utilities to access domestic capital markets to finance water infrastructure. Scaling such models across well-governed and creditworthy utilities could open new pathways for mobilizing long-term investment in the sector.

At the same time, there is an opportunity to strengthen the enabling environment by reviewing and harmonizing key legislations such as the Water Resources Management Act (2009) and the Water Supply and Sanitation Act (2019) so that they both enable and safeguard responsible private sector participation while protecting public interests and water resources.

The real test will be translating these reforms into practical changes that strengthen utilities, empower communities, attract investment, and deliver reliable water and sanitation services for every household, school, and health facility.

For those of us who remain deeply committed to this sector, the task ahead is clear—and deeply inspiring. As I continue this next chapter through consulting, collaboration, and the work of Third Alternative, I remain optimistic that with the right leadership and partnerships we can help shape a future where water and sanitation systems work not occasionally, but reliably, every single day.