Vers l'institutionnalisation d'une délégation communautaire ?. Le cas de l'accès à l'eau potable dans les quartiers défavorisés de port-au-prince

This paper investigates the potential segmentation and building of hybrid management systems for urban water utilities in low-income countries. It analyses a unique water supply experiment for poor urban settlements in the city of Port-au-Prince, which combined a bulk water meter connection to the public water network and delegated management of water distribution to the local community. Using neo-institutional economics as a reference, the paper analyses implemented tools, as well as the processes and progressive methods applied which allowed for the institutional establishment and stabilization of this hybrid system. Finally, the paper highlights the limitations of institutional sustainability for the establishment of the water utility in the context of a weak state, further exacerbated in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake which occurred on the 12th January, 2010.