LEGAL CHALLENGES FACING THE CONSUMER CONSULTATIVE COUNCIL UNDER ENERGY AND WATER UTILITIES REGULATORY AUTHORITY IN REGULATING WATER UTILITIES IN NYAMAGANA DISTRICT
This paper focuses on the Consumer Consultative Council (CCC), operating under the EWURA with a specific emphasis on analyzing water supply and sanitation issues. This council is a statutory entity responsible for safeguarding and advocating for consumer rights across sectors such as energy, water, communication and transportation particularly in Tanzania. The CCC is established within different regulatory bodies like EWURA, which oversees energy and water utilities. Their duties include issuing licenses, regulating tariffs, formulating policies, monitoring sector performance facilitating the resolution of disputes between services providers, consumers and sharing information related to their regulatory functions. [i] EWURA CCC is located in different EWURA offices in distinctive areas such as Nyamagana District, located in Mwanza region of Tanzania. This Council plays a vital role in shaping policies, monitoring service delivery and advocating for the rights of water users. The results show that, customers are not completely informed about the Energy and Water Utilities Regulatory Authority Consumer Consultative Council. Even if it is not fully understood, it is relevant because of how the regulated market in which it is intended to function is developing, not because of how well it performs. According to this logic, even if it performs well, it is ineffective because, consumers are not pleased. Its performance is impacted not just by the public’s ignorance of it but also, by the fact that the regulated market has a high customer volume and the available labor is overworked.
[i] https://www.ewuraccc.go.tz (accessed on 11th January, 2024).
