Governmental authorities involved in the financing of the investments in the water sector consist of the:

• Ministry of Finance,
• Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources,
• Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development,
• Ministry of Public Health,
• Ministry of Scientific Research, and the
• Ministry of Economic Development and International Cooperation.

The implementation of the national water management strategy, formulated in 1990 and aiming at the integrated development of water resources required a total investment of 2 billion US$. The funds were made available through bilateral and multilateral cooperation programmes. Loans and donations were offered for different projects related to water resources exploitation, land and water conservation, sanitation, potable water production and agricultural water management by many international actors and agencies, such as the World Bank, the European Commission, the Japanese Bank for International Cooperation, the African Development Bank, the Islamic Development Bank, the European Investment Bank, French Development Agency, German Bank (KFW), German Cooperation Agency (GTZ), Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations etc.

The contribution of the private sector in the financing and operation of water infrastructure is limited to the maintenance of installations by local Development Groups of collective interest and to soil and water conservation structures consolidations by land-owners. Farmers finance on their own the excavation of wells and boreholes and are sometimes subsidised by the government, when a permit has been granted and the project has been approved by the authorities concerned.

Tariff regulation and water pricing is an important issue in the country. Water for irrigation is still subsidised at a rate of 30%, allowing for the recovery of operation and maintenance costs. Costs related to the renewal of equipment and important repairs in infrastructure are undertaken by the government.

For potable water, an Increasing Block Tariff system is applied, according to quarterly consumption. The water bill also includes a charge for wastewater collection treatment. The first (social) block (which corresponds to a minimum water consumption) is limited to 20 m³. The second block corresponds to quarterly consumption between 20 and 75 m³ whereas the third block is between 5 and 150 m³. For a quarterly consumption over 150 m³ the price per cubic meter is 6 times higher than the one of the first block, in regions where SONEDE is not subsidised by the state. The current regulation system provides incentives for water conservation, and recovers the management, operation and maintenance costs of the networks operated by SONEDE.