it follows that the financial sustainability of water services in the region remains very weak and that no or very little resources is and will be available for maintenance and capital investment chapter provides additional information on the reforms associated with tariff policies for instance as regards tariff setting procedures tariff structures and affordability issues this clearly is not sufficient to cover operation and maintenance costs of water and sanitation services tariffs should be a key element of the financial sustainability of the water and sanitation sector as they provide stable and reliable revenues to the service provider as exposed to subsidies or even transfers from official development assistance