A/HRC/42/47/Add.1 power to regulate water and sanitation services, the fees and tariffs charged and the standards of service to be provided by all water and sewerage services providers.16 24. The Electricity and Water Authority approves tariffs based on proposals from the utilities for adjustment, standards and regulations for transmission, distribution, supply, import and export. In setting tariffs and charges for water and sanitation services, the Authority takes into account the affordability of services and any government policies applicable to subsidies. The Special Rapporteur notes that in practice the Authority focuses predominately on economic regulation and the quality of service regulation, including asset management planning and cost-recovery concerns. For Lesotho to fulfil its human rights obligation, it is essential that the human rights to water and sanitation as a whole are reflected in the regulatory norms and activities of the Authority and that affordability for households is taken into consideration as a priority (A/HRC/36/45, para. 25). 3. Provision 25. In urban and peri-urban areas, the parastatal Water and Sewerage Company has the mandate for the provision of water and sewerage services and is responsible for owning, operating and maintaining water and sanitation systems in those areas. In rural areas, the Department of Rural Water Supply and Department of Water Affairs, part of the Ministry of Water, are responsible for water supply. The Department of Water Affairs oversees the process of drilling boreholes or digging wells, which constitutes the main source of water in rural areas, particularly in the lowlands. The Department of Rural Water Supply, with 10 district offices across the country, is responsible for overseeing water and sanitation services in rural areas that are provided through community-managed water schemes and for support to on-site sanitation. The actual provision of water and sanitation services in the rural areas, as well as the operation and maintenance of the system, is the responsibility of a local authority established under the Local Government Act 1997. 4. International development actors 26. Lesotho is highly reliant on international development, particularly in the water and sanitation sector. Both international development funders and their counterpart entities in the Government that implement projects have human rights obligations and the responsibility to guarantee that the whole population of Lesotho benefits from those projects without discrimination. International human rights law defines the obligations of States with respect to taking appropriate measures, including through international assistance and cooperation, to the maximum of their available resources, towards the full realization of economic, social and cultural rights. In that regard, the Special Rapporteur has highlighted the human rights obligations and the responsibility of international funders, implementing entities as well as partner States (see A/72/127). 27. The lowlands water supply scheme, largely funded by the European Union, the World Bank and the European Investment Bank, aims to ensure a long-term, reliable water supply for domestic and industrial purposes in Maseru and other lowland districts, and is planned to provide more than 1.2 million people with access to clean water by 2020. The Lowlands Water Supply Scheme Unit is the body responsible for coordinating and implementing the scheme and has the role of addressing the chronic shortage of potable water supply to the lowlands area of the country for socioeconomic development. 28. The Lesotho Highlands Development Authority and the Lesotho Highlands Water Commission are relevant for the implementation of the highlands water project, which is the largest binational infrastructure project between Lesotho and South Africa. The project involves the construction of an intricate network of tunnels and dams to divert water from Lesotho to South Africa. The project is based on the Treaty on the Lesotho Highlands Water Project, signed in 1986 by both Governments, and sets out the governance structures required to implement the Lesotho highlands water project on their behalf. 16 The Lesotho Electricity Authority Act, 2002 was amended by the Lesotho Electricity Authority (Amendment) Act 2011. 7