The management of water and sanitation facilities by communities in Ejisu-Juaben District

In Ejisu-Juaben District, Save the Children Fund-Netherlands, a non-governmental organisation assisted the communities under its collaborative health and development programme with the District Health Management Team between 1987/88-1997, in the provision of water and sanitation facilities. The management of these facilities had become the responsibility of the beneficiary communities to make them sustainable. This study examines the management of the facilities by the communities with reference to the participation of the people in the initial project planning (initiation and formulation), implementation, post implementation, payment of user fees and the role of women in the management process. The study reviewed literature on the provision of water and sanitation facilities in the country and experiences from the World Bank. In Ghana, most of the community water and sanitation facilities provided by government in the past failed to sustain themselves because the beneficiary communities were not frilly involved in the planning and management of the facilities. They became passive in the management process. To address this weakness a demand approach had been adopted. In this case, the communities must show their demand for the facilities by applying for them and accepting to contribute to initial cost and pay for the operation and maintenance cost. The Community Water and Sanitation Agency, was established under the Community Water and Sanitation Programme (1994) to handle community water and sanitation delivery in the country. The concept of management was defined to throw more light on the required functions of the beneficiary communities of Save the Children Fund assisted water and sanitation projects in Ejisu-Juaben District in sustaining the projects. The concept of sustainable development was briefly discussed in this section too, since management is intended to ensure sustainability of the projects. A short profile of the Ejisu-Juaben District was also presented. In the study, five communities were sampled out of the thirty six communities which received the assistance from Save the Children Fund. This was based on the five sub-district levels of the District Health Management Team in the district. In each community, twenty household heads were interviewed to solicit information on the management of the water and sanitation facilities by the communities. Based on the project’s criteria such as community participation in project management and women’s role in the management process, as well as contribution to initial cost, and operation and maintenance, the study examined the extent of the participation of the people in the management of the facilities. These were in the area of project planning (initiation/formulation), implementation and post implementation as well as payment of user fees and income of the people, as well as monitoring and women’s role in management. Major findings from the study unearthed management problems that impede the sustainability of the projects. Based on these, recommendations were made to resolve the management conflicts and improve upon the communities’ management capacities to sustain the water and sanitation facilities in the district. The study concludes by encouraging the District Health Management Team, District Assembly, Village Health Committees, and the communities in particular to assiduously perform their managerial functions to make the projects sustainable.

Source: KNUST