Civil society involvement in provision of sanitation services: case study of Kingugi, Dar es Salaam

Sustainability of community water supply and sanitation largely depends on the extent the user community is committed to plan, implement and manage the facility. It is within this context that WaterAid and PEVODE jointly implemented a community-based and managed project that aimed at improving water and sanitation services to low income communities in Kingugi, a sub ward of about 7000 inhabitants of Mbagala ward, Temeke Municipality, Dar es Salaam Region, Tanzania. The project was needs driven and the request for sanitation came from the community itself.

The sanitation initiatives were linked to other community needs such as clean water, education, good environment, while income generation activities such as farming, small scale trading and other entrepreneurship, savings and credit schemes, etc. were promoted. Community capacity building, (community leadership training, fund management and other technical skills) was carried out by Water Aid and the Municipality through training workshops and onsite demonstration. The communities were also assisted to establish legal and organisational frameworks for the proposed projects (including Sanitation User Associations). There was a strong gender mainstreaming component that addressed women social and economic needs as much as possible. Major drivers of success include the communities’ willingness to pay for sanitation services and ownership of the pit latrines by the beneficiaries, the extent of the training component, the simple technologies used and the registration of the Sanitation User Association that complies with the by-laws of the municipality.

9. Civil society involvement in provision of sanitation.pdf (432.6 kB)