Coordination: coverage catalyst in Swazilan

M. Mayisela (7222502)

Ola Busari (7222496)

Stephen Dlamini (7222499)

English

Loughborough University Institutional Repository

A   MANAGEMENT: BUSARI, DLAMINI and MAYISELA2722nd WEDC Conference New Delhi, India, 1996Coordination: coverage catalyst in SwazilandOla Busari, S. Dlamini and M Mayisela, SwazilandREACHING THE UNREACHED: CHALLENGES FOR THE 21ST CENTURYTHE KINGDOM OF Swaziland, extending across the dis-sected plateau edge of southern Africa (Figure 1), is asmall landlocked country bordered by Mozambique tothe east and wholly surrounded by South Africa every-where else. Over a total land area of 17,364 sq km, it hasa 1986 census population of 681,059, projected to reach984,000 by the year 2000.Considering that 77 per cent of Swazis live in scattereddwellings in rural settlements (Government of Swaziland,1991a; 1991b), a hybrid of significant efforts - governmentdepartments, NGOs, and external support agencies (ESAs)- responding to a well publicized country-wide watersupply crisis are naturally focused upon the ruralsubsector. This trend also relates directly to the generallylow infrastructural development level of the rural areas.Since the inception of DECADE activities, the sector haswitnessed a number of donor-funded projects in partner-ship with key government agencies, as well as input fromNGOs. External support from multilateral and bilateraldonors has played a major role in service delivery, insti-tutional strengthening, and capacity building.In the first couple of years post-DECADE, the mainactivities of spring protection and small water systemconstruction were predominantly being undertaken byonly two NGOs. However, in the wake of the 1991/92severe drought from which the entire lowveld and partsof the middleveld never recovered, affirmative responsesto a variety of drought emergency appeals have ensuredthat the sector is, once again, replete with NGO activi-ties.Whatever resources are available to the sector must beoptimized within a cost-effective, coverage expandingframework which eliminates project duplication andagency competitiveness. The importance of collaborationamongst sector organizations, coordination of activities,and sharing of information could not be stronger thannow: Revenue constraints and unusual expenditure in-creases are bringing about serious budgetary problemseven as the country faces an increasingly competitiveregional and global environment.This paper presents the mechanisms put in place inSwaziland for sector coordination, following a brief re-view of the major sector institutions and an outline of thethematic issues and strategies of the sector.Core sector institutionsTwo Government of Swaziland (GoS) ministries - NaturalResources, Environment and Energy (MNREE) and Healthand Social Welfare (MoH) - share the responsibilities forplanning and implementing rural water supply and sani-tation programmes. Three departments of MNREE areconnected with water supply and sanitation, dealingwith: exploration and exploitation; protection of waterresources; the provision of drinking water to communi-ties and the monitoring of water quantity and quality.At present, the Japanese International CooperationAgency (JICA) is the only bilateral institution active in thesector. Starting from April 1996, the entry of the Japanesegovernment to the sector is spread over two years in thefirst instance. The support covers extensive facility con-struction and supply of vehicles and laboratory, geo-physical, and drilling equipment. Funding to the tune ofUS$6.3 million has already been confirmed for the firstproject year.The multilateral organizations include the EUMicroprojects Programme and members of the UnitedNations family - UNDP, UNICEF and WHO - whichcontinue to play a role that dates back to DECADE years.Since the mid-70s, external support to the sector hasreached about US$30 million. The contributions camepredominantly from the Overseas Development Admin-istration (ODA) of the UK, Canadian International Devel-opment Agency (CIDA), Emergency Operations Fundof the United Nations (UNEOTF), United States Agencyfor International Development (USAID), European De-velopment Fund of the European Union (EU/EDF), andthe Netherlands government trust fund through theUNDP.Figure 1. Swaziland: location mapA   MANAGEMENT: BUSARI, DLAMINI and MAYISELA28Two NGOs - Emanti Esive and Council of SwazilandChurches - stand out as having outlived the DECADE andcontinuously implemented programmes on a nationalscale. At the moment, however, there are at least tenorganizations in the league of sector NGOs. These newand not-too-new entrants are currently implementingUNICEF-funded drought relief water supply and sanita-tion projects, as part of the food-for-work activities of theWFP. Also, a number of the NGOs are being funded fromgovernment’s recently gazetted water relief purse to in-tervene in identified communities.Sector issues and strategiesThe document ‘Development of Rural Water Supply andSanitation in Swaziland - National Policies and Strate-gies’ reviewed and updated by the Rural Water SupplyBranch (RWSB/MNREE) and Environmental Health Unit(EHU/MoH) in October 1994 outlines government’s sec-tor strategy. The forerunner also covering urban and peri-urban areas was prepared in 1986 under the aegis of a nowdefunct National Action Group (NAG), a ministerial-level outfit set up to plan and oversee DECADE-relatedsector development.Sector strategies encompass the following:• community participation in the planning of watersupply and sanitation development;• community contribution of a “reasonable proportion”of the costs of construction;• community ownership of facilities and responsibilityfor all operation costs and “minor repairs”, throughproperly constituted water and sanitation commit-tees;• coupling of hygiene education to water supply andsanitation to maximize and sustain health benefits;• standardization of system components and equip-ment;• adherence to established standards and guidelines fordesign and construction;• priority of reaching the lowveld and dry portions ofthe middleveld where water supply shortages aremost critical and water/excreta-related diseases aremost prevalent.A sector plan was prepared simultaneously with thesector policies and strategies, and are contained in thedocument ‘Development of Rural Water Supply andSanitation in Swaziland - A National Plan for Action1994/95 - 1997/98’. The plan consists of 19 programmeactivities which aim at consolidating sector gains byimproving institutional capacity to plan and implementprojects, expanding water supplies to 115,860 unservedpeople, rehabilitating inoperable water schemes to servea population of 102,000, and constructing latrines to serveabout 187,000 people.It is estimated that these interventions between 1994and 1998 would raise coverage figures from 30 per cent to45 per cent for sanitation, and from 40 per cent to 60 percent for water supply. It is worthy of note, however, thatthe bulk of the programmes are yet unfunded.Sector coordination frameworkThe last couple of years have witnessed an increasedtempo of NGO activities in the sector. The most promi-nent support comes from external funds channelledthrough WFP. The activities stretch through water re-sources development and conservation, including: rain-water harvesting; erection of water tanks and tank stands;construction of cattle drinking ponds; borehole handpumpinstallation; donga reclamation; catchment improvementand protection; and dam construction and rehabilitation.In some cases yet to be determined, NGOs have soughtand received funds from other sources with the sole aimof establishing water supply and sanitation facilities acrossan unclear spread of rural communities.It is unarguable that the efforts of all sectoral players areintended to ensure rapid coverage. And it is also true thatNGOs can be useful contributors to the development ofwater supply and sanitation systems in rural areas. In-deed, Swaziland exhibits a few examples of good NGOperformance in several aspects of water and sanitationprogrammes, including an effective use of local resources,fast mobilization, low project unit cost resulting from leanadministrative structures and low overhead, and applica-tion of innovative development approaches.Yet a good chunk of NGO work takes place in isolationfrom the mainstream of sector development, culminatingin design and construction which fail to meet (or evenconflict with) accepted standards. Also, due to limitationsin planning skills, staffing level and administrative re-sources, some NGOs have found it difficult to see projectsthrough. The most unfortunate result where communityorganization and motivation is not strong enough, is poorsystem operation and maintenance.By virtue of an April 1979 Cabinet Paper, the RWSB wasformally designated as the focal point of DECADE sectoractivities in the country. Subsequently, Cabinet in Janu-ary 1995 mandated the RWSB to supervise and coordi-nate the activities of all sector organizations operating inthe country. Thus, it was long recognized that govern-ment must take primary responsibility for sector manage-ment: identify institutions, pinpoint goals, evolve plans,establish priorities, and spearhead policy reforms.Notwithstanding the stated mandate, the planning,implementation, and support functions within the sectorstill remain scattered among a number of agencies, eachwith its own priorities. External support institutions arenot different: agendas and interests even amongst UNSystem sisters could vary widely.The mechanisms to facilitate coordination in Swazilandare made to operate first amongst government agencies.This allows a common government front in dealings withother sector partners. Daily coordination at the centrallevel is fostered by the outposting of an EHU/MoHA   MANAGEMENT: BUSARI, DLAMINI and MAYISELA29officer to the RWSB. However, more formal links areneeded here if meaningful policy and planning coordina-tion are to be forged.Intra-government coordination has worked a lot betterat the field level, between regional Health Inspectors/Health Assistants from the MoH and the CommunityDevelopment Officers (CDOs) from the RWSB. Officersprepare and copy weekly schedules to their field counter-parts, make invitations to community meetings in writ-ing, share resources when visiting the same areas, andsubmit a written report on such activities. In most cases,the result is a more informal, more routine, and moreeffective teamwork.A lot more challenging is ensuring coordination withother agencies and organizations providing complemen-tary services in the sector. The mechanisms put in placeare additions to routine biannual coordination meetingsinvolving key officers from sector organizations.Firstly, the RWSB is committed to bringing in all sectoralplayers as full partners in the sector development processand having tasks assigned in accordance with nationaldevelopment goals: a scenario devoid of project duplica-tions. A major step has been taken, therefore, to makeNGOs parties to the formulation of, and thus follow,sector policy guidelines, especially those for design andconstruction, community organization and participation,and linkage of water supply, sanitation and hygiene.Ahead of a sector consultative workshop in June 1996,individual agency programme documents and plans havebeen exchanged, in view of evolving common strategiesand a collective national action plan.In particular, the GoS agencies have presented thefollowing documents for review by NGOs and the donorcommunity:• sector plan of action (1995-98);• sector policies and strategies;• guidelines for drinking water quality;• procedures for approval of rural water systems;• notes on latrine construction.Secondly, the GoS realizes the importance of a moreformal and regular participatory forum that would linkits departments with other sector partners, as well as theneed to ensure exchange of information amongst its ownagencies, NGOs, and ESAs. Thus, every year, a sectorreview workshop will be convened to consider the activi-ties of the previous year and look into programme plansfor the succeeding year.Thirdly, a single national sector plan will render donorsupport to all sector agencies (including NGOs) moreconsistent with national goals. As already accomplishedlast year in a Memorandum of Understanding amongstUNICEF, the Coordinating Assembly of NGOs (CANGO),and GoS in the case of a drought emergency project,donor support to NGOs is to be routinely implementedunder tripartite agreements to which government shouldbe a signatory.Implied in the foregoing coordination mechanisms is amore effective sector coverage, due to an enhanced pro-gramme efficiency that would emerge from appropri-ately shared resources. From better design and construc-tion standards to greater community participation andlinkage of interventions (water, sanitation and hygiene),the sector is sure to benefit.ConclusionsSeveral players in the rural water and sanitation sector -NGOs, government departments, ESAs, and the privatesector - have made significant contributions to the expan-sion of water supply and sanitation services to the unservedand underserved rural populations in Swaziland.In many cases, however, those interventions occurringin isolation from the mainstream of sectoral developmentlack technical expertise, and leave community facilitieswhich often conflict with accepted standards of designand construction. Frequently, government funds havehad to be used to address problems relating to lack ofinitial planning with communities, and non-recognitionof the linkage of hygiene education to water supply andsanitation and, in particular, the vital need for long-termsustainability of system operation and maintenance.Considering that the sector is currently replete withNGO activities resulting from affirmative responses todrought relief appeals, government is taking primaryresponsibility for sector management. In systematic con-sultation with all sector organizations, government isestablishing goals and priorities, and spearheading policyreforms. In particular, a demand-driven approach toservice delivery is increasingly emphasized.The mechanisms put in place include bringing in NGOsas full participants in the sector planning process so thatevery NGO project is backed by a Memorandum ofUnderstanding with government, alongside the projectimplementation guidelines.ReferencesGovernment of Swaziland, 1991a. Development Plan1991/92 -1993/94. Department of Economic Planningand Statistics, Prime Minister’s Office, Mbabane.Government of Swaziland, 1991b. Ensuring Our Future:Swaziland National Report on Environment and De-velopment, 117pp.

Coordination: coverage catalyst in Swaziland

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Coordination: coverage catalyst in Swaziland

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