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University of Zimbabwe Towards Sustainable Rural Water and Sanitation Service Provision in Malawi

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University of Zimbabwe Towards Sustainable Rural Water and Sanitation Service Provision in Malawi UNIVERSITY OF ZIMBABWE TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE RURAL WATER AND SANITATION SERVICE PROVISION IN MALAWI: HAS DECENTRALISATION HELPED? A CASE OF THYOLO DISTRICT BY GODWIN E.L. KAMTUKULE A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Masters Degree in Integrated Water Resources Management Department of Civil Engineering Faculty of Engineering June 2007 UNIVERSITY OF ZIMBABWE TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE RURAL WATER AND SANITATION SERVICE PROVISION IN MALAWI: HAS DECENTRALISATION HELPED? A CASE OF THYOLO DISTRICT Supervised By MR. J. SIWADI and DR W.O. MULWAFU A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Masters Degree in Integrated Water Resources Management Department of Civil Engineering Faculty of Engineering June 2007 Towards Sustainable Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Services Provision. Has Decentralisation Helped? DECLARATION “I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, it contains no material previously published or written by another person or material which to a substantial extent has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma of the university or other institute of higher learning, except where due acknowledgements has been made in the text” ……………………..………..……………… ………………………..……… Signature Date ..………………….………………………………………………..…………… Name Godwin Kamtukule i Masters in IWRM, 2007 Towards Sustainable Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Services Provision. Has Decentralisation Helped? ABSTRACT Regardless of many developing countries having vigorously decentralised their rural water supply and sanitation (RWSS) services, the outcomes are contrary to their expectations. There are two opposing schools of thoughts about decentralisation. Its proponents argue that it enhances the efficiency and effectiveness of public service provision while critics argue that there is no clear effectiveness of decentralisation and that developing countries pursued decentralisation reforms by default. As part of its public sector reform, the Malawi Government adopted the decentralisation policy which empowers the district assemblies to oversee the provision of RWSS services. This was after government had noticed lack of sector coordination and delayed service provision in its previous centralised system. The type of decentralisation pursued is a mixture of deconcentration, delegation and devolution. A study was conducted to assess the effectiveness of the decentralised RWSS service provision in Malawi using the case of Thyolo district. Focus was given to sector institutional framework, district level planning & implementation, financing mechanisms and Community Based Management (CBM). Study methods included key informants, interviews, focus group discussions, field observations and literature study. Data collection tools included questionnaires, phone and email. The study ascertained that the institutional framework of the water and sanitation sector provides room for effective district level multisectoral collaboration and integration. The district level planning and implementation system is very effective, it is linked to the national development framework, but its effectiveness is compromised by inadequate capacity of the districts. District assemblies demonstrate unsatisfactory financial resources mobilisation; they still rely on external support rather than locally generated revenues and cost recovery from rural water supply systems. The CBM approach is well adopted by the communities except that its effectiveness is dodged by the unsatisfactory supporting mechanisms. In conclusion the study acknowledges that decentralisation is effective in sustaining RWSS services. However, in Malawi decentralisation is challenged in many ways including inadequate technical and functional capacity in the district assemblies. The study recommends that government should create conducive environment for the district assemblies to enhance their financing mechanisms and to retain sufficient and competent human capacity. It is further suggested that the district assemblies should provide due support to District Coordination Teams (DCT) operations to facilitate effective technical backstopping to CBM and extension services. Keywords: Community, Decentralisation, District Assembly, Implementation, Sanitation, Sustainability, Water supply, Malawi. Godwin Kamtukule ii Masters in IWRM, 2007 Towards Sustainable Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Services Provision. Has Decentralisation Helped? ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I thank God for His unmerited favour which was well demonstrated right from the start up to the finishing line of my studies. The following are acknowledged with thanks for their immeasurable support during my studies and indeed the time I was undertaking my research. WaterNet for being the sponsors of my studies and all its members of staff. My supervisors, Mr J. Siwadi and Dr. W.O. Mulwafu. The same goes to IWRM lecturers and the Chairman of UZ Civil Engineering Department Eng. Z. Hoko. My resource person, Engineer N.Mundege, Institute of Water and Sanitation Development, Harare, Zimbabwe Mr. R.M.A. Champiti, Project Liaison Manager, Integrated Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project. Ministry of Irrigation and Water Development. Lilongwe, Malawi. Mr H. Botha, Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, Ministry of Local Government and Community Development. Administration staff, IWRM Programme, Civil Engineering Department, University of Zimbabwe. In particular, Mai Sadazi, Moria Malope, Martha Hondo, Mrs Musiniwa and Mr Stan Bere. The District Commissioner and Staff of Thyolo District Assembly. DPD - Mr. Ernest Kaphuka; M&E Officer – Mr Bimeyani; Acting DOF – Mr Chitete. All community leaders and indeed all the communities in Thyolo District. District Water Officer; District Social and Community Services; Thyolo Police Officer In- Charge; District Health Officer and District Environmental Health Officer – Thyolo Hospital; District Education Manager and District Health Officer. Mr George. Namizinga and Ms Khanyiwe Shawa - COMWASH Project. Management and staff of Concern Universal, Oxfam and World Vision Malawi, all from Thyolo project offices. Malawi Institute of Engineers. All my classmates. Godwin Kamtukule iii Masters in IWRM, 2007 Towards Sustainable Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Services Provision. Has Decentralisation Helped? DEDICATION God! I am in your hands! What you say will happen! Nothing baffles you! To my mother, Mai Doffa Kamtukule and My lovely lady, Elizabeth Godwin Kamtukule iv Masters in IWRM, 2007 Towards Sustainable Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Services Provision. Has Decentralisation Helped? TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- i ABSTRACT --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- iii DEDICATION ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- v LIST OF FIGURES --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- viii LIST OF TABLES ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ix LIST OF APPENDICES ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ x LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS --------------------------------------------------------------------------- xi CHAPTER ONE --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 1.0 INTRODUCTION --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 1.1 Background------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1 1.2 Malawi’s Development Framework ------------------------------------------------------------------ 2 1.2.1 Vision 2020 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3 1.2.2 Decentralisation and Good Governance --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3 1.2.3 Water and Sanitation Sector Policies ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4 1.2.4 Malawi Growth and Development Strategy ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 5 1.5 Problem Statement--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5 1.6 Objectives of the Study --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6 1.7 Justification------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 6 1.8 Layout of the Report ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 6 CHAPTER TWO--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7 2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 7 2.1 Understanding the
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