Management of the Local Water Supply in the Municipality of Ouesse in Benin
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International Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences (IJEAS) ISSN: 2394-3661, Volume-2, Issue-9, September 2015 Management of the Local Water Supply in the Municipality Of Ouèssè in Benin Sewade Grégoire, Biaou Gauthier, Adjakpa Théodore, Guedenon Patient, Houssou Christophe be explained by a weak appropriation of the infrastructures Abstract— The availability of drinking water for the vital and their mismanagement resulting in their abandonment in needs of the current and future generations is one of the biggest case of breakdown and the use of non-potable water sources. challenges the humanity is faced with. This study listed the Starting from these observations, in 1992 Benin adopted a problems connected to the management of the hydraulic national strategy of drinking water supply based on the infrastructures in the municipality of Ouèssè in the context of participative approach. decentralization meant to contribute to its local development. The methodology used is based on desk study, direct observations, ground study, and processing and analysis of data. This strategy aims at involving the recipient populations in the The qualitative and statistical data were collected by means of entire process of appropriation of the projects and programs. tools (questionnaires and interview guide) as well as collection Still this strategy to make the beneficiary communities techniques within different target groups (Agent, Farmer, participate through the coproduction of the infrastructures intellectuals, resource person etc.). The study concerned three (financial, physical and material contribution of the various (03) villages and the research enrolled two hundred and sixty stakeholders, in particular the beneficiaries) and the one (261) investigated persons. The professionalization of the management (organized by a management committee) did not hydraulic infrastructures in the context of decentralization ended with the community-based management in the meet with all the expectations. The general report is that the municipality of Ouessè. That approach which is well community management of the projects is actually converted appreciated in drinking water supply also meets chalenges. So into an opaque "privative management" controlled by a the Weaknesses and Threats are identified as the social unrest minority which refrains from reporting to the populations observed at the level of some opinion leaders and the worrying (Olivier de Sardan, El Hadj Dagobi, 2000 31, 37). As a silence of municipal authorities facing with the indelicacy of consequence, when the infrastructure breaks down, the certain managers or opinion leaders. These aspects were the financial resources are not often available or are too weak to object of suggestion for the improvement of the management of assure the repair. Not only that this management compromises Millennium development goals. the sustainable access of communities to drinking water, but it Index Terms— Ouessè, Drinking water, hydraulic also does not offer possibilities for extending the network. infrastructures, management With the advent of Millennium development goals and decentralization in 2003 in Benin, a new strategy was defined I. INTRODUCTION and adopted for the water sector. Texts of relevant legislation on decentralization in Benin make local communities the The water sector meeting everyday an increasing concern in contracting authorities responsible for the supply with terms of research and investments, because drinking water drinking water (article 83 of the law 97-029). Therefore, the remains another rare commodity, especially in rural areas and municipalities with the support of the Technical and financial in shanty towns. Different programs and projects are funded Partners began to develop strategies to set up a new in this sector worldwide. This is the reason why the institutional frame of management of these projects. International Decade of Drinking water and Purification allowed the construction of 430 water sources a year in Benin, It is in such circumstances that the management which - up to that is all in all 5350 water sources for this period (UNICEF, that moment - was within the capability of recipient 1998). Still the balance sheet in terms of this decade revealed communities, for lack of a local administration at the time of enormous problems regarding the management of set up their implementation it will then have to be transferred to the infrastructures. The analysis of the situation reveals that the municipalities. For communities, this is a shape of adopted approach did not unconditionally involve the recentralization which seems to be outlined, source of recipient communities, active actors, in the programs and dispossession of power, plots of land, as much as a possible projects. The recipient communities were thus, neither political manipulation of the rustic arenas (GAGNON, 2006). enough associated, nor enough prepared for the maintenance In spite of the dysfunctions often found in the management by of infrastructures which were established. This situation could the members of the community themselves, the latter still prefers a community management at the expense of a communalization of water. From then on, the control and the Sewade Grégoire, Analysis laboratory of Performances and Research on The Informal economy (ALREI), ENEAM, UAC, MILD) management of these generative infrastructures of income Biaou Gauthier, Faculté des sciences agronomiques(FSA) became major stakes, both for the benficiary communities as Adjakpa Théodore, Pierre Pagney ' Climate, Water, Ecosystem and well as for the local authorities, deprived of resources and Development ' Laboratory (LACEEDE), Benin with no alternatives. This contradiction of logics between Guedenon Patient, Research Laboratory in Biochemistry and Environmental Toxicology, Department of Cell Biology and Biochemistry, municipal and community spheres has implications on the Faculty of Science and Technology,UAC Benin local development. It is the case in the municipality of Ouèssè Houssou Christophe, Pierre Pagney ' Climate, Water, Ecosystem and (figure1) Development ' Laboratory (LACEEDE), Benin 8 www.ijeas.org Management of the Local Water Supply in the Municipality Of Ouèssè in Benin Figure 1: Study area 4. The digital camera allowed us to take pictures of the Located between 8 ° and 8°45 ' of North latitude and 2 ° and various types of hydraulic infrastructures present and water 2°10 ' of longitude, the municipality of Ouèssè lies in the supplies in the whole of the municipality; Collines department. It extends between Okpara in the East 5. The Global Positioning System (GPS System) allowed us and Ouèmè in the West over a surface of 3200 km2 that is 2.56 to geo-locate the hydraulic infrastructures of the municipality. % of the national surface. It shares its borders in the North with the municipality of Tchaourou, in the South with the municipalities of Savè and Glazoué, in the West with those of The collection of the information on the ground required Bantè and Bassila and in the East with the Federal republic of appropriate methods. Nigeria. The sample was determined by rational selection. This II. MATERIALS AND METHODS sampling was made by taking into account the districts which have more hydraulic infrastructures and are endowed with at 2.1- Materials least two thousand (2000) households. For that purpose, the establishments of Ouesè center, of Toui and of Laminou were Several tools were of use for the collection of data. That is: chosen. As for villages, the selection criteria were based on the village which had a large population. Thus, Ouessè, Toui 1. Questionnaires were sent to the populations, the local and Laminou centers were targeted. The management authorities and to the actors in charge of the resource water committees of water sources (MCWS) and the households management in order to collect the information relative to the were held being supported by the local elected representatives physical, human aspects, the hydraulic infrastructures and the according to the following criteria: strategies of resolution of the problems connected to their - Committees having served at least three years of municipality; management (Presidents, secretaries, treasurers) 2. A guide of interview that allowed us to collect the - The committees of the nfrastructures in breakdowns information relative to the geographical, demographic and - The agents organizational aspects. It was sent to the local authorities and - The big households to the people in charge of the resource water management in In all, two hundred and thirty seven (237) households enrolled the municipality; in the investigation represent 10 % of the number of considered households. Moreover, three (03) intellectuals and 3. A guide for observing, it is the table which allowed us to three (03) resource people were investigated. In respect of the establish the type, the accessibility and the frequency of local politico--administrative authorities, nine (09) people attendance of the hydraulic infrastructures on the ground; were investigated. In the city hall, interviews were are carried out with the Chief of Technical Department (TD), the Head Department of the Local Development and of the Planning 9 www.ijeas.org International Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences (IJEAS) ISSN: 2394-3661, Volume-2, Issue-9, September 2015 department (DLDP), of the Head Office of Information, the The choice of these methods lies in the fact that they have the Communication,