R824 EG94 ARAB REPUBLI EGYPF CO T REPUBLI FINLANF CO D BENI SUEF GOVERNORATE FINNIDA REGIONAL WATER SUPPLY AND SANITATION PROJECT IN BENI SUEF GOVERNORATE DRAFT COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION IN WATER SUPPLY & SANITATION PROJECTS IN EGYPT A preliminary assessmen Communite th f o t y Participation Componen fivn ti e Water Supply Sanitatiod an n Project Egypn i s t Preparey db NSCE March 1994 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The research team consisted of Zohra Merabet, director of NSCE, Angeline Eichhorst, human resources development coordinator NSCE, Wafaand 'a Bahgat, community involvement WIDand health education expert Regional Water Supply and Sanitation Project in Beni Suef. Many people have contributed to the mission, and assisted with information and comments. We extend sincereour gratitude representativesall to donor ofthe institutions involved Waterin Supply and Sanitation Projects relatively similar to the Regional Water Supply and Sanitation Project Beniin Suef,implementingthe institutions agencies,and theirand internationaland local field accompanied staffwho teamthe during their visits. To all we wish continued progress in the implementation of their projects in general, and in the mobilization and strengthening of the Egyptian community in particular. Cairo, March 1994 S'T^Y-::^ "-::, :;.<;". 'iiv \VAT£R SUPPLY ij FO. Vai. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This assessmen s initiate Regionae wa t th y db l Water Suppl Sanitatiod yan n Projec Benn i t i Suef governorate to learn from the experience of ongoing projects and appraise and design RWSSP activitie thin i s s field. The following project implementors and donors agreed to participate in the assessment of the leve f Communito l y Participatio programmesS WS n i n : Dangroup, consultant for Danish Development Agency (DANIDA), in Aswan governorate IWACO, consultan r Dutcfo t h Directorate Genera r Internationafo l l Cooperation (DGIS), in Fayoum governorate KESCON, consultan r NOPWASfo t e Kafth rn D i a l Sheik S projechWS t fundee th y b d German Kreditanstallt fur Wiederaufbau (KFW), in Kafr al-Sheikh governorate UNICEF, in Assiut, Suhag, Qena and Aswan governorates Plancenter Ltd, consultant for Finnish International Development Agency (FINNIDA) in Beni Suef governorate Althoug projecte hth s have different objectives, methodologie technologiesd san e beinar d g an , implemented in various geographical areas, with distinctive populations and administrative settings, they all intend to improve the development of water supply and sanitation services in rural Egypt. The consultant is aware of the presence of other donors/implementing agencies in this field in Egypt. As this is a first preliminary assessment with the intention to initiate and structure future cooperation and exchange of information, the extend of the research is limited to above mentioned projects and may, if found necessary, expand to further research, learning from the experience from other projects in future time. 1. Community Participation as integral component in WSS projects All project-administrator d implementoran s s interviewed agree that sustainability, self- financing, self-suppor involvemene th d an t f womeo t environmentan ni l sanitation interventions, e currentlar y leading policy concerne governmenth r fo s f o Egyptt , non-governmental organizations, bilatera d multilateraan l l agencies. UNICEF, Dangrou Plancented pan r Ltd. allocated eithe separata r e budget r financiao , l mean overale s parth sa f o t l project-budget r communitfo , y participation, women's development and health education o theiT .r project a s"Communit y participatio d healtan n h education advisor" has been assigned. e GermaTh n Developmen t allocatt Banno d componenP k di budgeea C a r Kafe fo tth rn i t el Sheikh project, neither did initially the Dutch DGIS, although funds have been made available for Phase II (1994-1996) of the WSS project in Fayoum. 2. Contribution by the community in cash, kind, labour The concept that the community has to contribute in either cash, kind or labour has become increasingly acceptabl memberss it r efo projectl Al . s included base-line studies wite hth assessmen e communitiesth f o t ' o contributwillingnest d an y kinn d abiliti er pa an so d o t y labour. Apart fro projece mth Kafn i tl Sheikhe r l projectal , s contain financial contributioy nb the community as a prerequisite for implementation. No projec s developeha t a clead r stratege establishmenth n o y f formao t l users committees, with joine d definean d d line f legao s l authorit d responsibilitiesan y . UNICEF initiate informan da l users committe Suhagn ei . IWACO intend initiato t s e informal committees in Fayoum rural area. Dangroup has expressed its intention to formalize committees in Edfu district. KESCON did not plan for the set up of users committees in Kafr el Sheikh governorate. Plancente procese th r n Ltdi f establishins o i . g district committee projecte th r sfo , consisting of heads or representatives of the relevant departments, with in addition one or two persons delegated by the community, representing the users. The committees will have an advisory role and no legal or decision-making authority. A long term objective of the RWSSP however is to form legal users group with defined lines of authority and decision-making capabilities. 3 Cost recovery system The only project implementor who has defined a cost recovery strategy is IWACO. The implementor planned to improve the existing cost recovery system in Fayoum governorate, by increasin e volumth g f wateeo r sold s percentaga , f totaeo l production y increasinb d an , e th g tariffs e increaseTh . d volum f wateeo achievee rb solreductioe n th dca y db f technicano l losses, by a reduction of free public tap water and by an increase of the revenue collection efficiency. s proposeIi t o introduct d ebasi w publilo ca tariffp tarifta cd r housan sfo f e connections. Plancenter Ltd, KESCON, Dangroup and UNICEF are still in the process of strategy- developmen thin o t s issue. 4 Hygien Healtd ean h Education UNICEF initiated a large scale combined intervention/research programme on health educatio Assiun ni 1990n i e tconsultan Th . s responsiblwa t r datefo a collectio processind nan g while UNICEF was in charge of implementing the hard ware and educational aspects of the intervention e impacTh . t assesse 199 n di s founrathee b 2 wa o dt r villagerloww Fe . s practiced the techniques learned. In order to develop continued reinforcement of health messages. UNICEF assigne a dHealt h Education o morAdvisotw ed consultantan r Suhan i s Qenad gan . e Save e Children/USTh th A approac addressinn i h g mainly school-childre Qenn i n a seemo t s have more impact. KESCON had a study on the feasibility of health education, however the advice was not to start with health education before the project would have shown some results to the community. IWACO made its first proposal on the Community Hygiene Component for Phase II. In Phase I a pilot project for hygiene education mainly focussing on environmental health aspects r differens carriefo wa t dou t target groupvillageso tw n i s . Assistance with follow-up activities seemed to be indispensable, while building an institutional framework for the replication of the activities was recommended as well. Dangroup's approach on Health education is currently in the stage of planning and definition. Cooperation is foreseen with DANIDA's Primary Health Care Project, to be initiated in Edfu withi comine e publith n Th yearso cgtw healt. h educatio RWSSe th r nfo Benn P i i Suef will be disseminated through two main frameworks, the structures used by the Beni Suef PHC Project and the structures for pilot scheme implementation developed by the RWSSP project, wit speciaha l focu children'n o s s education through existing school teachersd an s . 5 Cooperation wit governoratee hth governmentad an s l institutions Ther cleaa s i e r sense tha generaln i t l levelsal t a , , manager policy-makerd san Egypn i s t adhere to bureaucratic procedures that appear tedious and unnecessary to outside observers. Attempt o avoit s d bureaucratic procedure n dealini s g wite implementorth h s directld an y assuming the feasibility of a low level involvement of the governorate staff, have on the long term, proved to be unsuccessful. The project-administrators and implementors expressed different lines of cooperation and understanding toward and with the GOE and (semi-) governmental institutions. Dangroup and IWACO work close with both the governorate and NOPWASD, although Dangroup sai havo t d regulao n e r personal contact wit governoe th h r Generao r l Secretarn i y Aswan. In Beni Suef the General Secretary is assigned the responsibility of National Director of the project. For the project in Kafr el Sheikh, the main governmental counterpart is NOPWASD. KESCON would have preferred to have a more decentralized set up but this proved to be difficult to establish. UNICEF works closely with governorate-representatives from the Ministries and departments of Health, Irrigation and Public Works, Local Administration (ORDEV) and Housing (NOPWASD). The organization found difficulty in clearly defining roles with respect to operation, maintenance, training, measuring water quality etc. Cooperation on the village level Although nearly all decisions at the village level need to be referred to the district and governoratee th , ther usualls ei y more direct interactio communicatiod nan n betwee officiale nth s respective oth f e department e districth t a se executiv t th leve d d populaan l ean r councils than between the governorate and the lower levels of the hierarchy. Most officials at the governorate level view their role as that of policy makers for the entire governorate, while the staff at the district and village level have a more executive role.