Capacity Building for Integrated Governance

Capacity building for integrated governance in the management of water and sanitation in Uganda and Zambia

Timeframe: 2005 - 2007

Coordinator: ICLEI

The project has been implemented in 6 African cities: Chibombo, Chongwe, Lusaka, Chililabombwe, Jinja and Entebbe. This project is funded by the Government of The Netherlands.

Project purpose

The purpose of this project is to increase the capacity of locally elected officials to improve water resources management. This project increases the understanding of local water resources management systems and the flow of information between various stakeholders, in particular, among locally elected officials. The project is designed to ensure that within the municipal corporation, the various sectors share and understand their contribution to water resources management and develop an integrated approach to improving water quality and access.
In addition, the experiences and good practices that are identified in this process will be actively exchanged between local governments. A crucial component of this project is the second phase where elected officials will be engaged in sharing their knowledge and making peer commitments and agreements to improve water resources management.

Expected outcomes

The general expected outcome is that Ugandan and Zambian elected officials become more engaged in resource mobilisation to achieve MDG 7. Officials are being equipped with the tools to engage both locally and internationally from a strong platform of understanding and knowledge of the local water systems.

Methodology

The project is carried out in three phases.

During the first phase, the municipalities are conducting self assessments of current initiatives and practices in their cities. The methodology for gathering this information has already been developed by ICLEI and is being adapted for use in the local context. The assessment is also identifying gaps in policy, operations and services. It is also highlighting areas of excellence. Training workshops for local governments on how to conduct such assessments (thus achieving milestone 1 of the ICLEI’s water campaign) are being conducted. Training has also been delivered on guidelines on how to achieve the other four milestones of the ICLEI water campaign, thus developing local awareness of participatory water resources management. Awareness has also been created on international initiatives and commitments made by national governments and of good practices and initiatives being implemented internationally and their implications for local governments.

The second phase of the project involves sharing these results between the technical and elected leadership of the councils. This will be carried out through a series of meetings and workshops.

The third phase of the project involves achievement of milestones 2 to 5 of the ICLEI Water Campaign by the cities and these are:
•Setting of goals for water consumption reduction, conservation and quality protection (Milestone 2);
•Development of local action plans for achieving the goals set under milestone 2 (Milestone 3);
•Implementation of the developed and endorsed local action plans (Milestone 4)
•monitoring and evaluation of achievement of the goals set under milestone 2 (Milestone 5)

Results

Significant achievements have been made at the local water dialogues between (national and local) governments and water utilities on (a) legal and policy frameworks on freshwater management; (b) measures undertaken and constraints faced by water utilities and local governments; (c) conditions of communities that have poor access to safe water; and (d) rate of water loss due to existing water subsidy mechanisms and poor water infrastructure.
Through, at least, 10 workshops, these stakeholders assessed the state of local water resources and outlined current measures and directions to improve access, reduce water pollution, and minimize non-revenue water. These dialogues also examined institutional mechanisms and policy support, and clarified the role of local governments in managing freshwater resources.

For further information on the project visit the web site of the ICLEI Africa.