Decentralization and RWSS Service Provision, Africa

Timeframe: July 2007 – June 2010

Implemented byWSP

Partners: AFTU1/2, INF, WSP focus country teams

Desired Project Outcome:

Local governments become effective and efficient partners in the planning, provision, maintenance, and monitoring of rural water and sanitation services within their areas of jurisdiction and under their legal mandates.

Project Description:

Administrative, political, and financial decentralization is spreading throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Typically, local governments have few or no specialists in WSS, as opposed to the health and education sectors which often have large numbers of public servants at the district level. It is becoming critical that local governments develop an understanding of the sub-sector so that they can better utilize their limited human and financial resources in the delivery of sustainable services. How do we prepare local governments for work in WSS? What strategic approaches should we be pursuing? What incentives should be provided to attract local investment to the sector? How does the country-specific decentralization model affect our package of policies, strategies, and support tools? This project will learn from on-going decentralization programs and projects from around Africa, and develop a framework for identifying country-specific approaches to engaging local governments in the sub-sector. It will then apply the lessons learned, in countries that are going through the decentralization process and aims at assisting local governments to improve their results when engaging in RWSS activities.

Assumptions:

1. Efforts of African governments to decentralize resources and responsibilities will continue and/or increase in intensity.
2. Local governments will be receptive to initiatives aimed at improving their efficacy for working in the RWSS sub-sector.

Project Milestones:

1. International workshop celebrated with at least 12 SSA countries, for the review of the proposed framework for engaging local governments in RWSS activities, and the sharing of country experiences - Nov 08.
2. First country application of the final framework – Sept 2009.

Indicators of Outcome:

1. Development of a decentralization framework – Oct 2008
2. Local governments in at least six African countries will be participating in RWSS capacity building processes developed as a result of this project – Jun 2009.
3. At least three sub-Saharan African (SSA) governments will modify or seriously review their decentralization policies and approaches in line with the findings and recommendations generated by this project– Jun 2010.
4. Reviewed and/or revised national policies and approaches for working in a decentralized context in at least four countries; support for the development of training regimes and other possible capacity building tools and mechanisms – June 2010.

You can access the description of the programme through the database of WSP activities.