Linking Urban Sanitation With The Poor

This project was conducted in Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa. It was implemented by IWSD, CSIR in South Africa, and University of Southampton in the UK. The aim of this project was to contribute towards the improvement of the well being of the urban poor through cost-effective and sustainable improvements in sanitation.

This was achieved by:

• The study of the existing level and quality of sanitation services
• Attitudes
• Practices and willingness to pay of poor urban communities, of institutional policies
• Strategies and resources of sanitation agencies
• Links between communities and sanitation agencies in poor urban areas of Zimbabwe

Major findings were:

• There was no clear water and sanitation policy to govern provision of services in informal settlements
• Solid waste and wastewater management were almost non-existent in the study sites
• Lack of clear and effective communication channels between the urban poor and sanitation agencies as one of the causes of poor sanitation in informal settlements
• Charges for sanitation services in Zimbabwe are extremely low covering less than 20% of the cost
• Tariffs are set through a political process and they do not reflect the cost of providing services or the willingness to pay (WTP) of communities
• Low tariffs coupled with poor billing and revenue collection meant that little revenue was generated for operation and maintenance thus local authorities could not maintain the facilities and the quality of services fell still further.

Guidelines on linking sanitation agencies with poor urban community are available. You can also read the book produced under this joint project on publication.

Should you wish to access more information than is provided, please contact Us