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UNIVERSITY OF ZIMBABWE

TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE RURAL WATER AND SANITATION SERVICE PROVISION

IN MALAWI: HAS DECENTRALISATION HELPED?

A CASE OF THYOLO DISTRICT

BY

GODWIN E.L. KAMTUKULE

A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Masters Degree in

Integrated Water Resources Management

Department of Civil Engineering

Faculty of Engineering

June 2007

UNIVERSITY OF ZIMBABWE

TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE RURAL WATER AND SANITATION SERVICE PROVISION

IN MALAWI: HAS DECENTRALISATION HELPED?

A CASE OF THYOLO DISTRICT

Supervised By

MR. J. SIWADI and DR W.O. MULWAFU

A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Masters Degree in

Integrated Water Resources Management

Department of Civil Engineering

Faculty of Engineering

June 2007

Towards Sustainable Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Services Provision. Has Decentralisation Helped?

Godwin Kamtukule Masters in IWRM, 2007 i

DECLARATION

“I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and that, to the best of my knowledge and

belief, it contains no material previously published or written by another person or material which

to a substantial extent has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma of the

university or other institute of higher learning, except where due acknowledgements has been

made in the text”

……………………..………..……………… ………………………..………

Signature Date

..………………….………………………………………………..……………

Name


Godwin Kamtukule Masters in IWRM, 2007 ii

ABSTRACT

Regardless of many developing countries having vigorously decentralised their rural water supply

and sanitation (RWSS) services, the outcomes are contrary to their expectations. There are two

opposing schools of thoughts about decentralisation. Its proponents argue that it enhances the

efficiency and effectiveness of public service provision while critics argue that there is no clear

effectiveness of decentralisation and that developing countries pursued decentralisation reforms by

default. As part of its public sector reform, the Malawi Government adopted the decentralisation

policy which empowers the district assemblies to oversee the provision of RWSS services. This

was after government had noticed lack of sector coordination and delayed service provision in its

previous centralised system. The type of decentralisation pursued is a mixture of deconcentration,

delegation and devolution. A study was conducted to assess the effectiveness of the decentralised

RWSS service provision in Malawi using the case of Thyolo district. Focus was given to sector

institutional framework, district level planning & implementation, financing mechanisms and

Community Based Management (CBM). Study methods included key informants, interviews,

focus group discussions, field observations and literature study. Data collection tools included

questionnaires, phone and email. The study ascertained that the institutional framework of the

water and sanitation sector provides room for effective district level multisectoral collaboration

and integration. The district level planning and implementation system is very effective, it is linked

to the national development framework, but its effectiveness is compromised by inadequate

capacity of the districts. District assemblies demonstrate unsatisfactory financial resources

mobilisation; they still rely on external support rather than locally generated revenues and cost

recovery from rural water supply systems. The CBM approach is well adopted by the communities

except that its effectiveness is dodged by the unsatisfactory supporting mechanisms. In conclusion

the study acknowledges that decentralisation is effective in sustaining RWSS services. However,

in Malawi decentralisation is challenged in many ways including inadequate technical and

functional capacity in the district assemblies. The study recommends that government should

create conducive environment for the district assemblies to enhance their financing mechanisms

and to retain sufficient and competent human capacity. It is further suggested that the district

assemblies should provide due support to District Coordination Teams (DCT) operations to

facilitate effective technical backstopping to CBM and extension services.

Keywords: Community, Decentralisation, District Assembly, Implementation, Sanitation,

Sustainability, Water supply, Malawi.


Godwin Kamtukule Masters in IWRM, 2007 iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I thank God for His unmerited favour which was well demonstrated right from the start up to the

finishing line of my studies.

The following are acknowledged with thanks for their immeasurable support during my studies

and indeed the time I was undertaking my research.

WaterNet for being the sponsors of my studies and all its members of staff.

My supervisors, Mr J. Siwadi and Dr. W.O. Mulwafu. The same goes to IWRM lecturers and

the Chairman of UZ Civil Engineering Department Eng. Z. Hoko.

My resource person, Engineer N.Mundege, Institute of Water and Sanitation Development,

Harare, Zimbabwe

Mr. R.M.A. Champiti, Project Liaison Manager, Integrated Rural Water Supply and Sanitation

Project. Ministry of Irrigation and Water Development. Lilongwe, Malawi.

Mr H. Botha, Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, Ministry of Local Government and

Community Development.

Administration staff, IWRM Programme, Civil Engineering Department, University of

Zimbabwe. In particular, Mai Sadazi, Moria Malope, Martha Hondo, Mrs Musiniwa and Mr

Stan Bere.

The District Commissioner and Staff of Thyolo District Assembly. DPD - Mr. Ernest Kaphuka;

M&E Officer – Mr Bimeyani; Acting DOF – Mr Chitete.

All community leaders and indeed all the communities in Thyolo District.

District Water Officer; District Social and Community Services; Thyolo Police Officer In-

Charge; District Health Officer and District Environmental Health Officer – Thyolo Hospital;

District Education Manager and District Health Officer.

Mr George. Namizinga and Ms Khanyiwe Shawa - COMWASH Project. Management and

staff of Concern Universal, Oxfam and World Vision Malawi, all from Thyolo project offices.

Malawi Institute of Engineers.

All my classmates.


Godwin Kamtukule Masters in IWRM, 2007 iv

DEDICATION

God! I am in your hands! What you say will happen! Nothing baffles you!

To my mother, Mai Doffa Kamtukule

and

My lovely lady, Elizabeth


Godwin Kamtukule Masters in IWRM, 2007 v

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- i

ABSTRACT --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- iii

DEDICATION ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- v

LIST OF FIGURES --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- viii

LIST OF TABLES ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ix

LIST OF APPENDICES ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ x

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS --------------------------------------------------------------------------- xi

CHAPTER ONE --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1

1.0 INTRODUCTION --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1

1.1 Background------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1

1.2 Malawi’s Development Framework ------------------------------------------------------------------ 2 1.2.1 Vision 2020 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3 1.2.2 Decentralisation and Good Governance --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3 1.2.3 Water and Sanitation Sector Policies ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4 1.2.4 Malawi Growth and Development Strategy ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 5

1.5 Problem Statement--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5

1.6 Objectives of the Study --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6

1.7 Justification------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 6

1.8 Layout of the Report ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 6

CHAPTER TWO--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7

2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 7

2.1 Understanding the Concept of Decentralisation --------------------------------------------------- 7

2.2 Lessons From Other Countries --------------------------------------------------------------------- 10

2.3 Account of Water and Sanitation Sector Reform in Malawi --------------------------------- 14

CHAPTER THREE ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 18

3.0 STUDY AREA ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 18

3.1 Location -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 18

3.2 Population Distribution ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 18

3.3 Topography---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 19

3.4 Water Resources --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 19

3.5 Economic Profile --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20

3.6 Livelihood Activities ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20

3.7 Political Profile ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20


Godwin Kamtukule Masters in IWRM, 2007 vi

3.8 Soils ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 21

3.9 Land Tenure System ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 21

3.10 Education and Literacy Level ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 21

3.11 Climate --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 21

3.12 Communication ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 22

CHAPTER FOUR ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 25

4.0 DATA COLLECTION -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 25

4.1 Introduction --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 25

4.2 Research Design ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 25

4.3 Data Collection Methods and Tools ---------------------------------------------------------------- 25 4.3.1 Primary Data Collection Methods ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 25 4.3.2 Secondary Data Collection Methods ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 27

4.5 Data Analysis and Interpretation ------------------------------------------------------------------- 28

4.6 Challenges ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 29

CHAPTER FIVE -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 30

5.0 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 30

5.1 Institutional Framework ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 30 5.1.1 Sector Institutions and Key Stakeholders -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 30 5.1.2 The District Assembly ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 31 5.1.3 Assembly District Secretariat---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 31 5.1.4 District Executive Committee (DEC)------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 32 5.1.5 Management Structures for Water and Sanitation Activities -------------------------------------------------- 33 5.1.6 Management Structure of Gravity Fed Schemes (GFS) --------------------------------------------------------- 37

5.2 District Development Planning ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 40 5.2.1 Planning Process ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 40 5.2.2 Water and Sanitation Sector Plans --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 41 5.2.3 Sector collaboration -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 42 5.2.4 Community Demand for Water Supply and Sanitation Services ---------------------------------------------- 42

5.3 Implementation of the District Development Plan ---------------------------------------------- 43 5.3.1 Human Resources in the Sector Ministries ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 44 5.3.2 Schools Sanitation ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 46 5.3.3 Catchment Protection ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 47 5.3.4 Support Given to District Assembly -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 47 5.3.5 Private Sector Participation ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 48 5.3.6 Sector Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 49

5.4 District Development Fund (DDF) ----------------------------------------------------------------- 51 5.4.1 Development of Sector Budgets ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 51 5.4.2 Sources of Funding for Rural Water Supply and Sanitation (RWSS) ----------------------------------------- 51 5.4.3 Management of District Finances ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 53

5.5 Community Based Management (CBM) ---------------------------------------------------------- 54 5.5.1 Management Structures ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 54 5.5.2 Village Level Operation and Maintenance (VLOM)------------------------------------------------------------- 56 5.5.3 Coverage of Rural Water Supply ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 59 5.5.4 Sanitation Coverage and its Impact -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 60 5.5.5 Capacity Building ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 62 5.5.6 Coverage of Government Extension Services --------------------------------------------------------------------- 62 5.5.7 Challenges Faced by Extension Workers -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 63 5.5.8 Challenges of Community Based Management (CBM) --------------------------------------------------------- 63


Godwin Kamtukule Masters in IWRM, 2007 vii

CHAPTER SIX ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 67

6.0 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ------------------------------------------------ 67

6.1 Conclusions ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 67

6.2 Recommendations -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 67

REFERENCES ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 69


Godwin Kamtukule Masters in IWRM, 2007 viii

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 3:1 Population Distribution by Age ---------------------------------------------------------------- 18

Figure 3:2 Registered Voters in the Seven Constituencies of Thyolo District ------------------------ 20

Figure 5:1 Reasons for not attending committee meetings ----------------------------------------------- 55

Figure 5:2 Reasons for Non-functioning of Water Points ----------------------------------------------- 57

Figure 5:3 Downtimes of water supply facilities---------------------------------------------------------- 58

Figure 5:4 Water supply coverage and accessibility ----------------------------------------------------- 60

Figure 5:5 Cases of Diarrhoeal Diseases between 2002 and 2006 ------------------------------------- 61


Godwin Kamtukule Masters in IWRM, 2007 ix

LIST OF TABLES

Table 3:1 Road Coverage in Thyolo district --------------------------------------------------------------- 22

Table 3:2 Access to Print and Electronic Media ----------------------------------------------------------- 23

Table 3:3 Coverage of telephone landlines in the Thyolo district --------------------------------------- 23

Table 4:1 Sampling details ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 28

Table 5:1 Members of Thyolo District Coordination Team (DCT) ------------------------------------- 33

Table 5:2 Project Requests submitted to the District Water Office in 1999 --------------------------- 43

Table 5:3 Staffing details for Thyolo district waster office ---------------------------------------------- 44

Table 5:4 Status of water points in Thyolo District in April, 2007 ------------------------------------- 57

Table 5:5 Performances of GFS schemes in Thyolo district --------------------------------------------- 59


Godwin Kamtukule Masters in IWRM, 2007 x

LIST OF APPENDICES

APPENDIX 1.0: Research Design ----------------------------------------------------------------- 73

APPENDIX 2.0: Questionnaire for Government Extension Workers ------------------------- 77

APPENDIX 3.0: Focus Group Discussions with Water Users --------------------------------- 79

APPENDIX 4.0: Focus Group Discussions: with VHWC and WPC -------------------------- 80

APPENDIX 5.0: Institutional Setup for Rural Water and Sanitation Management --------- 81

APPENDIX 6.0: Management Structure for Piped Water Supply Schemes ----------------- 82

APPENDIX 7.0a: District Development Cycle (Malawi Government, 2006) -------------- 83

APPENDEX 7.0 b: Stages of the Local Development Planning Cycle (LDPC) ------------- 84

APPENDIX 8.0: Recorded cases of cholera and water & sanitation related diseases ------ 86

APPENDEX 9.0: Photo Gallery -------------------------------------------------------------------- 87


Godwin Kamtukule Masters in IWRM, 2007 xi

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS

ADC Area Development Committee

AEC Area Executive Committee

CBM Community Based Management

CBNRM Community Based Natural Resources Management

COMWASH Community Water, Sanitation and Health

DCT District Coordination Team

DDF District Development Fund

DDP District Development Planning

DEC District Executive Committee

DFID Department for International Development

DPD Director of Planning and Development

DRA Demand responsive Approach

MASAF Malawi Social Action Fund

MDG Millennium Development Goals

MGDS Malawi Growth and Development Strategy

MIRTDC Malawi Industrial Research Technology Development Centre

MIWD Ministry of Water Development

MOHP Ministry of Health and Population

MPRS Malawi Poverty Reduction Strategy

MSCS Ministry of Social and Community Services

NLGFC National Local Government Finance Committee

PHAST Participatory Hygiene and Sanitation Transformation

RWSS Rural Water Supply and Sanitation

UNDP United Nations Development Program

UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund

VDC Village Development Committee

VHWC Village Health and Water Committee

VLOM Village Level Operation and Maintenance

WPC Water Point Committee


Godwin Kamtukule Masters in IWRM, 2007 1

CHAPTER ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background

Many countries have been decentralising their water supply and sanitation services since the

1980’s as part of the reform process of public services provision. The assumption is that the

sustainability of rural water supply and sanitation (RWSS) hinges on the ability of users to

manage their own facilities, while they actively participate in the decision making process. The

concept of decentralisation plays a major role in empowering communities to acquire

institutional and legal rights to manage their own development initiatives. It acknowledges that

the local authorities1 are well positioned to provide essential services including water supply and

sanitation to rural communities.

There are diverse driving factors for decentralising water supply and sanitation services, all of

which point to technical, social, economic and political considerations. Technically, water and

sanitation facilities need to be well operated and maintained to fulfil their intended purpose.

Social considerations hinges on the fact that empowered community gains more control over

their resources while striving for improved livelihood. One of the resources in this context is

natural resources which can locally be managed through the concept of community based natural

resources management. This tenet supports the concept of catchment protection whose main goal

is to ensure sufficient and good quality water resources in order to sustain water supplies.

Economically, community based projects in the water and sanitation sector need to have

sustainable cost recovery mechanisms. For this to work, users need to realise the economic value

of water by contributing towards capital and operation and maintenance costs of the facilities.

Hence the ability of communities to make lead decisions can only support this concept. In

summary, the idea of decentralisation is in line with the principle of subsidiarity that calls for

decisions and management responsibilities pertaining to water and sanitation to take place at the

lowest appropriate level as pointed out by Dijk (2003).

Political reasons for community participation basically lie behind good governance even though

most of the political decisions seem to circumvent the norms of decentralisation process. Hence

the term political interference comes in. Jütting et al (2004) connotes that political or democratic

decentralisation is expected to offer citizens the possibility of increased participation in local

decision-making processes, from which they have generally been excluded through lack of

sufficient representation or organisation. According to the authors this assumption is based on

situations of evident political tolerance. In reality sometimes, the provision of water supply and

sanitation services according to the politicians is more of a favour than a mere national

development objective. In many cases water supply holds as an election campaign tool. More

water supply development is done where there is political support which leads to uneven

distribution of the water facilities. In that way, decentralisation process seems to fail its intended

role.

1 Local Authorities are the constituents of Local Government system. In the Malawi, they are called Assemblies and

can be City, Town or District Assemblies.



The scope of this study lies within the effectiveness of decentralised RWSS service delivery in

Malawi. Effectiveness means adequate to accomplish a purpose; producing the intended or

expected result (www.dictionary.reference.com, 2007). In this study, it applies to services that

would require minimal costs, with adaptable technologies, uncomplicated operation and simple

management. Decentralisation is the transfer of powers from central to lower levels of

government authority (World Bank, 2001). The levels considered are the district assemblies and

communities at village and water point level. Service delivery, as given in the decentralisation

policy, includes technologies for providing safe water and improved sanitation services. Safe

water supply service is the provision of water through boreholes (or communal standpipes),

protected wells, and tap water located either on the premises or less than one-half kilometre

away. Improved sanitation is defined as the use of household toilet facilities that are flush to

sewer, ventilated improved pit latrine or covered pit latrine (National Statistics Office, 2005).

Sustainability in this study is defined as the continued benefits of water supply and sanitation

services without external support. As cited by Lockwood et al (2003), the study acknowledges

the determinants of sustainability as: Technical factors, including design, performance and

maintenance issues; Community and social factors, including willingness to support projects;

Institutional factors, including policy and external follow-up support; Environmental factors,

including the sustainability of the water source ; Financial factors, including the ability to cover

recurrent costs and finally health factors, including the need to continue the provision of hygiene

education to affect long-term behaviour changes.

1.4 Rationale for Sector Reforms Generally expectations are high by many developing countries that their sector reforms will yield

positive results. Their primary motivation has been to improve the quality of services, cut costs,

boost earnings, introduce innovative technologies, increase coverage, and promote well-informed

and responsible user participation, consistent with the premises of sustainable human

development. This study focuses on these desirable results as indicators for decentralised service

delivery in the Malawi scenario. The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) (2001)

identifies three different functions that the sector reforms are purpose to serve including: 1) a

steering role, which includes the establishment of sectoral policies; 2) regulation and quality

control of services; and 3) delivery of these services. The steering role is the responsibility of the

State; regulation and control is the responsibility of an autonomous government agency with

participation from society; and service delivery is the responsibility of public, private, or mixed

autonomous entities. These reforms involve significant sectoral changes, whose formulation and

implementation require training at all levels (PAHO, 2001).

1.2 Malawi’s Development Framework

Malawi’s Local Government development framework prioritises poverty reduction. This is well

reflected in the district development planning framework which guide Public Investment and

provide consistency and coordination of the development activities in the district. Its formulation

takes full recognition of the national development framework. It takes into account Vision 2020,

Decentralisation and Good Governance and Malawi Growth and Development Strategy (MGDS)

to satisfy the national development strategies and policies. At district level, sector investment

plans and strategies are consolidated to form the District Development Plan (DDP).

http://www.dictionary.reference.com/

http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/paho;jsessionid=ec21jif19ajf.henrietta



1.2.1 Vision 2020

Vision 2020 reflects the long-term aspirations of Malawians and forms the basis for short and

medium-term policies and strategies. It provides a framework in which a country formulates

implements and evaluates short and medium-term plans. It further provides detailed background

information and justification for the aspirations of the people of the country and the

recommended strategies for achieving the aspirations. With this framework, Government

departments and private organisations are able to prepare detailed projects and activities. The

Vision also captures the multisectoral nature of development, as it comprises social, cultural as

well as political changes.

Vision 2020 states that: "By the year 2020, Malawi as a God-fearing nation will be secure,

democratically mature, environmentally sustainable, self reliant with equal opportunities for and

active participation by all, having social services, vibrant cultural and religious values and

being a technologically driven middle-income country. " (Malawi Government, 1998)

1.2.2 Decentralisation and Good Governance

Since the advent of the multi party government in 1994 the Government of Malawi went through

major changes, one of which was the adoption of the Decentralisation Policy in line with the

Local Government Act of 1998. The primary objective of the Local Government is to further the

constitutional order based on democratic principles, accountability, transparency and

participation of the people in decision making and development process (Local Government Act,

1998). The decentralisation policy centres on empowering the local authorities including district

assemblies to manage the devolved functions. The decentralisation policy further acknowledges

the importance of putting in place necessary supporting structures at both district and community

levels. The policy forms the basis and framework for the devolution of functions,

responsibilities, powers and resources to local authorities.

In summary the policy:

(a) devolves administration and political authority to the district level

(b) integrates government agencies at the district and local levels into one administrative unit,

through the process of institutional integration, manpower absorption, composite budgeting

and provision of funds for the decentralised services

(c) diverts the centre of implementation responsibilities and transfers these to the districts

(d) assigns functions and responsibilities to the various levels of government

(e) promotes popular participation in the governance and development of districts

The objectives of the policy are to:

(a) create a democratic environment and institution in Malawi for local governance and

development

(b) reduce poverty, which has become the central development policy for the country.

(c) abolish a dual system of local administration.

(d) promote accountability, good governance, and popular participation in local development

process.

(e) improve coordination among the ministries/departments operating at the district level.



The Local Government Act of 1998 further outlines the functions of the district assemblies as

follows:

(a) To make policy and decisions on local governance and development for the district.

(b) To consolidate and promote local democratic institutions and democratic participation.

(c) To promote infrastructural and economic development through district development plans.

(d) To mobilise resources within and outside the district.

(e) To maintain peace and security in the district in collaboration with the National Police Force.

Implementation of the policy involved the devolution of functions of various sectors including

that of water supply and sanitation. Under the water and sanitation sector the decentralisation

policy outlines the functions for the district assemblies which include: provision and

maintenance of water supply technologies (boreholes, Gravity Fed Piped Water Systems,

Protected wells); Catchment protection; Refuse disposal and Environmental Sanitation.

1.2.3 Water and Sanitation Sector Policies

The MIWD as the lead institution in the water and sanitation has since been vigorously making

headways by laying the foundation for achieving sustainable water supply and sanitation

services. In August 2005, MIWD produced a national water policy in consultation with its

relevant stakeholders including the Local Authorities. The vision of the water and sanitation

sector is well captured in the National Water Policy as ‘Water and Sanitation for all, Always’. In

continuation with this venture, the national sanitation policy whose vision is ‘Sanitation for all,

always’ was produced in 2006. Both policies recognise the need for stakeholders’ involvement,

Local Authorities inclusive by outlining their roles.

Roles of the Local Authorities specified in the national water policy and national sanitation

policy include:

(a) Plan and coordinate the implementation of water and sanitation programmes at local

assembly level.

(b) Solicit funding for implementation of water, sanitation and environment programmes.

(c) Collect, process, analyse and disseminate relevant data and information to all stakeholders

within the water sector.

(d) Promote private sector and NGOs participation in the delivery of water supply and sanitation

services.

(e) Establish management information system and supporting databases on improved sanitation,

hygiene practices and coverage of potable water supply.

(f) Promote and ensure strong coordination of hygiene and sanitation activities between all

stakeholders.

The two policies further recognise the need of achieving sustainable water supply and sanitation

in the rural areas. According to the national water policy, the overall goal of MIWD under the

component of rural water services (RWSS) is to achieve sustainable provision of water supply

and sanitation services that are equitably accessible to and used by individuals and entrepreneurs

in urban, peri-urban and market centres at affordable cost. Some of the specific objectives

originating from this goal are to:

(a) promote demand driven and demand responsive approaches in Rural Water Supply and

Sanitation services



(b) promote Community Based Management in RWSS in consultation with Local Authorities

(c) encourage user participation in catchment protection, water conservation and sanitation

related activities

(d) ensure smooth transfer of all devolved functions of the RWSS services.

1.2.4 Malawi Growth and Development Strategy

The Malawi Government adopted the Malawi Growth and Development Strategy (MGDS) in the

year 2006 to replace the Malawi Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (MPRSP). The MGDS is an

overarching strategy for the country for five years (2006/2007 to 2010/2011 fiscal years). It

provides a policy framework that addresses both economic growth and social policies and how

these are balanced to achieve the medium term objectives for Malawi. The strategies outlined in

the MGDS were developed based on lessons and experiences of the MPRSP implementation

while taking into consideration the current political, economic and social development in the

country (Malawi Government, 2006).

The MGDS framework has five themes. Theme Four is about Infrastructure Development under

which water and sanitation falls as Sub Theme Three. Theme Five of the MGDS is Improving

Governance with decentralisation as one of its sub themes. Decentralisation according to the

strategy is aimed at improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the public sector in service

delivery to the communities.

The MGDS proposes action points that are aimed at improving rural water supply and sanitation

services including:

(a) Adopting demand driven and responsive approaches in provision of water and sanitation

(b) Integrating rural water supply and participatory hygiene and sanitation transformation

(c) Advocating cost recovery in operation and maintenance

(d) Promoting community based management (develop guidelines)

(e) Ensuring smooth transfer of devolved functions of rural water supply and sanitation services

(f) Encouraging further user participation in catchment protection, water conservation and

sanitation activities

1.5 Problem Statement

Malawi just like many developing countries is striving to achieve sustainable RWSS services

through the water and sanitation sector reform by decentralising water and sanitation service

delivery. Prior to the adoption of the decentralisation policy, the central government was

responsible for the provision and maintenance of rural water supply and sanitation services. As

the number of rural water and sanitation facilities increased and due to lack of enough manpower

and skilled personnel, coupled with insufficient funding and transport problems, government

lacked sufficient capacity to timely act on reported breakdowns. Water supply and sanitation

services were provided in isolation by two different government institutions. There was generally

no coordinated and efficient service delivery. After decentralisation has taken root, district

assemblies are now responsible for the provision of RWSS services while communities are

empowered and expected to maintain the facilities on their own. However, to date no major

studies have been undertaken to assess the effectiveness of the decentralisation strategy and

guide policy formulation in order to address sustainability concerns over RWSS services

delivery. Hence this study was carried out to fill this information gap.



1.6 Objectives of the Study

The main objective of the study is to assess the effectiveness of the decentralised rural water

supply and sanitation services delivery in Malawi.

The following are the specific objectives:

(a) To determine the effectiveness of the institutional set up for RWSS service provision.

(b) To measure the effectiveness of the district planning of RWSS services.

(c) To assess the effectiveness of implementation of RWSS activities.

(d) To assess the effectiveness of the district level financing towards RWSS development.

(e) To analyse the effectiveness of the implementation of community based management (CBM)

for RWSS.

1.7 Justification

The concept of decentralisation is aimed at empowering the communities in their decision

making for their improved livelihood. In addition, that should lead to the generation of attention

within the administrative ranks and institutional setup. The process is supposed to entail the

communities at the grass root level, acquiring institutional and legal rights to manage own

development initiatives. With more administrative and fiscal power at the district level, it is

expected that some of the major challenges faced by the Malawi’s water and sanitation sector

could be solved. Since the Malawi Government adopted the decentralisation policy, a lot of

RWSS projects have been undertaken by the government as well as NGOs through the district

assemblies. However, no major studies have been carried out to draw lessons from the district

level implementation of such projects. Hence this study was suggested to form the basis for

proper arguments over the decentralised RWSS service provision. It is hoped that findings of the

study will stimulate the provision of an insight of what decentralisation has managed to achieve

in the water and sanitation sector. Thyolo district was chosen as the case study.

1.8 Layout of the Report

Chapter 1 gives background of general concept decentralisation and account of sector devolution

in Malawi. It outlines the problem statement, research objectives and justification of the study.

Chapter 2 covers literature review on the general concept of decentralisation. It outlines the

experiences learnt from other countries.

Chapter 3 provides the information of the study area including demographic data, topography,

soils, water resources, economic profile, livelihood activities and climate.

Chapter 4 presents research design covering data collection methods and analysis. It presents the

results of the study, analysis and discussion.

Chapter 5 concludes the study basing on findings and lessons learnt. It makes relevant

recommendations.



CHAPTER TWO

2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Understanding the Concept of Decentralisation

Decentralisation is a complex multifaceted concept. It can be defined in various ways. It also

holds different types and forms that can be applied in different situations. Decentralisation in its

basic definition according to FAO (2002) is the transfer of part of the powers of the central

government to regional or local authorities. The World Bank (2001) defines decentralisation as

the transfer of authority and responsibility for public functions from the central government to

intermediate and local governments or quasi-independent government organisations and/or the

private sector. There are a number of types of decentralisation according to the World Bank

(2001) which include political, administrative, fiscal and market decentralisation. Political,

administrative, fiscal and market decentralisation can also appear in different forms and

combinations across countries, within countries and even within sectors.

Political decentralisation according to the World Bank (2001) aims to give citizens or their

elected representatives more power in public decision-making. Advocates of political

decentralisation assume that decisions made with greater participation will be better informed

and more relevant to diverse interests in society than those made only by national political

authorities.

Administrative decentralisation is the transfer of responsibility for the planning, financing and

management of certain public functions from the central government and its agencies to field

units of government agencies, subordinate units or levels of government, semi-autonomous

public authorities or corporations, or area-wide, regional or functional authorities (World Bank,

2001). There are three major forms of administrative decentralisation namely: deconcentration,

delegation, and devolution.

Rosensweig (2001) who defines decentralisation as the transfer of responsibility to lower levels

of government identifies three forms of administrative decentralisation that exist in the water

supply and sanitation sector: Deconcentration - placing resources and staff at lower levels

within the same administrative structure (autonomous, regional offices of the national water

company). A responsibility is transferred from central ministries to field officers at the local or

regional level, thereby becoming closer to the citizens while remaining part of the central

government. Delegation - assigning responsibility to a third party, such as an autonomous

regional water entity or a private sector company. Devolution - transferring responsibility and

authority to local governments.

Fiscal decentralisation is the assignment of expenditure and revenue mobilisation functions to

sub national levels of government. De Mello and Barenstein (2001) conducted a cross-country

literature study on fiscal decentralisation for 78 countries. Findings from the study suggested that

fiscal decentralisation is associated with various indicators of governance such as corruption,

rule of law, and government effectiveness. The World Bank (2001) concurs with the authors,

firstly by simply defining fiscal decentralisation as the empowering of local authorities to attain

the financial autonomy. Secondly the World Bank observes that financial responsibility is a core



component of decentralisation. According to World Bank if local governments and private

organisations are to carry out decentralised functions effectively, they must have an adequate

level of revenues –either raised locally or transferred from the central government– as well as the

authority to make decisions about expenditures.

Economic or Market Decentralisation is characterised by driving forces behind privatisation and

deregulation because they shift responsibility or functions from the public to the private sector

(World Bank, 2001). Privatisation and deregulation allow functions that had been primarily or

exclusively the responsibility of government to be carried out by businesses, community groups,

cooperatives, private voluntary associations, and other non-governmental organisations. In recent

years privatisation and deregulation have become more attractive alternatives to governments in

developing countries. Local governments also privatise by contracting out service provision or

administration.

While many countries in the world are pursuing the decentralisation, it is worth noting that the

process may not always be efficient, especially for standardised, routine, network-based services.

The World Bank (1997) points out that decentralisation can result in the loss of economies of

scale and control over scarce financial resources by the central government. The World Bank

(1997) suggests that weak administrative or technical capacity at local levels may result in

services being delivered less efficiently and effectively in some areas of the country.

Administrative responsibilities may be transferred to local levels without adequate financial

resources and make equitable distribution or provision of services more difficult. According to

the World Bank, decentralisation can sometimes make coordination of national policies more

complex and may allow functions to be captured by local elites. Also, distrust between public

and private sectors may undermine cooperation at the local level.

In its report on Meeting The Water and Sanitation Millennium Development Goals, DFID

(2005) observes that implementation through a process of decentralisation does not necessarily

imply positive changes in the water sector, but rather can bring important benefits when

implemented properly. The report notes that decentralisation can bring many benefits by

devolving decision making (for operation and maintenance, institutional and financial

arrangements) to the local level where municipalities are often more connected to the needs of

beneficiaries of water services. However, the process of decentralisation can create as many

challenges as it does opportunities. In the report DFID (2005) takes note of some of the problems

that surrounds financial and administrative capacity of local management such as elite capture,

poor regulation and a lack of clarity over rules and responsibilities. The report indicates that such

problems can commonly arise and sometimes outweigh the positive intent of the decentralisation

process. For this reason the report suggests that the element of decentralisation as put forward in

this study should not be viewed as a de facto policy panacea. The report further suggest that the

decentralisation element should be viewed as an indicator for the degree to which any efforts to

move in the direction of decentralisation have been contributing to positive outcomes in the

water sector.

While the concept of decentralisation may appear positive in many ways, there is danger in just

adopting the concept without any practical on-the-ground situational analysis. Caution is given

by the World Bank (2001) that different types of decentralisation should be distinguished



because they have different characteristics, policy implications, and conditions for success. The

World Bank hints that drawing distinctions between these concepts is useful for highlighting the

many dimensions to successful decentralisation and the need for coordination among them. The

World Bank (2001) however, observes that under appropriate conditions, all forms of

decentralisation can play important roles in broadening participation in political, economic and

social activities in developing countries. In some countries, decentralisation may create a

geographical focus at the local level. According to the World Bank, this could be done for

coordinating national, provincial, district and local programs more effectively. The World Bank

suggests that this approach can provide better opportunities for participation by local residents in

decision making.

Whether centralisation or decentralisation it does not necessarily mean the one is better than the

other. Of more significance is the justification and the expected resultant or impact for adopting a

particular system. Both forms of administration coexist in different political systems. According

to FAO (2002), centralisation is in response to the need for national unity, whereas

decentralisation is in response to demands for diversity.

Decentralisation policies are part of vigorous initiatives to support rural development hence its

concept has attracted a lot of debate on the global scene. There are two opposing thoughts that

fight over the concept of decentralisation as a tool for poverty reduction. Proponents of

decentralisation argue that by increasing the participation and decision making of those in lower

government levels and the communities, the provision of essential services can be accelerated.

This argument is in line with many donors and development agencies such as the World Bank

and International Monetary Fund (IMF). Their conviction is that decentralisation is instrumental

for poverty reduction in developing countries. They argument is that by decentralising service

delivery such as water and other natural resources, governments can cut down on expenditure.

However, the assumption with such drive is that the decentralisation process is facilitated within

the democratic environment leading to democratic decentralisation. Johnson (2001) defines

democratic decentralisation as meaningful authority devolved to local units of governance that

are accessible and accountable to the local citizenry, who enjoy full political rights and liberty. It

thus differs from the vast majority of earlier efforts at decentralization in developing areas,

which go back to the 1950s, and which were largely initiatives in public administration without

any serious democratic component (Johnson, 2001).

Critics of decentralisation on the other hand see no clear link between decentralisation and

poverty reduction. Their argument is that developing countries pursued decentralisation reforms

by default. A study report by Jütting et al (2004) notes that most of the developing countries are

characterised by post-conflict economies hence they share similar reform objectives. The authors

assert that countries registered no demonstrable pro-poor outcomes from specific projects that

were linked to decentralisation. Such countries according to the authors are all low income and

Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC). The countries are characterised by low literacy levels

(under 50 per cent), poor infrastructure and high corruption levels (Jütting et al, 2004). The

argument is that an empowered community is the one that is socially, economically and

politically well informed.



Decentralisation of water supply and sanitation services is well supported within the Integrated

Water Resources Management (IWRM) framework. The second and third Dublin Principles

reflects this. The second principle acknowledges the need for water resources development and

management to be based on a participatory approach, involving users, planners and policy

markers at al levels. In its 2000 water supply and sanitation sector report the World Health

Organisation (WHO) acknowledges that the principles implies that decisions should be taken at

the lowest appropriate level with full public consultation and involvement of users in the

planning, implementation and management of water and sanitation projects. This is achieved

through functional decentralisation also called subsidiarity. Principle of subsidiarity calls for

informed decision making at lowest appropriate management levels through the enhanced

stakeholder participation It is worth noting that community management does not only mean

community participation as traditionally interpreted. According to WHO (2000), it is much more

than the provision of labour and the contribution of materials; rather, it is based upon the

concepts of ownership, control and responsibility for the development process. It is recognition

that the people in the community have not only the capability of managing their development

services, but also the basic responsibility for their success or failure (WHO, 2000).

The third principle on the other hand advocates for women’s central role in the provision,

management and safeguarding of water (Jaspers, 2003). One way of fulfilling this principle, is

the employment of gender mainstreaming strategies in water supply and sanitation projects just

like the rest of the development projects. The justification here is that traditionally women are

direct users of water resources. They are the first to feel the impact of whatever problems

associated with water and other natural resources. Through the decentralisation process, women

are therefore empowered to take leading role in all areas that concerns the management of water

resources. For this reason most of the social indicators regarding water supply and sanitation are

gender disaggregated. The only shortcoming however, is that focus is given to the presence of

women in the management structures rather than their level and quality of decision making.

2.2 Lessons From Other Countries

There are many triggers that justify water sector reforms in developing countries. The Zambia’s

National Water Supply and Sanitation Council (2004) affirm that the country’s reforms of the

water sector were a response to the poor performance of the institutions charged with the

responsibility of service provision. According to the council, poor performance is a result of a

number of factors including unclear roles and responsibilities of institutions, low investment in

the sector, low cost recovery and overstaffing with personnel not adequately qualified. The

council mentions some of the key problems that affected Zambia’s water sector prior to reform

but might as well be applicable to the rest of the developing countries as:

(a) Lack of a comprehensive sector policy or strategy to guide sector organisations in the

performance of their tasks.

(b) Unclear roles and responsibilities for the water sector leading either to duplication of efforts

or gaps in some areas.

(c) Continued deteriorating water supply and sanitation infrastructure due to poor maintenance

and lack of new investments, with most of the investment being provided by external support

agencies.



(d) Erratic and insufficient funding through Government with little impact of government

institutions on the ground

(e) Inadequate or lack of stakeholder involvement and ownership by consumers and users.

(f) Inefficiencies by central governments and service providers in maintaining the water supply

and sanitation systems.

(g) Non-existence of comprehensive legislative framework for managing water (No sector policy

on water resources management and water supply and sanitation. The 1948 policy was

outdated and did not cover water supply and sanitation.

It is worth noting that the decentralisation process has its own challenges which justify the need

to learn from experiences. Rosensweig (2001) observes that given the number of countries that

are using decentralisation as the approach to reform their water supply and sanitation sectors,

there will continuously to be examples from which to draw lessons. He sees the need to continue

tracking the experimentation in decentralisation to see what lessons emerge. He suggests that this

can be achieved by asking the following questions: Which models work best in which situations?

What can we learn about scaling up successful approaches? The author concludes that

experiences can answer these and other questions that may be asked.

Many countries in Africa and beyond have gone ahead with the water and sanitation sector

reform process which is mainly characterised by decentralisation. Some of such countries

include El Salvador, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

A study report by Linares and Rosensweig (1999) reveals that in El Salvador, government

decentralised water and sanitation services in order to ensure efficient service delivery of rural

water supply and fulfilling the restructuring process of previously state-controlled services. Thus

mechanisms were put in place for this arrangement to be effected. Communities were to receive

technical support in the administration, operation and maintenance of water supply services. In

addition, participation of local communities was seen fundamental to good management and a

basic condition for sustainability and efficient management of water supply and sanitation

systems. However, according to Linares and Rosensweig (1999) the system faced a lot of

challenges. Each time the water supply system developed a fault, the communities looked up to

the municipalities. Unfortunately, the municipalities could not help due to lack of resources and

technical capacity. Most of the municipalities were under-funded and understaffed; hence

decentralisation was failing to produce the expected results.

In a bid to improve the rural water supply and sanitation services, the Mozambican Government

adopted the Framework of Delegated Management in order to give effect to the principle of

decentralisation. In the arrangement, municipalities were empowered to take over the

responsibility of providing rural water supply and sanitation services. According to Ibraimo

(1999), the process of decentralisation started during the time when the country had less human

and financial resources at the local level. The intersectoral coordination, where it existed, seemed

to work at the central level and not at the local level. The result was that the decentralisation of

service delivery was not effective. Ibraimo (1999) foresaw that this would cause problems at the

local level more especially with the tariff policy, where the social aspect should always prevail.



In Nicaragua, service provision for RWSS service provision was marred by lack of coordination

and poor community participation and sense of ownership. This led the government to

decentralise its operation and maintenance services for RWSS to the municipal level. The

process started well but the municipalities took long time to give the communities their due

power and responsibilities in time. The communities started approaching the municipal

government (or Alcaldía as locally known) whenever they experienced problems with their water

supply system. According to Lockwood (2001), in the Nicaraguan law, ownership of the physical

infrastructure of the water supply system can be transferred from the state to the community only

when the particular community has acquired recognised legal status. Lockwood (2001) asserts

that attaining this status is possible only through formation of an Association or Cooperative

dedicated to the administration of the water supply system. In practice according to the author,

the process involves a symbolic transfer of the system to the community witnessed by the

municipal authorities and police, making the community de facto owner of its system. This

process is not easily undertaken hence prolongs the effective service delivery. However the

system has the positive attributes especially through proactive management and minimum

political interference. (Lockwood, 2001).

Inefficient service delivery and inadequate rural water supply and sanitation coverage drove the

Government of Tanzania into its sector reform bid. One of the guiding principles in the water

resources management in Tanzania is subsidiarity through decentralisation. Through this

principle the government decentralised the provision of rural water supply and sanitation services

to the district councils. However, Kabudi (2005) argues that governance of rural water supply in

Mainland Tanzania is not effective and does not ensure sustainability. The author observes that

the decentralisation policy provides for devolution of functions to the district level and ignores

the communities at the grass root level. On the contrary, the Government of Tanzania (2006)

through its water department asserts that communities are empowered through participatory

approaches which are facilitated by the decentralisation of water supply and sanitation service

delivery. At the community level the government cites the establishment of water users’

associations, NGOs and others that support and facilitate project initiation and implementation.

Nevertheless, the decentralised service provision is not fully effective due to a number of

shortcomings including weak financial and human capacity at district level; lack of a balanced

approach between rural water supply and rural sanitation and weak implementation and

mainstreaming of cross cutting issues (Government of Tanzania, 2006).

In Uganda, the responsibility for the delivery of basic services now lies at the District and Town

Council levels. This change was effected after the Government of Uganda noticed weak

institutional and legal arrangement for effective service provision. After adopting the

decentralisation policy, Negussie (2001) recounts that the government increased its amount of

funding to Districts via conditional and unconditional grants. According to the author, during the

1999/2000 financial year the government increased its conditional grants to districts for water

supply and sanitation through the Poverty Action Fund. Most of the money came through donor

funding and HIPC debt-relief. Negussie (2001) however, observes that in spite of a commitment

by the government to community managed water supply projects, there were still insufficient

institutional arrangements and human resources at district level to support community systems.

Three years down the line, a different experience emerged from Uganda’s RWSS service

provision. Effective service provision was challenged especially through inefficient financing

mechanisms as noted by Kimanzi (2004). The author mentions five major areas that impeded the



country’s RWSS sector namely: budget cuts; erratic releases of funds; small budget ceilings;

insufficient investment in piped water systems for rural growth and inequalities in support to

marginalised districts.

The water sector reform for Zimbabwe brings in new lessons. The Government replaced the

Water Act of 1976 with a new Water Act of 1998 which led to the birth of Zimbabwe National

Water Authority (ZINWA) Act of 1998. The intention was to provide for the planning of the

optimum development and utilisation of the water resources of Zimbabwe (Derman et al., 2000).

The Zimbabwe sector reform process was designed to function through identifying the powers

that might or might not be granted to lower units. This process is in line with what Agrawal and

Ribot (1999) recommend. They propose that decentralisation must be characterised by the

powers that are granted to lower units. The assumption here is that favourable environment

would be created for local level participation and exercising of power.

One of the priority areas for the Government of Zimbabwe since independence in 1980 has been

to uplift the standards of living of the rural population. Emphasis has been given to improvement

of the health status and living conditions of the rural communities through the promotion of

hygienic practices and the provision of adequate and safe water and sanitary facilities (National

Action Committee - NAC, 2005). However, according NAC (2005), the massive financial

injection into the development of water and sanitation facilities has not been matched with a

corresponding operation and maintenance package, community empowerment initiatives and

clear health and hygiene promotion strategies.

Decentralising the management of water and sanitation projects to Rural District Council (RDC)

level formed a central part of the implementation of the Integrated Rural Water Supply and

Sanitation Programme approach which was adopted in Zimbabwe. Community based

management (CBM) is the guiding philosophy where the management and ownership of the

installations is left in the hands of the end users. CBM also promotes ownership which plays a

role in the success of decentralised management, as elected councillors and local government

staff develops a pride and capacity in their work. (www2.irc.nl, viewed 2006).

According to the website (www2.irc.nl, viewed 2006), the problems of the past in Zimbabwe of

running district level projects with multiple budgets passed through the provincial offices of

separate government ministries to their district offices for implementation, lead to many

inefficiencies, and a lack of transparency. The move to decentralise project management was as

much to do away with these administrative difficulties. The advantage of decentralising

management of integrated projects to RDCs has become evident in practice as the result of their

increasing capacity, generated in turn by experience in project implementation (www2.irc.nl,

viewed 2006).

NAC (2005) notes that while the maintenance of latrines has been the responsibility of the users,

the maintenance of most rural water points was under a centralised maintenance system, called

the Three -Tier Maintenance System that has since been abandoned. The budget for operation

and maintenance (O&M) per water point has continued to fall from for example, an average of

Z$120 in 1988/89 to Z$47 in 1994/95 (NAC, 2005).



First tier - The District Maintenance Team (DMT) are responsible for the overall O&M planning,

provision of tools and spare parts, supervision and monitoring of the second tier. The tier is also

responsible for the repair of major breakdowns assumed to be beyond the capacity of the second

tier. Members of this tier are DDF employees. Second tier - Pump minder is a local mechanic

selected by the community at Ward level. He/she is responsible for all mechanical operations of

the water supplies. It is assumed that the response by the Pump minder to breakdowns would be

much faster than the DMT as he/she is community based and has all the necessary tools and

spares to undertake all repairs. Third tier - Caretaker is one of the water point users, selected by

the community as a member of the water point committee (WPC). He/she is responsible for all

routine maintenance works with the assistance of the community itself. He/she acts as a link

between the community and the pump minder.

In his assessment of the Zimbabwe water and sanitation service delivery, Mathew (2002)

observes that decentralisation gave chance to capacity building, the means, ownership and the

motivation needed for sustainable development. He notes that the capacity that has been built in

the Zimbabwe’s water and sanitation sector is readily transferable to all other development

activities. Such capacity promotes broader development with whatever opportunities arise.

According to the author this is a very useful added value of decentralised water and sanitation

projects in the country which may not have been realised.

A research study by Ndembere (2006) noted that the beneficiary participation varied across the

project cycle of a World Vision funded Mukumbura water supply and sanitation project. The

study showed that there is generally high breakdown rate of boreholes but with low downtimes

compared to a three-tier operation and maintenance system. The provision of rural water supply

and sanitation according to Ndembere (2006) is generally marred by low human capacity

development coupled with unsatisfactory financing mechanisms. These observations if applied

across the country, questions the sustainability of the rural water supply and sanitation in

Zimbabwe.

2.3 Account of Water and Sanitation Sector Reform in Malawi

The drive towards water and sanitation sector reforms is not new in the history of Malawi.

Emphasis on this fact is given by Ferguson and Mulwafu (2004) in their recount that the Ministry

of Water Development has a long-standing engagement with community-based management, as

it has trained rural people in shallow well, borehole and piped water maintenance and sanitation

since the1980s. According to the authors however, these early programs focused much on

community involvement in maintenance and repair of water sources unlike those being promoted

today. The current trends are that communities are empowered to take leading role in natural

resources management through the concept of Community Based Natural Resources

Management (CBNRM). This includes the promotion of integrated water resources management

which calls for active participation and decision of stakeholders at all levels from policy makers

down to users (Jaspers, 2003).

These reforms form part of the paradigm shift on the scene of governance that Malawi has so far

gone through over the years. Cross and Kutengule (2001) observes that the move towards

decentralisation in Malawi is part of an unfolding process in that country that goes to the heart of

its political economy. Decentralisation in Malawi dates as far back as 1954 during the colonial

era when the first six District Councils in the then Nyasaland were established. In their historical



account for the country, Geist and Ng'ethe (1997) recount that more districts were subsequently

established until a fairly comprehensive system of local government was in place.

As part of the gradual introduction of the participatory elective principle, more powers were

transferred from the chiefs to the local authorities. In addition, the non-elected District

Commissioner was replaced by an elected chairman. Gest and Ng’ethe (1997) record that this

essentially democratic institutional arrangement worked well until the mid 1960's when the

introduction of the single party state began to have negative consequences on participation.

The new political arrangement led to the line ministries running the affairs of the districts since

the District Development Committee (DDC) did not have any corporate status and therefore was

not a local government body. The local authorities lost control over district resources; they had

no staff of their own, no revenue raising power and there was no accountability to local

populations. On their part the lower level committees, i.e. the Area Action Committees and the

Village Action Committees were simply lower level extensions of the party machinery (Gest and

Ng’ethe, 1997). Later the Malawi Government in the year 1993 adopted the District Focus

concept for Rural Development.

With the advent of multi-partyism in 1994 a number of changes were made to the district focus

institutions. Gest and Ng’ethe (1997) observed that, at the national level the responsibility for co-

ordinating the decentralised institutions was removed from the Office of the President and

Cabinet to the Ministry of Local Government. Since then the ministry has been responsible for

policy making and programming of decentralisation against centralised system of government.

During that time the services of water supply and sanitation were centrally coordinated in

isolation. The Ministry of Works and Supplies was responsible for water supply while sanitation

services provision were coordinated by the Ministry of Health.

The system of rendering central management to rural water supply was justifiable since most of

the water supply facilities were deemed government property and the technologies used were

very complex for local users. With increased number of water points in rural areas and lack of

manpower and skilled personnel, coupled with insufficient funding and transport problems

government lacked sufficient capacity to timely act on the reported breakdowns. According to

Malawi Government (2000), this led to long downtime of water facilities. In fact there was

generally poor service delivery. It was therefore seen important for the government to facilitate

water and sanitation sector reform as one way of improving its quality of service delivery.

Through donor support the reform process was indeed undertaken mainly through the

decentralisation process. Thus in its bid for sector reform, the government employed a hybrid of

administrative, fiscal and market decentralisation. Administrative decentralisation is noted when

the central government transferred the planning, financing and management of water supply and

sanitation service to district assemblies and communities.

The Administrative decentralisation appears in its three forms of deconcentration, delegation and

devolution. The sector ministries still maintain their district personnel within their administrative

framework for some of the functions that were not assigned to district assemblies. This is a

manifestation of deconcentration at work. District assemblies have not yet fully absorbed the



sector human resources. The establishment of three regional water boards implies that delegation

was effected. Regional water boards2 were assigned the responsibility of providing water supply

and sanitation services in urban and market centres in the three regions of Malawi. Through this

development, the number of water boards increased from the original two (Blantyre and

Lilongwe Water Boards) to five water boards (including Northern, Central and Southern

Regional Water Boards). Rural water supply and sanitation service provision is primarily

characterised by devolution whereby government assigned the local authorities with

responsibility of natural resources management including the provision of water supply and

sanitation services in rural communities.

Fiscal decentralisation was effected when government entrusted the local authorities to manage

the expenditure and revenue collection (Malawi Government, 1998). In the same vein,

government has from time to time been engaging NGOs and private sector institutions in

providing some water supply functions including construction works and capacity building. The

same applies to the local authorities who in all cases engage private contractors in borehole

drilling and construction and occasionally in gravity fed schemes. In most cases the local

authorities capably handle the capacity building component. In general, in their bid to achieve

efficient service provision the local authorities have some of their services assigned to the private

sector. These include catering and lodging, an arrangement that forms part of the economic or

market decentralisation which also characterise the Malawi’s decentralisation process.

The decentralisation process in Malawi involved institutional adjustments at district and

community level. The district level structures include the Full Assemblies (Water Councillors,

Traditional Authorities and Members of Parliament). It is the main organ for overseeing all legal,

socio and economic concerns in the district. The district executive committee (DEC) on the hand

provides technical, policy and sectoral guidelines in district level services and development

initiatives. Apart from these structures the Local Government Act of 1998 provides for the

establishment of other structures deemed necessary by the full assembly. Reporting to the DEC

is the area executive committee (AEC) which comprises government extensions workers from all

government institutions. It provides technical and operational backstopping to community based

decentralisation structures. Among the community structures are the area development

committees (ADC) at Traditional Authority level and village development committees (VDC) at

Group Village Level. Other functional committees are established to undertake required

functions of various sectors in the country which include that of water and sanitation.

In 2002, Ministry of Irrigation and Water Development (MIWD) developed a three year Action

Plan (2003/2006) which prioritised the implementation of effective decentralisation as one of its

nine strategic areas (Malawi Government, 2002). The plan acknowledged that the global,

regional and national and indeed the sector initiatives would have impact on its operations.

Initiatives included: the Millennium Development Goals agreed at the United Nations; the

Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan and Protocol on Shared Water Courses agreed

by Southern Africa Development Community (SADC); the Vision 2020, a National Long Term

Development Perspective for Malawi and the Malawi’s Poverty Reduction Strategy (MPRS).

2 Water boards public utilities responsible for providing water supply services in urban areas & market centres



Basing on the strategies and targets contained in the above protocols and plans, Malawi

Government through its decentralisation policy outlined some of the functions that the Ministry

of Water Development could likely devolve. The ministry was requested as a cabinet directive to

review and identify functions and responsibilities that could be devolved to the various district

assemblies3. Under the water sector the Decentralisation Policy clearly outlined functions that

could be devolved to the district assemblies. Those functions include the provision and

maintenance of water supplies, which embrace boreholes; gravity fed piped water systems and

protected wells (Malawi Government, 2003).

The need for the district and CBM approach to rural water supply and sanitation services was

well facilitated within integrated water resources management (IWRM) drive as highlighted in

the National Water Policy. It was deemed essential to undertake the provision of water supply

and sanitation services through a coordinated manner while also ensuring the sustainability of

water resources through environmental protection. Thus the water and sanitation sector was

established through an integration of water supply, sanitation and catchment protection.

The leading sector institution is the Ministry of Irrigation and Water Development (MIWD). The

ministry is responsible for policy issues and setting up of sector guidelines. This is done through

sector wide consultations i.e. with other government ministries, donors, NGOs, private sector,

community, political leaders among others. That process led to the formulation of the National

Water Policy (NWP) and the National Sanitation Policy (NSP). The ministry therefore make sure

that the district level implementation of projects is done in full consultation of the two policies in

addition to other relevant sector guidelines. Other sector institutions are Ministry of Health and

Population (MOHP) and Ministry of Social and Community Services (MSCS). Surprisingly the

arrangement does not incorporate the Ministry of Mines, Energy and Natural Resources (MENR)

to uphold the functions of catchment protection.

3 District Assemblies are the constituents of the local government system also called Local Authorities



CHAPTER THREE

3.0 STUDY AREA

3.1 Location

The study was conducted in Thyolo District which is in the southern part of Malawi; a

landlocked country situated in the southern part of Africa. Malawi falls within geographic

coordinates of 13 30 South and 34 00 East. The country has a total boarder length of 2,881 km,

1,569 km with Mozambique (south and east), 837 km with Zambia (west) and 475 km with

Tanzania (north-east). Malawi is 118,480 square kilometres in area comprising land area of

94,080 square kilometres and water area of 24,400 square kilometres. Administratively the

country is divided into three regions: north, central and southern; with 28 districts.

Thyolo district is situated within the Shire Highlands, 47 kilometres to the east from Blantyre

City, Malawi’s commercial capital. It is located on latitude 16 04 South and longitude 35 07

East. The district shares boundaries with districts of Blantyre, Mulanje, Chikwawa, Chiradzulu,

Nsanje. It also shares an international boundary with Milanje district of the Republic of

Mozambique. Refer to Figure 3.4 (page 23). The district has a total land area of 1,715 square

kilometres.

3.2 Population Distribution

Thyolo has a population of about 575,000 which yields 335 people per sq. km. The population is

distributed across the 11 Traditional Authorities as tabulated below. The majority in the district

are young people representing 62% of the population is young (under 24 years of age). The

population below 14 years comprises 42 % of the district population, followed by the 25 – 44 age

brackets (22%) then the 15 - 24 age groups (21%). (Refer to Figure 3.1).

Population By Age Proportion (%)

1-14

42%

15-24

21%

25-44

22%

45-64

10%

65 above

5%

1-14 15-24 25-44 45-64 65 above

Figure 3:1 Population Distribution by Age (sources: National Statistics Office, 2005)



3.3 Topography

There are three major natural regions in the District. The regions are the rift valley scarp, the hill

zone and the plain. The rift valley scarp is a zone of steeply sloping land, typical of the Thyolo

Escarpment. The Shire Highlands and Thyolo escarpment form the edge to the Shire valley,

which is part of the Great Rift Valley. The altitude varies between 300m and 3500m above the

sea level. The hill zone is the predominant relief feature in most of the Thyolo south. Thyolo

Mountain is 1500m above sea level. The plains dominate the central and northern parts of the

District. They lie at about 600 m above the sea level and they constitute the largest area of

agricultural land.

3.4 Water Resources

Water resources in Thyolo district are characterised by rivers, streams, swamps, springs and

groundwater aquifers. The district has most of its rivers flowing from Mulanje and Thyolo

Mountains. Ruo River flows from Mulanje Mountain. The river forms the boundary of Thyolo

with Milanje district in Mozambique. Thyolo Mountain is the source to Nsuwadzi, Nkhate and

Maperera Rivers. All the rivers flow down the escarpment to Eastern Bank of Shire River

situated within the Shire valley. Other rivers are Thuchila and Lichenza.

Water resources development is mainly done for domestic and agricultural use through the

exploitation of both surface and groundwater sources. Domestic water supply is accessed

through gravity fed systems and borehole hand pumps. The district has unutilised springs. Some

of them have the potential of better serving the communities with domestic water supply.

Agricultural use of water is characterised by irrigation whose technologies include treadle

pumps, motorised pump-based surface irrigation and sprinkler. But majority of the people (about

97% of the smallholder farmers) use watering canes. The present irrigated area is 74.5 Hectares

compared to total potential area of 131.7 Hectares. The potential water sources for irrigation are

the rivers and some wells and dams (Thyolo Socioeconomic profile, 2005).

Water resources are also used for fishing. There are two types of fishing that take place in the

district namely; cupturery fishing and Aquaculture or fish farming. Cupturery fishing takes place

in naturally occurring water bodies such as rivers. Fish farming is done through raising fish in

the constructed fish ponds. The district socioeconomic profile identifies the major sources of

cupturery fishing grounds in the district as the natural water bodies in form of rivers. There are

15 main rivers used for fishing. The rivers are Nsuwadzi, Lifuluni, Namadzi, Luchenza,

Thuchila, Mulolo, Chiponde, Umbadzi, Michuzu, Maperera, Mvumoni, Chimvu, Nansadi,

Nsikidzi and Ruo. According to the environmental survey conducted in the year 2000, most of

these natural water bodies are less productive as regards to fishing activities except Ruo River.

The district adheres to the fishing policy which aims at monitoring and controlling fishing

activities to enhance the quality of life for fishing communities. This is achieved by increasing

harvest within safe and sustainable yields and promoting aquaculture as a source of income while

supplementing fish supply from natural waters. The Fisheries Conservation and Management Act

of 1997 empowers the local communities to actively participate in conservation and management

of aquatic resources and incorporation of other options like aquaculture (Fish Farming) in upland

areas.



3.5 Economic Profile

Malawi’s economy is predominantly agricultural, with about 90% of the 12.3 million people

living in rural areas. Agriculture accounts for nearly 36% of GDP and 80% of export revenues

championed by tobacco with over 60% of the total country’s exports. The economy depends on

substantial inflows of economic assistance from the IMF, the World Bank, and individual donor

nations. The country is challenged in many ways including developing a market economy,

improving education, addressing environmental problems, dealing with the rapidly growing

problem of HIV/AIDS and improving the social and health services like sustainable water supply

and good sanitation.

3.6 Livelihood Activities

Thyolo district has about 20% of its area covered with forest reserves and tea estates while 45%

is available for both urban and rural settlement and smallholder farming. However, its climatic

condition and rainfall favours the growing of fruits and vegetables which find ready market in

Blantyre and Lilongwe Cities including many other trading centres in the southern and central

regions. About 93% of the rural communities in the district are engaged in smallholder farming

while the remaining 7% is engaged in providing skilled and non-skilled labour in tea estates and

trading. The following crops are grown by smallholder farmers: maize, groundnuts, sorghum,

pigeon peas, beans, bananas, sweet potatoes, cassava, soybeans, cowpeas, tobacco, chilies,

vegetables, millet and field Peas. These crops are grown for both cash and food. Main crops

grown in estates are tea, coffee, macadamia nuts tobacco and are mainly for commercial

purposes.

3.7 Political Profile

The district has three active political parties; these are Democratic Progressive Party (DDP),

United Democratic Front (UDF) and Malawi Congress Party (MCP). The district has seven

constituencies as shown in Table 3.1 below.

Registered Voters in 2004 Presedential and Parliamentary

Elections

Thyolo North

20%

Thyolo West

8%

Thyolo East

15%Thyolo Central

22%

Thyolo South

West

10%

Thyolo South

12%

Thyolo Thava

13%

Figure 3:2 Registered Voters in the Seven Constituencies of Thyolo District



3.8 Soils

The geological formation for Thyolo is characterised by red clay soils and granular metamorphic

rocks. There are two major soil types in the District. Ferruginous soils occur from the central to

the northern part of the District. These are red soils with a sandy clay loam top soil, weak to

moderately acidic. The soils are suitable for agriculture. Most of the Southern part of the District

is characterised by ferruginous soils and lithosols. The lithosols are shallow and stony mainly

occurring on steep slopes.

3.9 Land Tenure System

Land tenure in the District land falls under three categories:- Public, Private and customary as

provided for under the Land Act of 1995. The majority of land in the district falls under

customary land covering a total of 148013 hectares representing 86%. Public land comprises of

8444 hectares representing 4.9% while private land covers 15444 hectares representing 9.1 %.

Land is categorised as customary, public and private. Customary land is under the control of

traditional leaders namely, Chiefs, Group Village Headmen and Village Headmen. Customary

land is passed on in succession from one generation to another, in order of importance of male

relatives by birthright and marriage. Traditional leaders settle Land disputes except in some

cases where these are refereed to the District Commissioner. Customary land is mainly used for

subsistence farming. The average land holding for the smallholder is 0.6 hectares. Government

holds this type of land on behalf of the population. It covers such areas as where there are

government buildings, roads, the railway line, district council facilities and national monuments.

Up to 4.6% of total land in the district falls in under this category. Land under private ownership

is either freehold or leasehold. Religious institutions and the tea estates mostly own freehold

land. Leasehold land is the land leased to individuals, institutions and corporations for a period

of 21-99 years.

3.10 Education and Literacy Level

Thyolo district is one of the districts that record low literacy levels. The socioeconomic profile

for the district indicates that only 58.5% of the people are able to read and write. This proportion

includes 66.3% literacy rate for males and 51.6% for females. This is consistent with national

literacy rate of 58.0 %, with males and females at 64.0 and 51.0 % respectively (Malawi

Government, 2005). The profile further indicates that about 32.6% of the population aged 5 and

above has never attended school in the district. Only 0.2% has university education while 6.1%

has secondary education and 61.1% went through primary school education.

The district has 187 public primary schools with an average of 165,000 pupils as in 2006. The

primary school enrolment for girls is generally low at 49%. Primary education is marred by poor

and inadequate learning facilities coupled with low teacher/pupil ratio of 1 teacher against 93

pupils. The district socioeconomic profile shows the average classroom coverage is 117 pupils

against one class room while that of desks is 13 pupils against each desk.

3.11 Climate

Thyolo has a tropical savannah climate. The district experiences three annual seasons, namely

the hot – dry season, the hot – wet season and the cool – dry season. The hot - dry weather is

experienced from September to November, the hot – wet season is experienced from December



to May, whereas the cool - dry season falls between June and August. Temperature and rain

distribution in the district is influenced by altitude.

The hilly zone receives annual rainfall of between 1200 – 1600mm while the plains receive

between 800 – 1200mm. According to meteorological data at Bvumbwe Research Station, the

wettest months are December and January when the average of more than 250mm rainfall is

recorded in various parts of the district. August and September are the driest months. The highest

mean maximum temperatures of 27.5 degrees Celsius are experienced along the lower Ruo

Valley in October. The rift valley scarp experiences a mean maximum temperature of 20

degrees Celsius. The lowest average annual temperatures occur during the months of June and

July.

3.12 Communication

Communication in Malawi is characterised by road network, navigation, postal,

telecommunication and internet services in addition to publication, radio and television. Thyolo

district being completely land rocked does not have navigation services. However, the rest of the

communication services apply in the district.

The district has a total of 624.3 km of road network which comprises of one Main road linking

Blantyre and Mozambique boarder through Thyolo; five Secondary roads, 14 District roads, five

Tertiary roads and 34 Feeder roads. All road categories are maintained by National Roads

Authorities (NRA) except feeder roads which are maintained by the District Assembly.

Table 3:1 Road Coverage in Thyolo district

Road Classification Type Number Coverage

(km) % coverage Bridges Culverts

Main Road Bitumen 1 47.0 8 2 44

Secondary Earth 5 113 18 4 73

District Earth 14 30 5 6 81

Tertiary Earth 5 53 8 15 360

Feeder Earth 34 381.3 61 38

Total 624.3 100 65 598

Source: Thyolo Public Works Office, Thyolo District Assembly, 2007

Thyolo District is accessible through Internet and email provided by Malawi Telecommunication

Limited. Internet services in within offices points at Thyolo District headquarters, Luchenza

Town Assembly and Tea Estates.

There are two main daily publications of newspapers available in the District. These are The

Daily Times and The Nation. There are also four Weeklies namely The Weekend Nation, Sunday

Nation, Sunday Times and Malawi News.

Thyolo district is covered by 10 radio stations and the only local television station, Malawi

Television. However, others (figures not known) have access to digital satellite television

(DSTV). The main radio stations are MBC Radio 1, MBC Radio II FM, Radio 101 FM, Capital

FM, Radio Maria, Radio Islam, Joy Radio, MIJ and Zodiac.



The demographic and household survey of 2004 revealed the general accessibility of both print

and electronic media in form of newspaper and radio. Results of the survey revealed a clear

disparity for men and women. Details are shown in Table 3.3.

Table 3:2 Access to Print and Electronic Media

Reads newspaper

once a week

Watches TV

once a week

Listens to

Radio once a

week

All three

media

No media

Men 20.9 8.4 93.3 6.4 6.3

Women 11.4 5.6 60.0 2.4 38.6

Source: Demographic and Household Survey 2004

The District has postal services that include courier mail transfer, ordinary mail, registered mail

money transfer and telegram. In total there are 8 Post Offices and 6 Postal Agencies. Telephone

services are provided through ground and cell phone technologies. The former is provided by the

Malawi Telecommunication Services (MTL) while the latter are provided by the only two

mobile service providers, Celtel Limited and Telekom Netoworks Limited.

Table 3:3 Coverage of telephone landlines in the Thyolo district

T/A Exchange Pay phones Business phones Residential phones

Nchilamwera Thyolo B 5 200 73

Nsabwe Thekerani D 1 8 8

Bvumbwe Bvumbwe C 8 112 212

Chimaliro Luchenza C 5 81 48

Changata Makwasa C 5 28 43

Kapichi Khonjeni D 1 6 1

Total 25 435 385

Source: Thyolo District Assembly



Thyolo District

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TA CHIMALIRO

TA NCHILAMWERA

TA MPHUKA

TA THOMASI

TA THUKUTA

THYOLO

NCHIMA

MAKUNGWA

THEKERANI

MIKOLONGWE

TA BVUMBWE

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TA KHWETHEMULE

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Thyolo District- Traditional Authorities

Roads

Main Roa d

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Villag es×

Tra ditiona l Au tho rities

Main centres

Dist rict%U

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Legend

5 0 5 10 Kilo me te rs

Figure 3:3 Location of Thyolo District



CHAPTER FOUR

4.0 DATA COLLECTION

4.1 Introduction

Any research is about finding out what is not already known or to gather evidence (Taflinger,

1996). It is a systematic and well purposed approach of discovering the unknown detailed

information of a specific concern. Research can as well be conducted merely to prove a fact that

is already known or accepted without any detailed analytical information. The information

obtained from research is vital for establishing the basis of accepting facts that guide in decision

making. Many decisions in the modern world are largely dependent upon the information

collected through research which could either be directed or non-directed. Taflinger (1996)

defines directed research as the one done with a specific purpose in mind. It deals with a specific

purpose and one decides what to try next. The current research falls under this category. On the

other hand, Taflinger (1996) describe on-directed research to be about finding out things for the

sheer fun of finding them out without a specific outcome in mind.

4.2 Research Design

Research design can be defined as a plan for a study that guides in the collection and analysis of

data. It is used as a blueprint that should be adhered to throughout a study period. There are two

types of categories of research methods, approaches or data. They are qualitative and quantitative

ones. Although they may differ in their orientation and application, both categories complement

one another. The current study adopted both categories. It was acknowledged that qualitative

approach is more concerned with richness, texture and feeling of raw data. Data collected under

this category cut across all research objectives. It evolved around the functionality of various

institutional structures in the water and sanitation sector. Quantitative data on the other hand

focussed on quantifiable data in terms of numbers and measures that can be statistically

analysed. In the study this included number of water and sanitation facilities in addition to the

fact that the entire research process went through statistical analysis. Detailed research design is

presented in Annex 1.0.

4.3 Data Collection Methods and Tools

The study used two sources of data. The primary source involved field data collection while

secondary sources included literature study from published work. Annex 1.0 shows detailed data

collection methods and their respective tools.

4.3.1 Primary Data Collection Methods

Data was collected through structured and semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions

and observations. The study took a period of 15 weeks (from January to April 2007) out of which

12 weeks were committed to field data collection.

(a) Closed Interviews

The tool that was used for interviews was a questionnaire with both closed and open-ended

questions. A total of 30 self administered questionnaires were distributed to government

extension workers. The respondents were first briefed about the purpose and objectives of the

study. All questionnaires were completed through simple tabulations. (Refer to Appendix 2.0).



The extension workers included 22 HSAs, three CDAs, two WMAs, two Water Assistants and

one Forestry Assistant. The questionnaire was aimed at capturing information on water and

sanitation details of their catchment areas; support that they receive from the district and their

experiences when supporting CBM. Information that was collected cut across all research

objectives i.e. institutional framework, planning, implementation, financing and support to

community based management.

(b) Open-ended Interviews

Interviews were carried out with key informants. The information collected was vital for

supporting literature, documented and collected information through other methods. At national

level, respondents included senior government officials from ministry headquarters and MIWD

regional offices. The information that was collected centred on institutional arrangement for the

water and sanitation sector in addition to policy and general sector guideline. The ministries

include Ministry of Irrigation and Water Development (MIWD); Ministry of Health and

Population (MOHP); Ministry of Social and Community Services (MSCS) and Ministry of Local

Government and Community Development (MLGCD). At district level most of the key

informants were from the District Assembly secretariat apart from others from Police, Judiciary

and two private service providers. People interviewed at the secretariat included the Director of

Planning and Development (DPD), M&E Officer, Director of Public Works, District

Environmental Officer, Director of Finance and Human Resources Manager. It was planned that

the District Commissioner be interviewed but he was reported to be outside the country.

Eight DCT members were interviewed using a checklist. Three main categories of information

were sought from them. Firstly, it was about their perception of decentralisation. Secondly, it

was about the role of DCT in the district planning, implementation, monitoring, financing and

evaluation process. Thirdly the interviews touched on how the DCT supports CBM activities and

extension services. This part included their views and perceptions on CBM structures. It was also

planned that one of the DCT meetings could be attended by the researcher. Unfortunately during

the field study between February and April, no meeting was conducted.

Project managers from five NGOs were interviewed. All NGOs that were selected are

implementing water supply and sanitation projects in the district. Interviews covered three

sections which sought to capture data on their respective projects, their collaboration with DCT

and their perceptions on community based management.

Telephone and emails were also used for collecting data from key informants on various issues.

The usefulness of this method was its convenience since any information could easily be

requested immediately when it was needed. The limiting factor was however, costs in the case of

phones and sometimes delayed response to emails.

(c) Focus Group Discussions

Focus group discussions were conducted in 20 villages from within 15 group villages randomly

sampled from the 11 Traditional Authorities. Group sizes ranged between 10 to 15 people

including men, women and the youth. A question guide was used during the process. (Refer to

Appendix 3.0). During the discussions in each village four groups were identified. The first

group included all users including men, women who are not in any water supply and sanitation

related committee and the youth. The second group was consisted of men while the third was



consisted of women. Finally the fourth group consisted of the youth. Discussions were primarily

based on their involvement and participation when developing water supply and sanitation plans;

when undertaking water supply and sanitation activities and operation and maintenance of water

supply sanitation.

Focus group discussions were also held with community structures including 5 ADCs, 16 VDCs,

20 VHWCs and 20 WPCs. (Refer to Appendix 4.0)

(d) Observations

Observations were made both in the field and in the offices. In the field, observations were

basically on sanitation and technical status of water supply and sanitation facilities. This was

done during visits to villages while applying the Three-L survey principles of Look, Listen and

Learn. Notes were being taken in the process. At the district offices observations were made on

the number of people coming to follow up their project requests at the DPD’s office, time taken

for them to be assisted and type of assistance they got. At the registry and the rest of the offices

critical observations were made on record keeping in computers, filing system, and the time it

took to retrieve the solicited information. During the course of observations, questions were

generated and were taken up with the responsible officers during the interviews.

4.3.2 Secondary Data Collection Methods

Secondary data supported data for assessing the effectiveness of institutional framework, district

development planning, development, financing and CBM. Thus it supported the fulfilment of all

the research objectives. Data was collected through the study of various documents including

progress and evaluation reports, minutes of meetings, financial records and manuals. At the

District Assemblies minutes of the Interim Full Assembly, DEC and DCT meetings were

accessed. The district development plan, social economic profile and sector reports were

accessed in the monitoring and evaluation (M&E) office. At the finance office, vouchers, sector

budgets and expenditure reports were accessed in addition to details of funding from various

institutions especially Malawi Social Action Fund (MASAF), Oxfam and European Union.

At the district water office, copies of progress and evaluation reports for the Community Water,

Sanitation and Health (COMWASH) Project were studied. Studies were also made at Thyolo

police station where records of theft cases of water supply facilities were obtained. The records

included specific items that were stolen, recovered and those that were not recovered in addition

to details of suspects, where theft cases occurred. Prosecution details were also available and

were verified at the Magistrate Court.

Information was also collected on sanitation and waterborne diseases. This was collected from

the district environmental health. Information included details of recorded cases between 2002

and 2006. Details of water and sanitation related diseases were also collected and this includes

malaria. Additional information was randomly colleted from various satellite health centres in

the district.

4.4 Sampling Methods

The sizes of the samples were influenced by a number of factors that included costs, time and

ease of application for best results. Both probability and non probability methods were applied in



the process. Probability methods included multistage, simple random and cluster sampling. The

non probability method included purposive sampling.

The multistage sampling involved clustering the district into existing Traditional Authorities

which were further clustered into group villages. Two group villages were randomly selected

under each Traditional Authority. Two villages were then randomly selected within each of the

selected group villages. Studies were therefore done in 11 TAs, 22 group villages and 44

villages. Water points were stratified into four zones already demarcated by the district water

office. Within each zone, 15 water points were visited. In total, 35 boreholes, 20 standpipes and

5 shallow wells were studied.

Purposive sampling was applied to identify key informants at the ministry headquarters, regional

offices and the district. At the district level key informants were identified as heads of

government institutions, parastatals, NGOs implementing water supply and sanitation activities,

private institutions and section heads at the District Assembly secretariat. At community level

this included the identification of Traditional Authorities, Group Village Headmen, Village

Headmen, Area Development Committees (ADC), Village health and Water Committees

(VHWC), Water Point Committees (WPC) and users. Other key informants were extension

workers including Health Surveillance Assistants (HSA), Water Monitoring Assistants (WMA)

and Community Development Assistants (CDA). Members of parliament were targeted but none

was interviewed because the national assembly was in session during the time of study.

Table 4.2 below shows sampling details of the study.

Table 4:1 Sampling details

Targeted category Total # Sample size % of total Remark

Ministry headquarters 4 4 100 Done

District Executive Committee 56 12 23 Done

District Coordination Team 10 10 100 Done

Extension Workers 262 30 11 Done

Community Leaders 489 20 4 Done

Area Development Committees 11 5 45 Done

Village Development Committees 65 16 25 Done

Village Health & Water Committees 413 20 5 Done

Water points (borehole, taps and s/wells) 2286 60 3 Done

Water Point Committees 1147 20 2 Done

User Group (Villages) 413 44 11 Done

Members of Parliament 7 Nil N/A Not done

NGOs and Government Projects 5 5 100 Done

Private Service Providers (b/hole drillers) 3 3 100 Done

4.5 Data Analysis and Interpretation

Qualitative data was analysed through thematic approach. Themes were generated for the

research objectives. Data collected was then categorised in line with relevant themes. These

included institutional framework; helpfulness of the structures in addressing some of the existing



water supply and sanitation challenges; level of both upward and downward accountability

within the institutional framework; level of stakeholder involvement in planning and

implementation of water supply and sanitation projects; measure of district level coordination in

the planning, implementing and monitoring; district level management of finances; identification

of funds by the district; financial management and accountability; level of support to

communities; level and capacity of extension service; extent of decision making at community

level; community demand for water supply and sanitation services; Operation, Maintenance and

safeguarding of water supply and sanitation facilities and demand for accountability from the

district.

Quantitative data was analysed by using excel spreadsheet, manual tarrying and calculations.

This largely required the use of calculator, computer and stationery. Microsoft Excel was

identified as the readily available software package for data compilation and analysis. For each

response or data entry, a score was created. Summation for scores was made for each and

frequency based inference was made.

In order to derive the output of the decentralised service delivery of RWSS, SWOT analysis and

comparative tables were used. SWOT is an ellipsis for Strengths, Weaknesses, Threats and

Opportunities. In the analysis, strengths were identified as helpful attributes that should be

upheld if the objectives are to be achieved. Weaknesses are harmful attributes to the achievement

of the objectives. Opportunities are external accessible conditions that are helpful if taken into

account. Threats are possible external conditions that are harmful to the achievement of the

objectives. Interpretation of results was mainly based on conclusions from the temporal

comparative process. Comparative tables were used by drawing a summary of the initial

condition of generated issues prior to the decentralisation of RWSS. They were then drawn

against current situation. For each compared condition, a remark of success, no change or failure

was made.

4.6 Challenges

The study was challenged in a number of ways. Firstly, the field study was done during the rainy

season when most roads become impassable due to heavy rains. This in some cases led to

postponement of scheduled community meetings hence delaying the data collection process. The

final data that was collected by the 30th of April 2007 had gaps and another data collection trip to

Malawi was inevitable. Secondly, some NGOs were not ready to disclose the amount of money

used for water supply and sanitation development in the district. As a result it was difficult to

determine the actual investment in the RWSS sector.



CHAPTER FIVE

5.0 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

5.1 Institutional Framework

An institutional framework was reviewed right from national level down to community level

with a focus on RWSS development.

5.1.1 Sector Institutions and Key Stakeholders

The Ministry of Irrigation and Water Development (MIWD) is the leading institution in the

Malawi’s water and sanitation sector. Other sector institutions are Ministry of Health and

Population (MOHP) and Ministry of Social and Community Services (MSCS). The three

institutions formulate and foster sector policy guidelines. They take lead in formulating policies

and sector norms that guide the District Assemblies in their operations including the planning

and implementation of their development activities. Thus at times, national level consultative

forums are convened to seek sector wide input on sector development. The forums attract the

participation of relevant stakeholders including Local Authorities, Community representatives,

service providers (water utilities, NGOs, academic institutions, private sector and donors).

Through this consultative process, the National Water Policy was developed in the year 2005

followed by the revised final draft of the National Sanitation Policy in 2006. The study however

noted that the forums are not regular, hence they are organised as deemed necessary.

The last meeting was conducted between 13th and15th November 2006 where various players in

the water and sanitation sector in Malawi made presentations on lessons learnt while

implementing their water supply and sanitation projects. According to draft notes from UNICEF

(2007), major lessons learnt included community response to demand driven approach, cost

recovery, inadequate sector coordination, weak technical capacity of district structures,

inadequate personnel in the district water offices, environmental degradation a challenge to

sustainability of water resources, theft and vandalism of water facilities and unsatisfactory and

duplication of activities in the districts. The study did not manage to get the collective

recommendations on the issues since the final workshop report was note yet produced.

The study noted that currently there is no permanent thematic group or secretariat at national

level that is responsible for regular monitoring to oversee the meeting of national targets. This

responsibility is undertaken by the key sector ministries. The justification for this scenario is that

there is no implementation at the national level and this is based on three assumptions. The first

assumption is that District Assemblies through the District Coordination Teams (DCT) are well

positioned to fully enforce the compliance of policy guidelines and technical standards. The

second assumption is that the districts have sufficient capacity to effectively undertake the

responsibility. The third assumption is that district assemblies have consolidated databanks that

are regularly updated as part of the district monitoring and evaluation system. In short, the idea is

not to betray the intended purpose of the decentralisation process.

What is worth noting is that MIWD still maintains its regional offices unlike the other two sector

ministries. Regional offices are responsible for other functions that were not devolved to the

districts such as water resources management, hydrology, and regulatory functions. The study



observed that the regional offices have well trained technical staff. Hence they provide technical

backstopping to the districts when required. This has been the case during the implementation of

COMWASH Project. Engineers from Regional Offices (south) were involved in the supervision

of major construction works which could not be effectively handled at the district level

5.1.2 The District Assembly

At district level there is the Assembly4 which is composed of elected members called Councillors

who represent each ward of the Assembly. It is headed by the Chairman of Assembly elected

from among the Councillors. The Assembly is also attended by Members of Parliament and

Traditional Authorities within the area of district assembly’s jurisdiction but they have no voting

powers.

Since 2004 to date, Malawi has had no councillors. In the absence of Councillors, Thyolo district

assembly established Interim Full Assembly chaired by the District Commissioner. Its

membership covers all heads of departments from the Assembly secretariat, government

ministries, Members of Parliament and Traditional Authorities. The Interim Full Assembly does

not have legal status but it is very instrumental for approving budgets and facilitating

development activities in the district. Some of its recent outputs are the compilation of the

district socioeconomic profiles; village action plans (VAP) and the production of a 3 year district

development plan (DDP) for 2007/2009 period.

The study established that in the absence of Ward Councillors, the development of VAPs was

facilitated by government extension workers who normally do it within a specified limited

period. According to the village communities, this did not provide them with ample time to

discuss their problems as they would with the Ward Councillors. During the interviews, the DEC

members and extension workers indicated the same. The study takes note that community

planning need not to be a one time activity; therefore without the Ward Councillors it may not be

completely ruled out that the quality of planning is compromised to certain extent.

5.1.3 Assembly District Secretariat

The secretariat of the district assembly is headed by a District Commissioner. It is the main

organ for implementing policies at the district assembly level under which all sector policies and

functions are executed. The secretariat of the district assembly has four departments namely:

Administration, Finance, Planning and Works. The departments are managed by directors and

officers who are expected to be university graduates with degrees.

During the time of study, the assembly had the position of Director of Finance (DOF) held by

acting officers. The position has been vacant for over a year now. The DOF is supposed to be a

degree holder and is supposed to have two assistants reporting to him, one for Development and

the other for Revenue. Both positions are also supposed to be filled by degree holders but they

are vacant. Below the two Assistants there is supposed be two Assistant Accountants, one for

Revenue and the other for Development. Both positions are occupied and the one for Revenue is

the acting DOF. Finally there are six Accounts Clerks.

4 The Assembly is the forum of elected members from district wards who are called ‘Ward Councilors’ or Members

of the Assembly.



Capacity gaps like these reduce the efficiency and productivity of the district assemblies.

According to the study, the inadequacy of human resources leads to unbearable workload on the

available personnel but also it leads to delayed and inconsistent decision making. Basing on the

fact that the position of DOF is being handled by a second level junior officer, the study

questions the quality of financial management decisions that the assembly may make during day

to day operations.

The study noted also that most of the development activities at the district are handled by the

Director of Planning and Development (DPD). Water supply and sanitation development is no

exception. The district commissioner, who is supposed to chair the DCT, is not usually available

reportedly due to busy schedules. Instead, the DPD chairs the DCT which as in the case of

Thyolo, its operations largely depends upon his availability. Even though the Director of Public

Works (DPW) happens to be a member of the team, his availability too is not guaranteed basing

on the minutes of previous meetings. This dilemma therefore leads to many activities of water

and sanitation not fully covered during meetings. In most cases, minutes of meetings do not

indicate agreed action points and does not further assign who to make follow ups on them. In this

way most the outstanding issues that concerns extension workers or communities remain

unsolved for long time.

5.1.4 District Executive Committee (DEC)

This is an administrative structure comprising heads of various governmental departments,

officials from parastatals and representatives of NGOs. It is chaired by the District

Commissioner and it provides technical advice to the district assembly. The Director of Planning

and Development (DPD) is the secretary. In June 2002 Thyolo DEC members were oriented to

the decentralisation process during a five days training workshop under the auspices of Oxfam.

Through checking the records the study discovered that over 80% of the DEC members who

attended the workshop are no longer in the district. Some of them had been posted to other

districts while others had resigned from their jobs. The challenge is that some of the officers who

took over lacked basic decentralisation concepts and they had to learn while on the job.

However, the district benefited quite a lot since the training resulted in the formation and training

of community structures such as ADCs, AECs and VDCs.

Thyolo DEC has 56 members and they convene on a monthly basis to review progress reports

from development programmes and projects. The DPD prepares a quarterly calendar of meetings

and is passed on to all DEC members. Towards each scheduled date of meeting, notices are sent

to members indicating the Agenda. Meetings are supposed to last for less than three hours only

but usually they last for as long as five hours. The implication of this is that the district Assembly

is forced to pay out lunch allowances to members and in most cases they cannot afford.

Discussions are therefore hastened up, leading to most of the issues being left out. DEC is also

open to hold extraordinary meetings especially by request from NGOs who are usually

financially positioned to meet all the attached costs. Attendance of DEC meetings is mandatory

to all members but challenges occur when members choose to delegate junior members of staff.

Sometimes the delegated officers are not competent enough to make effective contributions and

they are not better positioned to commit themselves in their official capacity over some

decisions.



5.1.5 Management Structures for Water and Sanitation Activities

The main players of rural water supply and sanitation services are the Assembly, sector

ministries and community members. At district level the District Executive Committee (DEC)

through District Coordination Team (DCT) manages all water supply and sanitation activities.

During the study it was noted that boreholes and GFS have different structures. Appendix 5.0

shows a generic structure that is responsible for planning and managing RWSS.

(a) District Coordination Teams (DCT)

DCT is responsible for coordinating water supply and sanitation activities in the district. Its

membership includes heads of departments from MIWD, MOHP, MSCS, Education and Mines,

Energy and Natural Resources (MENR). From the Assembly secretariat membership extends to

the District Commissioner and Director of Planning and Development, Director of Public Works

and District Environmental Officer. Other members are the representatives from all water supply

and sanitation service providers in the district. Refer to Table 5.1 below for full list of DCT

members. The team is chaired by the District Commissioner and usually his functions are

delegated to the Director of Planning and Development (DPD). The team reports to the District

Executive Committee (DEC) and it is supposed to be autonomous in its operations.

Table 5:1 Members of Thyolo District Coordination Team (DCT)

No Member (Official Position) Institution

1 District Commissioner (DC) - Chairperson Assembly Secretariat

2 Director of Planning and Development (DPD) –

Secretary Assembly Secretariat

4 Director of Planning and Development (DPW) Assembly Secretariat

5 District Water Officer (DWO) Ministry of irrigation and Water

Development

6 District Environmental Health Officer (DEHO) Ministry of Population and Health

7 District Community Development Officer

(DCDO)

Ministry of Social and Community

Services

8 District Environmental Officer (DEO) Assembly Secretariat

9 District Forestry Officer (DFO) Ministry of Mines, Energy and

Natural Resources

10 District Education Manager (DEM) Ministry of Education

(Source: Thyolo District Assembly, 2007)

Just like DEC, DCT is supposed to meet regularly to track progress of water supply and

sanitation activities in a district. This is not the case in Thyolo where DCT meetings are

conducted haphazardly instead of conducting them on a quarterly basis. They too have no

calendar of events. Their last meeting was in January 2007 under the auspices of COMWASH

Project. According to minutes of DCT meetings, all its previous meetings and field activities

were organised by NGOs and Projects. Hence major issues discussed surround the activities

being undertaken by those funding the meeting other than district wide water supply and

sanitation issues. In the year 2005, the team organised familiarisation visits to various projects.

In one occasion DCT members under the auspices of Concern Universal visited water supply and

sanitation projects in other districts. In addition, minutes of DEC meetings do not indicate any

acknowledgement of DCT activities. This might imply that DCT does not formally report to



DEC or other DEC members do not take interest in DCT activities. In fact there is no evidence of

its accountability to DEC. These findings therefore question the autonomy of the team if it is to

successfully serve its intended purpose.

Apart from DCT the DPD sits in various subcommittees of the DEC as the chairperson in

addition to being responsible for various special development functions such as project launches.

Furthermore, it is the DPD who takes charge of the Assembly secretariat in the absence of the

District Commissioner. At one point during the study, the DPD was required to attend to seven

workshops two of which were at national level. Such busy schedules affect DCT operations and

three lessons can be learned from this situation. First, the DPD may not be aware that the

correspondence addressed to planning and development office may need the attention of sector

officers and not necessarily an individual. Second, sector ministries do not seem to be fully

regarded as part of the Assembly. This was evident on the DPD’s noncommittal on most of the

sector concerns. Some projects are still regarded as ‘Water Department Projects’. Third, the DPD

can attend forums which would capably be attended by the appropriate officers. This applies to

capacity building workshops, meetings and even training courses.

(b) Area Executive Committee (AEC)

All extension workers within the jurisdiction area of the Traditional Authority form the Area

Executive Committee (AEC) which works hand in hand with the ADC. The AEC does not have

its own funding. Thyolo district has 11 AECs which are all active except that they do not

regularly meet according to minutes of meetings that were accessed for three committees. It was

noted that AECs only meet when there are special activities which are either funded by NGOs or

rarely by the Assembly. It should be noted that there were no interviews that were conducted

with AECs since it proved to be logistically difficult. Interviews could only be possible if the

study coincided with the already scheduled meeting. According to few individual AEC members,

calling for a special interview meeting would require meeting some expenses such as allowances

and fuel costs for those who use motorcycle. Instead, the study based its facts on minutes of

meetings and responses obtained from the individual extension workers.

According to findings AECs do little or very minimal monitoring of activities during project

implementation. The study however, took note of their role of providing technical support to the

ADCs especially during the prioritisation of projects. Once the project proposals are passed

through to DEC, the study noted that AEC’s show little input. With their limited input to

monitoring, AECs do not provide any meaningful contribution towards regular technical

backstopping to the communities. In this way, maintenance of water supply facilities suffers

greatly. Another contribution to this unpleasant scenario is that just like at district level, there is

little or no multisectoral collaboration at extension workers level. Water supply and sanitation

activities are solely supervised by extension workers from the three sector institutions of MIWD,

MOHP and MSCS. The extension workers are Community Development Assistants (CDA),

Health Surveillance Assistants (HSA) from MOHP and Water Monitoring Assistants (WMA)

from MIWD. The study noted that although these extension workers as a team, they do not report

to AECs and in fact the team is not permanent; it is only active during CBM trainings and

thereafter it dies.



(c) Area Development Committee (ADC)

Area Development Committees have areas of jurisdiction similar to those of Traditional

Authorities. Thus Thyolo district with 11 Traditional Authorities has 11 ADCs. They are

composed of elected community members identified from within each VDC. They collate

community projects and submit them to the District Assembly for funding consideration. ADCs

have no funding of their own. They work hand in hand with the, Traditional Authorities,

Members of Parliament and Ward Councillors who are all members of the Assembly. They

collaborate with the AEC for technical guidance.

All ADCs in Thyolo district were trained in decentralisation in addition to their roles and

responsibilities in community development. They usually meet on a monthly basis on their own.

The only gap is in their role of project monitoring. None of the five committees that were

interviewed could demonstrate evidence of sufficient progress tracking of the ongoing

development activities. However, they were able to mention major projects that were being

implemented in their area. This information must have been available perhaps because the

committee members are directly in need of improved water supply.

The committees did not have inventory of water and sanitation data i.e. number of water

facilities and sanitary facilities for their areas. This could be a result of inadequate monitoring

system manifested by insufficient reporting from VDCs and inadequate downward reporting

ADCs and indeed the rest of the communities. Furthermore findings of the study suggest that

ADCs just like the other development committees are not equipped with skills in monitoring.

There is limited information flow among the committees or between committees and

communities. Communities do not sufficiently demand information from committees while

committees themselves demonstrate little or lack of accountability to communities.

ADCs are told during trainings that they are responsible for monitoring development activities

taking place in their areas. In fact some projects involve them during progress evaluation

sessions but the system does not outline how they can do it on their own. It was discovered that

ADCs do not have sufficient resources to support them such as bicycles and stationery. The

Assembly does not demand regular reports from the committee. On the other hand, ADCs do not

regularly summon status reports from their VDCs. The system is not well coordinated although

the structures are in place and functioning.

(d) Village Development Committee (VDC

Decentralisation policy recognises VDC as the lowest tier of development committees. VDCs

operate within the group village headman’s area of jurisdiction. They report to ADCs as their

immediate upper committees. Thyolo district has 65 group village headmen hence 65 VDCs. On

average the committees have an equal number of women and men. They facilitate development

activities in the villages. According to the MIWD devolution documents, VDCs are supposed to

regularly facilitate the elections of members for Village Health and Water Committees (VHWC)

and Water Point Committees (WPC). The study however, noted that this responsibility is done

by government extension workers or NGO field workers who do not often consult the VDCs.

The study observed that such practices tend to limit the functionality of the VDCs; hence they

become ineffective to monitor community based management activities. An exception was noted



in the project area of one NGO where the VHWCs and WPCs are well linked with VDCs as part

of enhancing community level monitoring.

According to the study, VDC roles are well known among the communities in the district. All the

communities that were interviewed said they were aware of VDC existence and they were able to

mention their roles. Examples of projects could be mentioned which were facilitated by the

VDCs such as boreholes, bridges and school blocks. Results of the study showed that 18% of the

VDCs meet fortnightly while 63% meet monthly and 29% never meet. Minutes of meetings

indicated that the issues that were discussed generally surrounded community development

planning. The only water and sanitation related issues that were discussed centred on theft of

water point facilities.

Although these issues were well elaborated in the minutes, it was observed that the committees

are not consistent in their following up of the issues. Minutes of meetings from 82% of the

interviewed committees did not reflect agreed action points. Rather the minutes just indicated

what they discussed and perhaps what was agreed. There was no correlation of issues that were

discussed in successive meetings. This may infer that either the committees did not follow up on

issues or their meetings just ended without assigning people to act on outstanding issues. Such

weaknesses are there among many VDCs but it was also noted that the government extension

workers and district officials are not aware of them. This could be due to insufficient follow ups

on the committees which DEC and AEC members are supposed to do from time to time.

(e) Village Health and Water Committees (VHWC)

VHWCs are elected at village level and they report to the VDC on water, sanitation and health

issues in their villages. In Thyolo, VHWCs have an average of 55% women representation

compared to 60% women representation as specified by the government. The study established

that the shortfall of 5% is due to low interest of women to take responsibilities, unwillingness of

men to give responsibilities to women and because of more women dropouts. The study further

revealed that women dropped out of committees due to pressure from their spouses who felt they

were being cheated; busy schedules of their socioeconomic and livelihood activities and lack of

interest. The study found out that VHWCs were originally established within the Ministry of

Health monitoring system and were known as Village Health Committees (VHCs). They were

responsible for monitoring and coordinating health issues in their respective villages under the

supervision of HSAs.

Eventually, through sector collaboration, the committees were entrusted with the monitoring of

water supply, sanitation promotion and health education activities at village level. This was to

avoid the duplication of efforts if all ministries formed separate community structures. Where the

committees were inactive, they were rejuvenated and were called Village Health and Water

Committee (VHWC). Ideally the committees are supposed to be coordinating water supply and

sanitation activities in their villages. They are supposed to receive relevant backstopping support

from WMAs, HSAs and CDAs. Conversely, the study revealed that the committees are much

recognised by HSAs than WMAs who seem to recognise water point committees (WPC) only.

These study findings suggest that the monitoring role of VHWCs is not adequately undertaken.

In that way, major technical faults of water supply facilities remain unsolved for long time than

those related to sanitation and health.



(f) Water Point Committee (WPC)

The WPC is the lowest tier of Malawi’s RWSS management structure and is responsible for

boreholes, shallow wells or taps. According to the study the committees are made up of elected

user members of a water point. Just like VHWCs, water point committees for boreholes and

shallow wells have an average women representation of 55%. According to the study, WPCs are

responsible for managing water points through ensuring cleanliness, security and monthly

household contributions.

The MIWD devolution document indicates that WPCs are supposed to be reporting to the

VHWCs. However, 70% of the interviewed WPCs indicated that they reported to the village

heads and 25% indicated that they report to the VHWCs. The remaining 5% said they report to

government extension workers whom they could not specify. With 70% of the WPCs reporting

to village heads, the study suggests two things. First, the committees are not aware of their

general reporting structure. They respect their community leaders hence they feel they should be

reporting to them. Second, some community leaders are just so powerful that they would not

want any reporting structure apart from themselves.

The main source of information regarding management of taps was based on COMWASH

Project. According to the project, taps are estimated to supply water for an average of 20

households. In practice this number varies from 10 to 30 households depending on the terrain

and size of villages served by a water scheme. With recommendations from the COMWASH

Project, tap committees in Thyolo district have a membership of six people with equal

representation of men and women. However unlike WPCs for boreholes and shallow wells, the

reporting structure for gravity fed schemes is clear. Thus WPCs for taps report to branch

committees while working hand in hand with the village leadership. The major strength is the

ability to collect monthly financial contributions.

(g) Community Members (User group)

Of the total members of 20 user group meetings which were randomly conducted in the district.

Communities were able to mention their expected roles in water supply and sanitation

development. They also mentioned that they are consulted when developing project proposals.

They attend village meetings which are to a large extent mandatory and are usually convened by

VDCs, community leaders or extension workers. However, the Communities pointed out that

there are factors that limit them in playing an active role in development activities. The popular

one was lack or insufficient feedback and accountability from committees, community leaders,

extension workers and even projects. According to communities, this problem makes them

ineffective to make informed decisions concerning water and sanitation situation in their

localities. The study established that this was the major cause for what is popularly interpreted as

community slackness, low community participation, lack of ownership among other expressions

that attempt to describe how communities contributed towards failure of many projects. The

study observed that in the absence of feedback and downward accountability, decentralisation is

not effective.

5.1.6 Management Structure of Gravity Fed Schemes (GFS)

Gravity fed schemes (GFS) have quite a different management structure from that of boreholes

as shown in Appendix 6.0. The study based its findings on COMWASH project which has been



implementing the only four GFS in the district. The difference is apparent at the community

level. Scheme management structures work with traditional leaders who provide socio-cultural

support on one hand and the government structure where extension workers report to their

respective district officers on the other hand. Management of GFS in Thyolo includes full time

and part time employees who work closely with the government extension network. The

complex nature of the gravity fed schemes demands a lot of monitoring from the intake down to

the stand pipes and vice versa. Each water point has a water point committee (WPC) that reports

to the Branch Committee. Branch Committees report to a Section Committee which reports to

the Main Committee. The main committee reports to the Board of Trustees. In actual sense all

schemes have legal status which as well implies that they cane be called ‘Water Boards’. The

study noted that the monitoring framework of gravity fed systems in the district does not

accommodate village health and water committees (VHWC). It was further noted that VDCs are

not fully involved in the GFS instead more emphasis is given to the scheme structures. Another

observation is that water point committees for standpipes only have six members unlike ten

members like those for boreholes.

(a) Board of Trustees

The primary responsibility of the board is to monitor the operations of the scheme while

safeguarding the interests of all stakeholders of the scheme. For this reason, the composition of

the Board of Trustees covers a wide cross-section of interested groups as follows: two active

members of any scheme committee, two Village Heads, two members from the District

Assembly (District Water Officer and District Commissioner), two religious leaders and two

members from the business community served by the scheme. Identification of the

representatives is done independently by the concerned groups.

The study noted that two board members from the District Assembly have not been active as

anticipated. They rarely attend meetings which according to records have been held once in

every two months. The reasons for their unsatisfactory participation could be many, but most

likely is because they do not take them as a priority and lack of commitment. However when

interviewed they indicated that they are usually caught with tight official engagements. It was

however established the absence of the two officers from the district assembly reduces the

quality of discussions when they concern technical or policy issues. The study observed that this

has negative impact on the operations of the board. It was noted that the board of trustees, being

in their early stages of their existence, still need regular technical and policy guidance from the

district. Now without the district officials, most of issues remain unresolved and it leads to

lowering of confidence of other board members; hence the effectiveness of the board is reduced.

Currently three schemes of Didi, Mvumoni and Limphangwi have Board of Trustees and they

are all trained. Didi and Mvumoni schemes are already registered as legal entities hence they

gained the legal responsibility for managing their schemes. This development changed the status

of the schemes to ’Water Boards’. They have offices which were furnished by COMWASH

project. They maintain bank accounts through monthly financial contributions from user

households. In addition the schemes have permanent staff including scheme manager and intake

caretakers including voluntary repair teams for each branch line of the schemes.



(b) Main Committee

Main Committees report to the Board of Trustees; where the board is not in place, they report to

the DCT. The committees are responsible for the overall leadership in the management of the

scheme. They are comprised of 10 to 12 members nominated from the Branch Committees. Main

Committees are responsible for preparing annual plans and budgets for the scheme. The

committees further coordinate maintenance activities including hiring and supervision of

technical staff i.e. Scheme Manager, Repair Teams and Caretaker. The committee collects

monthly financial contributions from branch committees. They take lead in the catchment

protection. This is done by ensuring that there is no farming or other encroachment activities

within 200 metres of the intake.

(c) Branch Committee

Branch committees are responsible for monitoring the performance of their respective branch

line and they report to the main committee. Their responsibility includes all technical and

financial concerns affecting WPCs along the branch line. They collect monthly financial

contributions from WPCs and give them to main committees. Branch committees have a

membership of between 10 and 15. The number of branch committees for a scheme is largely

dependent on the number of water points served by that branch line. Individual members of the

Branch Committee are nominated from any of the WPCs with a village served by a particular

branch line.

The study revealed that branch committees are effectives for collecting financial contributions

from WPCs and monitoring the performance of branch lines. The only shortfall was that their

role of collecting monthly contributions is dodged by the majority of members. Hence the work

is left with the branch committee treasurers who are sometimes are unwilling. In view of this, the

main committees for the schemes resorted to give the treasurers, the unspecified token of thanks

in monetary form whenever they collect financial contributions from the water point committees.

This arrangement however, according to the study, betrays the whole purpose of having

committees in the first place. In addition, the study noted that the arrangement may not be

sustainable since there are no takeover mechanisms in the absence of the treasurers.

(d) Water Point Committee (WPC)

Water Point Committees (WPC) comprise six members with an equal number of men and

women. Tap committees are responsible for maintaining taps and feeder lines while reporting

breakdowns and faults to the Repair Team and members of the branch Committee. They also

ensure cleanliness of the water point. The committees hold monthly feed back and monitoring

meetings with the community members. They collect monthly water user fees from each

household and they maintain financial records for the water point.

Monthly household contributions are US$0.07 (MK10.00) which translates to US$1.45 (MK200)

for an average of 20 households. Thus according to the branch committees are concerned, each

WPC is expected to source a minimum of US$1.45 (MK200) per month regardless of the number

of households. According to the study, this works well where the number of households is more

than 20 unlike where they are less. However, the WPC risks water disconnection if it fails to

raise the minimum amount. This pressure is passed down to user group which makes sure that

the required sum is raised before an agreed deadline. The study discovered that users have no



problems with this arrangement; otherwise they feel they really deserve a disconnection if they

don’t comply. The only problem comes when their branch or feeder line develop a fault.

5.2 District Development Planning

5.2.1 Planning Process

Planning is done in accordance with the Local Development Planning System (LDPS) which

acknowledges the prevailing national development strategies and guidelines. There are two main

sources of information that feed into the district development planning. They are the

socioeconomic profile (SEP) of the district and village action plans (VAP). The production of

SEP attracts input from all sectors in the district. Once completed it is able to provide relevant

detailed information on existing social and economic status of the district. The latest SEP for

Thyolo district was produced in 2005.

Development of VAPs is facilitated by a well balanced multisectoral team of government

extension workers and district officials (from all ministries and departments in the district).

Production of the current VAPs in Thyolo involved the application of participatory

methodologies. They are Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) and the Regenerated Freirean

Literacy through Empowering Community Techniques (REFLECT). These methodologies are

usually applied to facilitate the identification of the problems and relevant proposed action

points. Through this process, communities are able to identify viable course of action for each

problem statement. A list of identified problems and suggested action points are then

consolidated by the VDC.

All project proposals from the VDCs are submitted to the ADC for prioritisation with the

technical guidance from AEC. The prioritised list of activities is then taken to the district

assembly for approval by the full assembly. Approval considerations are based on district

development needs that are consistent with the national development priorities. Since the year

2004, Malawi has had no ward councillors; hence this process is undertaken by the interim full

assembly. According to this study, the arrangement is only effective for accelerating decision

making but it compromises the quality of project identification at community level. This is the

case because ward councillors are well positioned to facilitate project identification at

community level; a thing which members of the interim assemblies do not do.

After the approval stage, proposals are referred to the district executive committee (DEC) for

appraisal (desk and field appraisals). The appraisal process put into consideration the sector

norms and guidelines. Thus after appraisal, DEC provides feedback to ADCs through formal

meetings. During the meetings ADC members are briefed about the proposals that were

approved and the ones that were not approved. Idyllically, such feedback should go down to the

VDCs and the villages. The study established through minutes, records and interviews that

during the development of the current DDP (2007/2009 plan), feedback was given to the ADCs

only. According to the district assembly, ADCs are responsible for taking down the feedback to

VDCs who should in turn go down to village level. The study established that although some

communities could be aware of the standing of their proposals, the process was not formally

conducted.



Sixteen (16) VDCs were asked what they knew about their proposal, 81% of them indicated they

knew nothing. The remaining 19% said they heard rumours of the status of their proposals while

the remaining but had no formal communication from the ADCs or extension workers. User

groups were also interviewed in 44 villages and they all indicated that they had not received any

feedback on their proposals. They as well pointed out that they ask their leaders (village heads)

to go to the district assembly to keep on following up on their previous proposals. This was

evident during the study when it was discovered each day community leaders queued up at the

DPD’s office. Seven of them were interviewed and they all indicated having come to the district

offices for more than three times but had either not managed to meet the DPD or had received no

definite response worth reporting to their communities.

Once the appraisal and feedback process is over, the projects containing budgetary and technical

specifications are consolidated and incorporated into the District Development Plan (DDP). The

DDP is presented in three annual phases: Financial Years 1, 2 and 3. The programme activities of

Financial Year 1 constitute the first Annual Investment Plan (AIP). Annual development budgets

of the assembly are then developed from the approved AIP. These budgets are activity based. To

make this process comprehensible, the Malawi Government, in the year 2006 produced the

‘Budgeting Manual for Local Governments in Malawi’. The manual outlines the Local

Development Planning Cycle (LDPC) which the Local Authorities are supposed to follow in

order to produce the District Development Plan (DDP). (Refer to Appendix 7.0 a/b).

5.2.2 Water and Sanitation Sector Plans

Water and sanitation sector plans in Thyolo district like all development plans are implemented

in line with the Local Development Planning System (LDPS). Thyolo district developed its first

three year District Development Plan (DDP) in 2001. The plan which was for the period

2002/2005 was built around the Malawi Poverty Reduction Strategies (MPRS). Under this plan

the water supply was the seventh priority while sanitation was sixth. According to the 2002-2005

district development plans, the water and sanitation sector objectives were to increase

accessibility of potable water from 33% to 50% and sanitation coverage from 56% to 70% by

2005 (Thyolo District Assembly, 2002).

The 2005 socioeconomic profile (SEP) indicates that the district has about 23% coverage of safe

drinking water and 60% sanitation coverage. According to data from the district water office in

March 2007, water supply coverage in the district has increased to 41%. Records from District

Health and Environmental office showed that sanitation coverage is now 66%. According to

district database, these increases are attributed to ongoing water supply and sanitation activities

by COMWASH Project, Concern Universal and Rural Livelihood Support Programme.

The immediate observation in the 2007/2009 DDP is that the plan has been delayed bearing in

mind that its implementation should have started in 2007. No specific reasons for the delay were

established even though it was clear that some sectors were late to submit their budgets. In fact

some of the sectors had not yet compiled their plans by April 2007. The current DDP is built

upon the Malawi Growth and Development Strategy (MGDS). The plan prioritises the provision

of safe water as reflected by the community needs and priorities. The summary of VAPs which

was compiled by the District Assembly shows that more than 90% of the villages prioritised safe

water supply. Sanitation is ranked seventh priority at 66% coverage. The district targets are to



increase water supply coverage from 41% to 85% and sanitation from 66% to 90% by the year

2009.

The study noted that water and sanitation plans were prepared in isolation. In fact there was no

sector planning. Thus there were separate planning for was supply, sanitation and catchment

protection. The district water office produced water supply plan. The district environmental

health office produced the one for sanitation. The same applies to catchment protection plan

which was separately prepared by district forestry office. However, the draft plan prioritises

catchment protection for all gravity fed schemes. The study established that all the three plans

were submitted to the monitoring and evaluation office without being discussed at the DCT

meeting. According to the M&E office, the plans are to be reviewed by DEC together with the

rest of the sector plans. It can however be deduced that the sector planning is not effective since

the evidence of sector planning is not there at all. The study suggests that with the planning done

in isolation, it would still be effective if there was input from other sector institutions and

players.

5.2.3 Sector collaboration

It was observed during the study that the water supply and sanitation sector which comprises

three ministries did not come up with a single plan. Instead, each office developed its own plan

and budget. An example is cited where the district water office and district environmental health

office produced separate plans for water and sanitation respectively. On the hand, the study noted

that catchment protection was not incorporated in the district water development plan. Thus the

activities seem not to complement on each other and in actual sense, there is no evidence of

coordinated planning. This fact alone bears witness that the effective sector planning and

monitoring may not be assured in the short term and this could result into serious oversights in

the DDP.

5.2.4 Community Demand for Water Supply and Sanitation Services

Expression of community demand for water supply and sanitation in Thyolo district is manifest

basing on the findings of the study. Communities request for new projects by using the proposal

forms whose required information differs for each service provider. The M&E Officer at the

District Assembly oversees the distribution of forms for District Development Fund (DDF),

European Union (EU) and Malawi Social Action Fund (MASAF). Table 5.2 shows details of

water supply project requests that were submitted to the District Water Office in the years

between 1994 and1995. Requests were made after the communities had already opened a bank

account for their water point maintenance fund.

Forms are distributed only when the particular service provider is ready to fund the requested

activities. Thus communities have to come to the district office to collect forms and later submit

them through the VDC. Findings from the study indicate that the approach has its own shortfalls.

The first one is that it prolongs the development process of proposals. A message has to pass

from ADCs down to the VDCs and then to the villages that send their representatives to collect

the forms from the district. Once completed, the forms are endorsed by the VDCs and then

submitted to the ADCs for prioritisation before they are taken back to the district assembly. This

process takes an average of two weeks but the duration can be longer than that. The second

shortfall is that communities are not fully mobilised for the intended projects. Communities fail



to provide all the necessary information on the proposal forms due to limited consultation period.

As a result many forms end up being rejected by the DEC during the desk appraisal process.

Table 5:2 Project Requests submitted to the District Water Office in 1999

Note: Details of Mphuka and Kapichi not available (details lost) (Source: District Water Office, 2007)

Apart from using proposal forms, communities have been demanding for the services during

political meetings and other gatherings deemed appropriate for them. One clear fact is that the

communities are so empowered that they use every available opportunity and freedom of

expression to demand for accountability from government officials. The January 27-February 2,

2007 issue of the ‘Malawi News’ newspaper carried an article by Deogratias Mmana titled

‘Thyolo chiefs attack health officers for poor sanitation’. In the article the chiefs blamed the

District Assembly for failing to construct sanitary facilities in the market centres. They wondered

why communities would be expected to practice sanitation while businesspeople were forced to

cycle to gardens to relieve themselves. This was during the ADC meeting which was conducted

to inform the communities about the US$200,000 equivalent funding which the Assembly had

received for health projects in the district.

Rural communities in the district are supplied with water through GFS, boreholes, protected

wells and springs. Other sources are streams and rivers which are mostly unsafe. Refuse pits and

latrines forms part of the main components of sanitation promotion in schools and villages.

Under COMWASH Project, ecological sanitation was especially promoted in both villages and

schools. Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) usually provide their services through an

integrated service package of water supply, hygiene education, sanitation promotion and relevant

crosscutting issues (Gender, HIV/AIDS and Environment).

5.3 Implementation of the District Development Plan

Implementation of the DDP is facilitated by several players from the public, private and NGO

sectors. This is done through financing of activities, material resources and provision of technical

or facilitation services. Management of the activities is supposed to be the responsibility of the

DCT but in Thyolo another team was established. The study established that there is the District

Project Management Team (DPMT) which was formed specifically for supervising the

implementation of Concern Universal projects in the district. According to Concern Universal,

the team was formed specifically to manage the implementation of its two projects. However, the

Traditional

Authority

Water Project

proposals

Projects Implemented

to Date

% processed

proposals

Bvumbwe 11 3 27

Changata 11 5 45

Chimaliro 10 6 60

Khwethemule 8 7 88

Mbawela 6 6 100

Nchilamwela 10 7 70

Nsabwe 10 9 90

Thukuta 10 5 50

Tomasi 10 6 60



Director of Planning and Development (DPD) hinted that the team will soon be dissolved after

noting that its responsibilities conflict with those of the DCT. The study takes note of this

situation and questions the functionality and effectiveness of the DCT if it can be easily twisted

by individual projects.

5.3.1 Human Resources in the Sector Ministries

Implementation of the district development plan requires not only motivated but also sufficient

and competent human resources. Thyolo District Assembly has both qualified and unqualified

human resources. Some of the key positions at the district assembly are not filled. The study

noted that some of the positions are handled by unqualified personnel. Recruitment of senior

positions is centrally done by the Ministry of Local Government through civil service

commission. The district assembly is only responsible for recruiting ground staff. Recruitment

process generally takes too long as clearly noticed that some positions were not filled for close to

two years. Due to the absence of appropriate personnel it would appear the assembly is

encountered with unnecessary conflicts over power and decision making.

(a) Ministry of Irrigation and Water Development (MIWD)

The study noted that water supply and sanitation operations are dragged due to shortage of staff

at the district water office. The devolution document of the MIWD outlines staffing details for

district water operations. Table 5.3 shows details of staffing status of Thyolo district. Since July

2006, the district had no District Water Coordinator. The concern is that the previous officer

received sufficient capacity in the areas of data management, Management Information Systems

(MIS), monitoring & evaluation among others. The replacement was identified and has since

reported for duty as from March 2007.

Table 5:3 Staffing details for Thyolo district waster office

Position Status Available Remark District Water Coordinator Available 1 Position filled

Water Supervisor – Engineer None N/A Need for one

Water Monitoring Assistant – Boreholes Available 2 Need for 9 new staff

Borehole Maintenance Assist None N/A Need for more

Water Assistant – Gravity Piped Schemes Available 1 Need for more staff

Driver Available 1 Position filled

Messenger Available 1 Position filled

Guards Available 7 Position filled

Office assistant - Unclassified Available 1 Position filled Note: District Water Coordinator also referred to as District Water Officer (DWO) (Source: District Water Office)

CBM can be well supported with the availability of WMA, Water Assistants and Borehole

Maintenance Assistants; but the district has only two WMAs instead of 11 WMA to suffice the

sector norm of at least one for each TA. The number of Water Assistants is basically based on

the number and size of GFS schemes. However there is only one who also assumes the role of

WMA. Borehole Maintenance Assistants are the vital community based government tier which

should be providing immediate technical backstopping in times of major and emergency

borehole breakdowns. Unfortunately the district has none of them.



The problem of understaffing is also apparent in other sector offices such as MSCS and MOHP,

but it is serious in the MIWD, the lead ministry. Reasons for understaffing include normal

transfers, resignation as staff look for other jobs and death. Most of the positions have been

vacant for as long as two or more years and no replacements have been made. However, the

efforts by the line ministries to fill in the vacancies are sometimes frustrated due to delays within

the civil service recruitment system.

With very few or no officers in some positions within the MIWD framework, the study

established that many outstanding challenges in the villages remain unattended for very period of

time. The study established that 65% of the broken down boreholes that were visited were had

major faults which could not be sorted out by the communities themselves. These mainly

included broken rising mains. The situation was however different in the communities where

they were trained in major borehole maintenance and repairs. Such communities however,

wished they refreshed their skills bearing in mind that it has taken long since they were trained.

Some of them were trained as far back as 1997 with an average of 80% of the members being

new, thus without sufficient or completely no technical borehole repairing skills. The study

therefore establish that inadequate number of human resources from the MIWD contribute to low

sustainability of RWSS services. The situation is exacerbated with the fact that the MIWD is the

leading sector institution which should drive and facilitate the sector monitoring.

(b) Ministry of Health and Population (MOHP)

MOHP has the District Environmental Health Officer (DEHO) in place with four Assistant

Environmental Health Officers. There are 250 HSAs and the coverage is about an HSA for 2300

people compared to desired coverage of 1 to 2000. This means that the department has

inadequate coverage of health extension service. There is no uniform distribution of extension

workers in the district especially for communities living within tea estates. Some villages are

isolated from the rest of the communities which may be forced to walk long distances to seek

health services. To solve that problem such communities are allocated their own HSAs who end

only serving less number of people than the rest of the HSAs.

The study however, established that the district as effective and impressive health surveillance

services. Every individual in the district gets in touch with an HSA. It was clear from all the 18

health centres that were visited that there is regular update of information of health and sanitation

by the HSAs. The only gap that was noted is that some communities are slow to adopt hygienic

practices. According to the study, reasons for this scenario could be lack of full fledged

sanitation promotion activities that can infuse the behaviour change among many individual

households. While it was noted that such initiatives are normally done by the HSAs, the study

observed that areas that are under funded projects are well covered than those that are without

projects. The study noted an average of 80% of sanitation coverage in areas with such projects

while some communities with no projects registered as low as 40% coverage.

(c) Ministry of Social and Community Services (MSCS)

Thyolo district has nine CDAs - Community Development Assistants. According to the District

Development Officer, there is no specific coverage norm for CDAs. However, it would be proper

if each Traditional Authority in the district was covered by a CDA. This would mean attaching

each ADC and AEC to a CDA. In Thyolo there are 11 Traditional Authorities which translates to



a shortfall of two CDAs. Bearing in mind that the TAs are not of equal sizes and that their

population coverage are also different, a special arrangement was made that two of the CDAs

have a combination of two small sized TAs each.

Basing on the study findings it was established that the number of CDAs is still very short of

more than two. Interviews were conducted with the CDAs. It was established that unlike their

fellow sector extension workers, CDAs coordinate almost all development activities in their

respective catchments. Thus they overwork and the situation is worsens with their large

catchment areas which cane be expressed in terms of number of VDCs and Villages. The study

further established that at one point, a CDA coordinates an average of five activities from

different sectors. During the study it was discovered that CDAs were conducting community

trainings, establishing committees and monitoring on going activities. In addition to water and

sanitation CDAs were involved in projects from the sectors of education, environment, business

development, communication, agriculture, social services, environment and health.

When asked what challenges they face during their day to day operations, all CDAs indicated:

too much work, lack of reliable means of transport, erratic operational financial support, large

catchment areas. Because of their busy schedules, CDAs are noncommittal to undertake active

monitoring role of water and sanitation activities. They are however fully involved during CBM

trainings where they equip the WPCs and VHWCs with leadership, fundraising and financial

management skills. This study however, discovered that due to inadequate follow ups the trained

structures lose considerable practical knowledge with the passing of time. Since the same gaps

were well captured among the structures, the study links the shortage of CDAs with inadequate

sustainability of water and sanitation facilities.

5.3.2 Schools Sanitation

The March 2007 records from the district education office indicate that the district has 187

primary schools and 28 secondary schools with a total population of 150,581 pupils and 264

teachers. The main sources of water supply for schools are boreholes, shallow wells, taps and

springs. Schools with boreholes and taps are better served unlike those with other sources.

According to the study, over 90% of the shallow wells and springs are seasonal and they remain

dry for a better part of the year. This forces teachers and pupils to fetch water from distant

sources of which most of them are also unprotected.

According to the quarterly report for March 2007 from Thyolo district education office, the

district has 1,593 latrines against 150581 pupils which leave a ratio of 1 latrine for 95 pupils. The

digression of this proportion is too high from the norm of 1 latrine for 20 pupils. The study

shows that 61% of the latrines are temporary structures while the rest are permanent. The

condition of temporary structures is not conducive especially during the rainy season. Schools

with permanent structures are the ones that have new school blocks constructed with the funding

from Malawi Social Action Fund (MASAF); European Union (EU); Department for

International Development (DFID) or District Development Fund (DDF).

Poor water supply and sanitation statistics in schools confirm that pupils and teachers in the

district are in serious problems. The study noted that water supply and sanitation gaps in schools

are not generally discussed during DEC or DCT meetings. Minutes of the DCT meetings show



that little or nothing is discussed about the situation of water supply and sanitation in schools.

This is also apparent at the extension level where HSAs and WMAs seem not to conduct routine

water supply and sanitation checks in schools. Their collaboration with teachers may not be

significant if at all it is there. Much progress is only seen in schools which are supported by

DFID, MASAF, EU, Concern Universal, Oxfam or COMWASH. The gaps are further observed

at the community level where VDCs seem not to emphasise on school water supply and

sanitation compared to that of villages. Although schools fall within the community development

plans, school management committees are hardly recognised by other community development

structures such as VDCs. All the VDCs indicated they never involve school committees in their

discussions and plans and this could be one of the reasons why some schools do not have good

water supply and sanitation facilities.

5.3.3 Catchment Protection

Catchment protection is one of the major activities that the project is undertaking as part of the

Assembly’s efforts towards environmental redress. This is promoted to ensure good quality and

sufficient quantity of the water resources in order to have sustainable water supplies. All the four

schemes under COMWASH project have been challenged by blockage of intake pipes due to

siltation. It was noted that there was attempted encroachment around the catchment areas through

farming activities. In order to safeguard the catchment areas of the schemes, the project through

department of forestry, ventured into Community Based Natural Resources Management

(CBNRM). The main activities included reforestation and conservation, but they were not well

accepted by the communities.

Minutes of the DEC meeting held on 28 July 2003, show that COMWASH Project reported the

uprooting of seedlings at Didi scheme. The main challenge is that communities do not have

sufficient arable land. The 2005 socioeconomic profile indicates that the average land holding for

smallholder farmers in the district is 0.6 hectares (Thyolo District Assembly, 2005). The meeting

proposed to investigate the matter in order to establish the root cause of the problem before

devising the way forward. Since then no records were seen to indicate the findings of the inquiry

and action that was taken thereafter. The problem of deforestation in the district has been

extensive that it has attracted the attention of many sectors. As a short term measure the police

are occasionally deployed in the catchment areas to scare the encroachers. No concrete long term

solution has been devised to date.

The study established that some of the activities related to catchment protection are well

undertaken as a sector wide initiative. This was the case in gravity fed schemes under

COMWASH project where afforestation activities were undertaken. Under the district

development planning process however, the study established no evidence of linkage between

the plans prepared by the sector ministries and those by the Ministry of Mines, Energy and

Natural Resources. In some cases however, the plans were seen to be complementary but it

would be more effective if there was a joint planning by the concerned sector institutions.

5.3.4 Support Given to District Assembly

Thyolo District Assembly has benefited quite a lot through support from various donors and

NGOs for it to implement its planned activities. This is in addition to regular government



support. For the past five years, water sector in the district has enjoyed support in the form of

financial and material resources in addition to human resource development.

The study focussed on material support that was given to the district. It was noted that

COMWASH Project supported the district with a motor vehicle, four motorcycles, a computer,

printers, water testing kit, and office furniture. The project further trained DCT members in

management information system (MIS). It also donated a set of geographical information

systems (GIS) equipment for water point mapping. District wide database was established with

input from various institutions such as Concern Universal, Oxfam, European Union, DFID and

CIDA. Oxfam further supported the district financially and training of DEC members in

decentralisation. MASAF supported the district with a vehicle which was still running during the

study period.

While the district assembly appreciates this magnitude of support, the district officials pointed

out some gaps which implied that the support is still not sufficient. In other words, for the district

assembly to function perfectly there is still need for more additional support. With this situation,

it is clear that decentralisation of RWSS is still a long way to achieve its intended objectives

basing on the current situation. District assemblies are still looking forward to external support

which is not only erratic but rather lacks certainty. This challenged could be better dealt with by

enhancing the district development funding system in an enhanced accountability environment

while vigorously expanding the income generating base for the district assemblies.

5.3.5 Private Sector Participation

Private sector participation is expressed in two ways. First, is the private sector is directly funds

water and sanitation projects through their social service facility. The study established that

about 30% of the boreholes in the district were constructed through direct funding from tea

estates that form the main service sector base in the district. The estates also funded the

construction of latrines and hand washing facilities in schools to promote schools sanitation and

hygiene education. The private sector has been active in providing water supply and sanitation

services in the villages, schools and health centres through funding the construction of boreholes

and shallow wells.

Second, the private sector is hired to supply goods and services. Goods mainly include

construction materials for general construction projects in the sectors of education,

communication and water supply and sanitation. Services that are outsourced include borehole

drilling, construction of gravity fed schemes and other relevant services. In both cases, the

required goods and services are usually advertised in the press with all the qualifying

specifications well outlined.

The selection of successful borehole drillers is done through open tendering process where

submissions are opened in public and successful firms or individuals are awarded contracts. The

process is facilitated by the tendering committee which comprises the procurement committee

under the leadership of the Director of Planning and Development (DPD). The district assembly

takes full control of the entire procurement process followed by supervision which is done by the

district water office through Water Monitoring Assistants (WMA). The only challenge, however,

is that the office does not have adequate human and technical capacity. Two things were noted.



First, the department has few WMAs who may sometimes be too busy with other activities hence

the contractors may work unsupervised. Second, the district does not have the water supervisor

who is supposed to be an engineer. Supervision is instead done by WMAs who do not have full

technical competencies. Three contractors who at one point carried out their work in the district

also highlighted the issue of capacity. The contractors noted that the district does not have highly

trained and experienced supervisors for drilling work which requires hydrogeological knowledge

in addition to general drilling operations. They hinted that with such capacity gaps, chances are

high that some of the boreholes were constructed with compromised quality.

The study noted that in some cases contractors would take advantage of the capacity gaps in the

districts. Ferguson and Mulwafu (2004) assert that the southern region of Malawi has more

boreholes with compromised quality. They observe that private drilling companies who lacked

necessary technical expertise were awarded contracts by the World Bank-supported Malawi

Social Action Fund (MASAF). According to the authors MASAF reverted to using Ministry of

Water Development technical staff rather than unscrupulous local private contractors.

The study managed to draw lessons from the district level procurement process of private

services in COMWASH Project. The project hires facilitation and technical service providers.

Facilitation services include awareness campaigns, form and train scheme committees while

technical services include construction and supervision. Thus apart from hiring contractors the

project also hires consulting firms for designing the systems and supervision of contractors.

Procurement of these works is done by the project staff with help from MIWD headquarters, a

representative from CIDA, and officials from the district assembly and the district water office.

The presence of officials from the ministry headquarters and perhaps from regional office would

imply that the District Water Officer’s decision making is suppressed. However, it was noted that

the ministry is aware of the district level capacity gaps hence their providing technical

backstopping. According to the project the sourced works involve complex engineering aspects

which may not be understood by the water officers from the district who at certain times may be

WMAs. It is at this stage that the district gets unsolicited technical backstopping from the

regional or central government office.

5.3.6 Sector Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E)

Monitoring and Evaluation may involve a systematic examination of completed or ongoing

development activities with the aim of determining their effectiveness, impact, sustainability and

value to national development. District Assemblies are linked to the national monitoring system.

The responsible officer is the Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Officer who reports to the

DPD. The quality and results of the monitoring process determines the quality of the annual

investment plans (AIP) and resultantly, the development budget.

In Thyolo, the M&E committee was established within DEC to be responsible for sector data

collection, processing and compilation of district reports. The committee is headed by the

Assembly M&E Officer. Other members include sector M&E Officers from District Education

Office, Health and Agriculture. Water Department does not have an officer responsible for

M&E, instead the function is carried out by the District Water Officer. Sector reports are

submitted to the Assembly on a monthly basis for consolidation by the M&E Officer with those

from other sectors to develop a district report.



It was however established that M&E activities in the district face many challenges such as

inadequate reporting from projects, lack of resources and poor mail distribution from the

registry. It was also noted that some projects especially those implemented by NGOs do not

submit both progress and financial reports to the Assembly M&E Officer. However, this study

draws two conclusions on this. Firstly, it could be that the NGOs completely sideline the district

assembly in their reporting. Secondly, it could be that the DCT is not rightly doing its job. The

second conclusion is based on the fact that DCT is supposed to coordinate and supervise all

water supply and sanitation activities in the district. It would therefore be expected for the team

to be kept abreast with the progress of activities implemented by the NGOs.

On their part the NGOs indicated that they receive inadequate commitment from the DCT

members and indeed the rest of government staff. All the five interviewed NGOs indicated that

they share their reports with the district assembly only there is little or no feedback and possibly

no action taken on them. Inadequate commitment from the government staff according to NGOs

was manifested in many ways. Firstly, through the persistent demand for allowances whenever

they were involved in any activity under an NGO project. Secondly, the NGOs indicated that the

DCT only meet when initiated by the project concerned. Thirdly, government officers do not

demand for reports from NGOs or show any zeal in NGO’s activities in the district. The study

established that the district assembly through DEC does not include NGO activities in their

annual or quarterly plans. This would imply that the district assembly does not own projects that

are implemented by NGOs except for those directly implemented by them. The study therefore

finds the district level monitoring and evaluation system ineffective which should take a lot of

effort and time to reach desirable levels.

It was noted that the Assembly does not have sufficient resources to effectively carry its

monitoring activities. Apart from insufficient human resources, the district assembly has few

supporting facilities and equipment. There are four vehicles and only two are functioning. The

vehicles are supposed to support both field and administrative functions; in practice, it is the

latter that gains priority. Water Department has one vehicle and four motorcycles all running but

they are usually parked at the office due to lack of funds for fuel and maintenance costs. Because

of this, government staff remains idle and glued around the office doing nothing instead of

attending to field monitoring activities. The study established that government staff largely

depends on NGOs for supporting their field activities, hence their operations are limited within

project areas. Thus areas that do not have projects are not satisfactorily supported.

One major hitch challenging effective M&E is the inefficient registry functions. This is

manifested through misfiling and late delivery and dispatch of correspondence to relevant

offices. An event is cited where mail from NLGFC carrying details of sector funding was

delayed by over a month. The Director of Finance made queries to NLGFC asking for the details

only to be told that the information had been sent long back. When checked in the files the letter

was found to have been misallocated. At various occasions, DEC meetings failed to take place

because the DEC members happened to have not received any invitation letters which were not

dispatched from the registry.



5.4 District Development Fund (DDF)

Implementation of the DDP involves financing of the planned activities from various sources be

it the government, international organisations, local institutions and individuals or community

groups. Development finances to the district are channelled through the District Development

Fund (DDF) which acts as a ‘basket fund’ for the district. Another form of funding is done

through direct funding to development activities and projects.

5.4.1 Development of Sector Budgets

The budgeting method that the Assemblies follow is Activity Based Budgeting (ABB) which is

an output based budgeting by activities. ABB is budgeting by activities rather than by cost

elements and is one form of the output based budgeting methodology. This means presenting a

budget in terms of the cost of a district assembly’s function and services and relationships are

defined between activities. This information is then used to decide how much resources should

be allocated to each activity, rather than the traditional budget that describes cost factors expense

codes) such as salary, travel, and training without relating to activities.

There are four steps that are followed in order to derive the ABB. The first step is to review the

Assembly’s Development Objectives and assess what should be implemented in the year. The

objectives need to be the ones in the local development plan which in turn would have been

guided by the strategies in the MGDS. The second step is to identify programmes and activities

that are to be undertaken to achieve the Assembly’s objectives. The third step involves the

prioritisation of programmes and ranking them according to local needs. The fourth step is to

cost activities. This involves identifying and quantifying all the inputs and finally determining

the unit cost, taking into consideration prevailing regulations and market value.

Once sector budgets are produced, the DPD consolidates them to develop the district budget

which is then submitted to the NLGFC for scrutiny before it is passed on to the Treasury. The

Treasury instructs the Accountant General for final disbursement of funds to the district

assembly. The Assembly operates a development account called ‘Other Recurrent Transactions’

or usually referred to as ORT. This account uses budget ceilings for each sector. It was noted in

Thyolo that the annual budget ceiling for the water supply is US$5,300; therefore the district

water office is supposed to be budgeting within the figure. Sanitation on the other hand is well

taken care of; being managed from the district environmental health office; it receives part of the

MOHP funding from the sector wide approach (SWAP) initiative.

5.4.2 Sources of Funding for Rural Water Supply and Sanitation (RWSS)

The study established that the district has four sources of revenue. The revenues are Locally

Generated Revenues, Ceded Revenues, Government Grants and NGOs or donors.

(a) Locally Generated Revenues (traditional)

Thyolo District Assembly sources its funds locally through rentals, market fees and service fees

which on average come up to between US$6,000 and US$7,000 per month. While part of these

funds is expected to go towards DDF, records show otherwise. All the funds are used to meet the

operation costs i.e. vehicle maintenance, paying electricity and water bills, salaries for ground

staff, meetings and other administrative costs.



(b) Government Grants

Government grants are transfers from the central government to meet recurrent and development

cost of providing services in local governments. The grants are either general purpose

(unconditional) or specific purpose (conditional). The main general purpose (unconditional)

grant to the District Assemblies is the General Resource Fund (GRF). The decentralisation policy

requires Government to make available to Local Government Authorities (LGA) at least 5% of

the national revenues (excluding grants) for the development of the district. The LGAs are

advised to use 25% of the GRF for development activities.

Examples of the specific purpose (conditional) grants include sector funds, salary, subsidies,

chief honoraria and development grants. Sector funds are transferred to LGAs from Water,

Health, Education, Agriculture, Gender, Housing (Lands), Trade and other sectors that have

devolved tasks and funds to local government authorities. With regards to development grants,

District Assemblies have been recipient of the district development fund (DDF). Currently, the

Malawi Social Action Fund (MASAF), the European Union (EU) funded micro projects and

public works programme have development budgets of the Local Government Authority.

Sector funding from the LGFC is based on the fixed budget ceilings. The water sector has a

budget ceiling of US$5,300 per annum. This amount, basing on the findings proves insufficient

to suffice all the planned field and operational costs. Since the establishment of the system in the

2005/06 financial year, Thyolo district water office has received a sum of US$1,200 in three

equal tranches of US$400. Water sector received a sum of US$400 for its activities in July 2006

and was allocated another US$400 in November 2006. Both funding was used to pay for

electricity, water and phone bills including maintenance costs of the office door. Very little

amount went towards field operations and motorcycle/vehicle running costs. By 31 December

2006, the budget line for department had a balance of US$32.

While it is clear that the ceilings are very low, sectors receive their funding very late. Financial

records at the district assembly showed that the July 2006 funding for the water was received in

October 2006. The August 2006 funding was received in November 2006. By 31st December

2006, the district water office had a balance of US$32. In January 2007, the office received

US$400 which was not yet received by April 2007 because the NLGFC had not yet sent the

allocation details. According to the Director of Finance, the district assembly does not receive

timely notification of financial details from the NLGFC. Sometimes it takes the district assembly

to place the balance inquiries from the bank in order to be aware of the new deposits. Such an

arrangement does not provide clear information of the exact amount for each sector.

The study makes clear of three things in this case. First, there is poor communication between

the NLGFC and the district assemblies. Second, the overlapping of two financial years (2005/06

and 2006/07) raises a question whether the sectors are yet to receive the arrears of the last

financial year or not. Third, planning and implementation of the water sector activities is delayed

and rather compromised.

In the month of December 2006, NLGFC announced the Central Government Transfers to Local

Government in Malawi for 2006/2007 fiscal year for the period from July to December 2006.

The likely observation is that the release was done very late. According to a press release in the



24 December, 2006 issue of the ‘Weekend Nation’ newspaper, Thyolo District was allocated a

total of US$2,139,537.00 of which US$4,313.24 was for the water sector. The release indicates

that the transfers were in respect of unconditional and conditional grants. Unconditional grants

are in respect to General Resources Fund. Conditional grants are in respect of Sectoral Funds for

Development functions and the Constituency Development Fund.

(c) NGO and Donor Funds

Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and some donors support specific activities or

development projects. On the other hand, Thyolo DDF has benefited through funding from

Oxfam and other organisations. Financial records at the Assembly show that between 2003 and

2005, Oxfam contributed an equivalent of about US$55,000 towards the DDF. These funds were

used for water supply development, environmental redress, general office operations and other

sectors. In 2006 the district received about US$36,000 from the European Union (EU). About

US$8000 of the funding from EU was allocated to water supply and sanitation development

through shallow well protection and construction of school latrines. Other construction projects

used a total of US$17,000. A sum of US$7,000 was used for unspecified capacity building

through training workshops for district and extension staff. The remaining US$3,600 went

towards the Assembly’s office operation costs.

Malawi Social Action Fund (MASAF) has made a significant contribution towards water supply

and sanitation development in the district. No statistics could be established to tell the exact

number of water points that were constructed with MASAF funds. However, recorded

estimations in the district assembly reports show that since its inception in 1995, MASAF has

constructed over 50% of the boreholes in the district. This is in addition to school latrines.

Funding details from the district assembly show that the MASAF III programme has so far spent

an equivalent of US$17,000 for water supply and sanitation activities which represents 12% of

its total funding.

5.4.3 Management of District Finances

The Assembly is supposed to have Accounts personnel in the sector offices so that they can be

working hand in hand with the DOF. The study discovered that the only sectors with Accounts

personnel are Agriculture, Health, Energy & Natural Resources and Education. Water

Department does not have accounts staff. According to the acting DOF, lack of accounts staff in

the sectors has negative impact on the quality of financial reporting. This is evident in the

records which indicated that sectors took too long to provide the DOF with financial returns. In

most cases the reports are to be pushed for, but when they come, they are marked with poor

receipting. Lack of proper accounting procedures delays field operations. If financial returns are

not submitted, the DOF cannot disburse subsequent funding to the sectors unless the previous

ones are properly accounted for.

Records showed that the Assembly receives monthly operational funding of US$2,492 from the

Treasury. Out of this amount, 25% is expected to be allocated towards the DDF. Thus the district

receives a monthly grant of US$623 for development activities. According to DOF, in order for

its operations to run effectively the Assembly need a monthly sum of US$3,600. These financial

requirements show that the monthly allocations to Assemblies are not sufficient. Due to this

shortfall, financial records showed that the 25% allocation to DDF is sometimes used up in the



operation expenditures. Although the money is later refunded to its right budget line, the fact is

that the amount is also too small to sufficiently address major development needs for the district.

All this proves that district assemblies are way below financially to sustain themselves including

supporting their RWSS service delivery.

5.5 Community Based Management (CBM)

The CBM concept shares ideological roots with the comunidad de base of the 1970s Liberation

Theology Movement in Latin America; the key words are a bottom up approach whereby theory

is evolved by the praxis of the base (the community) (DeGabriele, 2002). It also has emerged out

of the shift to participatory development since the late 1970s. According to DeGabriele (2002)

the strength of this ideology is that it goes to the base.

CBM was introduced because of the shortcomings of the centralised maintenance. Its objective is

to enhance the importance of the community ownership of the water supply and sanitation

facilities and community responsibility for the hand pump maintenance. The concept of CBM

encompasses a number of aspects. These are community institutional setups for the management

of water supply and sanitation activities, Village Level Operation and Maintenance (VLOM),

decision making and availability of water point maintenance fund. For these aspects to be well

facilitated, government extension service plays a major role through the backstopping process.

5.5.1 Management Structures

Management of RWSS is dependent on many factors including competency of community

structures, extension service and project implementation strategies. Community structures that

are involved in RWSS management include water point committees (WPC), village health and

water committees (VHWC) and village development committees (VDC). Although the

devolution document for MIWD does not outline functions for VHWCs, the committees are

available in Thyolo. Where they are full active, the committees provide an effective link between

WPCs and VDCs. It was also noted that the committees provide vital data for water, sanitation

and health monitoring in their villages. Hence they effectively relate with the WMAs and HSAs.

Findings of the study suggest that some projects emphasise on the training of VHWCs only

without establishing WPCs while others only establish WPCs. In both cases the established

committees are trained in Community Based Management (CBM) and Village Level Operation

and Maintenance (VLOM). This was evident when 35% of the interviewed user groups and

VHWCs indicated that their water points have no committees while 42% of the VHWCs

indicated that the water points have committees but not yet trained. These gaps according to the

study negatively affect the community based monitoring and management for water supply and

sanitation activities.

About 76% of the VHWCs indicated that they are usually unable to regularly visit their water

points which could easily be done by water points committees. The main challenge in this case is

that although VHWCs are trained, their input to water point management is very minimal, unlike

in places where WPCs are available. All WPCs interviewed, clearly demonstrated their regular

monitoring of their respective water points. This clearly shows that the institutional arrangement

that was outlined by the MIWD is effective except that sometimes it is violated by some service

providers.



Another issue is diverge compliance by projects in meeting gender specific requirements for

water and sanitation related community structures. Government specifies that a water point

committee should have 10 members with 60% women representation. The reason given is that

women being traditional primary water users should be encouraged to take a leading role in

managing water facilities. WPCs in Thyolo district have an average women representation of

55%. It was noted that 45% of the committees had less committee members due to dropout,

death and migration and some of the communities took too long to make replacements.

Findings of the study suggest that community members dropped out due to lack of interest,

family problems, busy schedules, others without reason and others were removed. Twenty three

(23) community members who dropped out were asked why they stopped attending committee

meetings. (See Figure 5.1)

Reasons for not attending committee meetings Proportion

13%

9%

48%

17%

13%

Removed No reason Busy Schedule No Interest Family

Figure 5:1 Reasons for not attending committee meetings

It was also noted that projects established committees differently. Some established either WPCs

or VHWCs while others established both of them. This could be so due to different project

designs and implementation strategies but major differences were noticed in NGO managed

projects. In Thyolo district, NGOs are the major water and sanitation service providers. It was

noted that government projects emphasises on the establishment of and training of WPCs rather

than VHWCs. Comparing the two committees, communities and indeed the rest of the

interviewees at both community and district level felt WPC is more effective for water point

management than VHWC. This is so because WPC are solely responsible for a single water point

which they also use, hence they undertake their responsibilities with zeal and a high sense of

ownership. Respondents however pointed out that the VHWC are effective for village level

monitoring of hygiene and sanitation activities.

The study further noted that communities that have little technical skills for maintaining their

boreholes consult the trained individuals within their locality. In certain cases, this works for free

but sometimes it is for a fee. In general it was established that WPCs are more effective than

VHWCs when it comes to maintenance of water points. The study noted further that 88% of the

well maintained boreholes that were visited have WPC while 62% of the poorly maintained



boreholes have either no WPCs or they are in place but they lack commitment. The study defined

a well maintained borehole as the one with a water point maintenance fund, spare parts, minimal

breakdown record, small downtime and clean surrounding. Short of these, it was defined as a

poorly maintained borehole.

Community level monitoring is vital for effective CBM but the study ascertained some

information flow gaps among different community structures. Causes to this gap could be many

but the most likely one could be that projects do not set up effective monitoring systems at the

community level. It was noted that all the committees that were interviewed know their roles and

responsibilities unless when a particular committee is not trained. Regardless of this however,

the committees such as VHWCs and WPCs were not able to tell which structure they report to.

At village level there was very minimal and some cases no information flow between WPCs and

VHWCs. Eighty two percent (82%) of the VHWCs indicated that they are answerable to the

village chief, 12% mentioned VDCs, 9% said they report to the HSAs and yet 7 % said they did

not know who to report to. This implies that at community level there is insufficient monitoring.

It as well implies that VDCs are somehow silent on water supply and sanitation monitoring even

though they relate well with ADCs. The study established that communities (user group) inform

WPCs or VHWCs in times of breakdown of water facilities.

The study also asked the village headmen, which structures were responsible for water supply

and sanitation in their villages. All of them mentioned VHWCs but literally mentioning them as

health committees i.e. “komiti ya za umoyo”. When asked who looks after water points, the

leaders had different responses; 40% said VHWCs - komitiya ya za umoyo, 54% WPCs - komiti

ya mpope and/or mjigo and yet 6% just said a committee without specifying. The leaders were

also asked to mention who repairs their facilities when broken down. Responses were as follows:

56% mentioned WPCs, 36% said extension workers and 8% just said the mechanics. These

responses may mean that there is no clear and uniform monitoring system at community level.

5.5.2 Village Level Operation and Maintenance (VLOM)

VLOM is achieved when communities are able to effectively manage, operate and maintain their

water facilities. The study established three major areas under VLOM that include technical

capacity at village level, availability of spares, maintenance of water facility and willingness to

pay towards operation and maintenance. The major determinant of the effectiveness of VLOM is

the number of functioning water points versus their total number within a specific locality at a

particular time.

The study established that 85% of the 60 water points that were visited had committees, 65% of

which were trained in CBM and VLOM. During the study, 72% of the visited water points were

functioning. The remaining 28% of the facilities were not functioning due to a number of causes.

About 26% of the non-functioning facilities had their parts stolen while 70% was due to

breakdown and the remaining 4% was due to drying up of boreholes. On average, about 65% of

the water facilities are kept functioning at a time. Table 5.4 shows the details.



Table 5:4 Status of water points in Thyolo District in April, 2007

Source Number Working B/down Stolen Dry up Water Point Committee

Available trained

Boreholes 908 685 143 76 4 901 653

Taps 663 523 114 26 0 569 473

Shallow well 305 274 18 0 13 305 250

Total 1,876 1,482 275 102 17 1,775 1,376 (Source: Thyolo District Water Office, 2007)

During the time of study, Thyolo had a total of 2,286 water points including 1152 boreholes, 829

standpipes and 305 shallow wells. About 62% of water point facilities were functioning while

the remaining 38% were not functioning. Major causes for non-functioning of water point

facilities are theft, breakdown and drying up of boreholes and shallow wells. (Refer Figure 5.2)

Reasons for Nonfunctioing of Water Points Propotion (%)

63%

33%

4%

Breakdown Theft Drying up

Figure 5:2 Reasons for Non-functioning of Water Points

Financial contributions for O&M are usually made in cash. The survey established that the

downtime of water points range from 1 day to over a period of 12 months. About 48% of the

water points have downtime of 1 to 7 days; 33% have 8 to 30 days; 13% has 1 to 12 months

downtime and yet the remaining 4% is either maintained after 1 year or never maintained at all.

(Refer to Figure 5.3).

The study discovered that 67% of the water points that were visited have an average of US$60

(MK8500) as maintenance funds sourced through monthly contributions. Monthly contributions

are collected by the water point committees (WPC). Households contribute an average of

US$0.14 per month for boreholes and US$0.04 for standpipes. Once realised, funds are kept

either in cash by the WPC treasurer or at the bank. But for some communities financial decisions

are made by the VHWCs, WPC and community leaders. About 34% of VHWCs and 24% of the

WPCs have well maintained bank accounts. The indication is that effective O&M at village level

is a possibility but it still needs close monitoring and technical support from the extension

workers.



Downtimes of Water Facilities Proportion

49%

34%

13%

4%

1-7 days 8-30 days 1-12 months 12 months above

Figure 5:3 Downtimes of water supply facilities

Community contributions towards O&M are a function of water users’ willingness and ability to

pay. The study defined willing to pay as mere community expression of the amount they would

love to contribute. Results showed that 83% of the village communities agreed that they are

willing to contribute towards O&M. Out of them, 58% indicated that they are willing to

contribute US$0.21 per month while 42% said they are comfortable with US$0.14 for boreholes.

In gravity fed schemes, users contribute US$0.04 per household as set by COMWASH Project

and the amount is subject to change with the passing of time. Some of the reasons for

community’s failure to contribute towards M&E include lack of income, embezzlement of funds

by dishonest committees and unsteady water flow at sources.

The study acknowledges the fact that communities are trying their best in making financial

contributions towards operation and maintenance. However, their efforts are downplayed by the

fact their contributions does not match the prices of spares. The report observes that although the

communities in the district might be willing to pay, their ability to pay is hindered by their high

poverty levels. Thyolo district is one of the districts which are rates poor. Average landholding

size for smallholder farming is as low as 0.6 hectares. The 2005 Integrated Household Survey

Report, 33% of the people in the district are ultra-poor (above the national average 22% and that

of southern region 31%). The report further shows that 64.9% of the people are poor (above

national average 52% and southern region 64%). Poverty lines in Malawi are distinct the poor

and the ultra-poor as those living on less than MK16, 165 and MK10, 029 per year respectively

i.e. less than US$365 per year.

Findings in COMWASH project indicated that poor performance of the schemes has an impact

on the level of community contributions. Communities are not willing to make cash

contributions where services are poor. People’s failure to make their monthly contributions is

leading to the schemes’ poor performance. On the other hand, the schemes have some problems

such as reduced attendance during meetings, untimely repair works and theft of taps. One of the

Main Committees disbanded in December 2006.



Members of the Board of Trustees took over the management and have since been accused of

misusing funds meant for M&E. Only 5 members of the board are active but not able to

effectively collect O&M funds. It was reported that in certain cases, the funds were collected by

repair team members. These problems are well known by the project and the Assembly. The

study picked no clear direction of the matter. Table 5.5 below shows performance details of the

schemes for the Month of April, 2007.

Table 5:5 Performances of GFS schemes in Thyolo district

Scheme Branches Number of Water Points Bank balance of

O&M Funds (US$) total working % working

Didi 5 107 59 55 200.00

Mvumoni 3 78 50 64 190.00

Limphangwi 3 82 75 91 204.00

Sankhulani 6 90 42 47 Not established (Source: COMWASH Project, April 2007)

The study ascertained that these contributions are better reinforced among communities served

through standpipes than boreholes. This difference comes in due to different perceptions that the

communities have had over the two technologies. The first one is that the majority of the

boreholes in the district came in through politicians who followed no proper community

mobilisation mechanisms. Communities who benefit from such projects believe that boreholes

are constructed out of mere favour and are for free. If they break down, another one can always

be drilled. Overall, 76% of the communities with boreholes indicated that they make their cash

contributions after experiencing a breakdown of their facilities not necessarily for routine

maintenance. In GFS, monthly contributions are mandatory; non-payment leads to water

disconnections.

High sense of ownership and readiness to pay was noticed in places where communities were

properly mobilised such as projects funded by NGOs, MASAF, COMWASH and government

projects. In such projects communities were asked to contribute an initial payment in the form of

cash and construction materials. In one of its borehole projects, Concern Universal demanded an

initial cash contribution of US$14 in addition to crushed stones, river sand and bricks. However,

while the objective was to inculcate the sense of ownership among the communities, the

approach was not well perceived by politicians. They felt communities were too poor to mobilise

the resources and therefore needed water development for free. Initial contributions were

therefore made on behalf of the communities. This included financial contribution towards

operation and maintenance (O&M), sand and crushed rock aggregate. Minutes of DEC meeting

held on 29 April 2003 shows that the project management tabled the matter for discussion.

Unfortunately, no substantial or conclusive action was suggested and nothing was discussed

during the subsequent meetings.

5.5.3 Coverage of Rural Water Supply

Results of the survey show that coverage of safe water supply is over 60% but this proportion is

reduced by non functional water facilities and geographical distribution. Safe water in this

context is defined as water piped into the dwelling, a public tap, borehole, protected well or



spring located either on the premises or less than one-half kilometre away (National Statistics

Office, 2005). Coverage in this study was defined in terms of two parameters. These are number

of people per each water point and distance covered to access sources of safe water supply.

Government specifies 250 people per borehole and 120 people per tap while also specifying the

maximum walking distance of 500 metres to a water point. The 2005 district socioeconomic

profile shows that about 40% of the water facilities are beyond 500 metres distance while the

remaining 60% are accessed within the walking distance of less than 500 metres. In extreme

cases people walk up to two kilometres in search for safe water supply while others access water

within 50 metres (Thyolo District Assembly, 2005). Figure 5.4 shows water coverage and

proportion of accessible water points within 500 metres distance (accessibility) in the district.

Water Supply Coverage and Accessibility

0

20

40

60

80

100

Bvu

mbw

e

Cha

ngat

a

Chi

mal

iro

Kap

ichi

Khw

ethe

mule

Mba

wer

a

Mph

uka

Nch

iram

wer

a

Nsa

bwe

Thom

as

Thuku

ta

Traditional Authority

Co

ver

ag

e a

nd

Acc

essi

bil

ity

(%

)

Coverage Distance

Figure 5:4 Water supply coverage and accessibility (Source: Thyolo Socioeconomic Profile, 2005)

5.5.4 Sanitation Coverage and its Impact

According to this study rural sanitation coverage can be defined by the presence of basic sanitary

facilities including latrines, refuse pits, bathing shelters, dish racks, drying lines, cooking shelters

and animal shelters within a specific locality. Improved latrines are ventilated improved pit

latrine or covered pit latrine. The 2005 SEP indicates that 66% of the households in the district

have private pit latrines; 24.5% share latrines and 8.1% have no toilet facilities. Solid waste

disposal is mainly done through the use of refuse pits by 63.6% of the households; burning by

26.7% while 9.7% dispose their wastes indiscriminately.

The study acknowledges the fact that a real measure sustainable rural sanitation service delivery

would mean positive impact on community health through reduced risk and vulnerability to

infections and diseases. Poor sanitation coupled with poor hygiene practices leads to outbreak of

various diseases among the communities. The district environmental health office categorises the

diseases as waterborne, water/sanitation related and water based. Cholera and diarrhoeal diseases

fall under water borne diseases while malaria falls under water and sanitation related and finally

diarrhoeal diseases include diarrhoea and blood diarrhoea. Poor sanitation through poor drainage

and bushy household surrounding create favourable environment for mosquito breeding which

results into increased malaria cases. As a short term measure the district environmental health



office promotes use of treated mosquito nets whose household coverage is 68% but the per capita

coverage is about 62%.

During the study, information was collected on recorded cases of the diseases related to water

and sanitation for the period between 2002 and 2006. According to the study, while sanitation

coverage is increasing, the district has been registering increased cases of diarrhoeal diseases

annually. The worst trend however, is noted under water and sanitation related diseases which

records the increasing rate of 30% per annum (Refer to Appendix 8.0a). According to the

district environmental health office, increase in cases is primarily due to slow adoption of good

sanitation practices by the communities. On the other hand, the district is performing well in

terms of reducing the outbreak of cholera from 1813 cases in 2002 to 45 cases in 2006 as shown

in Appendix 8.0b. This could be attributed to intensify precautionary measured that the district

health office undertakes through awareness campaigns and that the communities respond

positively.

Recorded Cases of Diarrhoea and Blood Diarrhoea

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Year

Num

ber

of C

ases

Diarrhoea Blood Diarrhoea

Figure 5:5 Cases of Diarrhoeal Diseases between 2002 and 2006 (Source: Thyolo District Health Office, 2007)

The study however, established that the awareness campaigns which are conducted in the district

are more of reactive other than proactive with minimal community participation. They form part

of the district annual plan. Campaigns are more of externally driven through the government and

NGO community extension machinery. There is very minimal or no community initiative

through their local structures. Community structures and user groups are aware of increased

cases of waterborne diseases and they acknowledged their lack of initiative to curb the situation.

They also acknowledged that they look up to support from the district since for improved water

supply and sanitation.

According to the district health office, the real issue is change of attitude, practice and adoption

of new technologies which is generally slow in the district. VDCs indicated having no plans of

sanitation awareness campaigns. The case with VHWCs however was different; they indicated

they are involved only that they rely on the presence of HSAs. This indicates that the structures

are well positioned for improved sanitation practices only that they lack confidence. It can be

concluded that decentralisation has been effective in facilitating the establishment of community

institutional structures whose functionality and effectiveness still depends on external support.



5.5.5 Capacity Building

The main form of capacity building in the Malawi’s rural water supply is CBM training which is

facilitated by a team of extension workers namely WMAs, CDAs and HSAs. For each training

session, a cluster of one to three committees are trained for a period of 5 days. During the

trainings, communities are equipped with technical skills by the WMA. The CDA covers

leadership skills, group dynamics and fund raising procedures. The communities are trained in

good hygiene and sanitation practices by the HSA.

An assessment was made on how the communities value external help to manage their water

facilities after being trained in CBM. A question was poised whether they felt they needed

external help or not. Findings indicated that 17% of the communities felt they do not need

external help. They qualified their response by citing their technical and financial capacity skills.

They noted that their communities had well trained artisans and their WPC had sufficient funds.

They observed that some of the communities had sufficient water supply and sanitation facilities

which needed just to be well maintained, of which they felt that was achievable.

The communities however, did not count out the need for training support from the district

assembly to facilitate their fund raising activities which would have an impact on sustaining their

water supply and sanitation facilities. The remaining 83% of the communities felt that still need

external help. The communities gave reasons such as: expensive spares, lack of trainings, lack of

sufficient funds to buy spares, unavailability of spares and lack of coordination among

communities to address their problems. These responses however do not imply lack of

confidence of the communities. The fact is that their problems were long outstanding. Several

attempts were made to seek logistical and technical assistance from the district assembly and

they got little or nothing at all. It can be concluded that the fact that decentralisation has brought

technical backstopping close to the communities does not necessarily entail the sustainable

service delivery. It is clear that sustainability of water facilities is dependent on the intervention

of the government to support the communities in all aspects of CBM especially on the

availability and pricing of borehole spares.

5.5.6 Coverage of Government Extension Services

Water and sanitation sector in the district has a total of 262 extension workers: 9 CDAs, 250

HSAs and 3 WMA. Basing on these figures and sector norms, the district is well covered with

the health surveillance extension services compared to community development and water

development. Findings from the study show that extension services are of significant importance

among the communities. The communities acknowledged that their extension workers provide

the required support in hygiene education and sanitation promotion.

All the communities indicated that they know their HSAs; 83% indicated they know their CDA

while only 45% mentioned knowledge of the WMA. In communities that are served by GFS,

Water Assistants are well known that the rest of the extension workers. These statistics validate

different probabilities that are there for the communities to find the appropriate extension

services in the district. In times of the communities’ need for extension services, communities

find it easy to find the HSA compared to the CDA and WMA or Water Assistant.



5.5.7 Challenges Faced by Extension Workers

The survey registered a number of challenges that affect extension service such as inadequate

resources; lack of appropriate training; large catchment areas and lack of proper housing. The

resources mentioned were bicycles, motorcycles and protective clothing. The problem with

bicycles and motorcycles is either due to their unavailability or they are there but they are broken

down. When the motorcycles are in good condition, running costs proves to be a problem due to

lack of finances for buying fuel. These challenges largely affect the input and sometime

commitment of the extension workers in their day to day operations. Thus their role technical of

technical backstopping to the communities is compromised to greater extent.

5.5.8 Challenges of Community Based Management (CBM)

(a) Theft and Vandalism of Water Point Structures

The study established various theft cases in the district which were manifested through

vandalism of sector-wide amenities. During its meeting held on 28 July 2003, Thyolo DEC

tabled a similar issue following a complaint by Concern Universal. The organisation reported

theft cases in its Chimaliro Project. The conclusion that DEC drew was that the matter would be

referred to police for investigations. The minutes however, do not show anyone who was

sanctioned to take up the matter with the police. Appendix 9.0 shows two water points; one is

vandalised and non-functioning while the other if newly constructed and functioning.

Information that was collected from the communities indicated that some of the theft cases were

reported to police. Others were either referred to the local leadership or nothing was done at all.

Cases that were taken up with the community leadership were followed up and about 62% of the

leaders said they ask the offenders to give back the stolen items and indeed they did; 31% said

they report the suspects to police and yet 7% admitted they did nothing. In most cases, people

suspected WPCs and local artisans as the likely people who could steal the hand pumps since

they knew their operation mechanisms.

It was speculated that the stolen hand pumps were sold to rich members of society in the trading

centres who opted to own private boreholes. In general, the study established that communities

have not been able to take stern measures to curb theft cases. Sometimes suspects are known but

they are never reported for lack of concrete evidence. Instead people suffer in silence; with their

facilities vandalised, they stay without safe water supply. In the end they are forced to use

unprotected water sources.

Records at Thyolo Police Station showed that six theft cases were reported between 2004 and

2006. Only two recoveries were made in two of the six cases. Verification was made at the

police station where 12 pump rods were being kept as exhibit. Four suspects were arrested in one

case. According to records at Thyolo Magistrate Court, four suspects were prosecuted and two

key suspects were convicted. They were sentenced to 48 months imprisonment with hard labour

while their two counterparts were acquitted.

The Station Officer hinted that the police are aware that theft of water point facilities is rampant

in the district but wondered why very few were reported. According to the officer, similar cases

were reported in the sectors of energy and communication where electricity transformers and

telephone cables were stolen. In view of this, the police in the district have intensified their



security measures by launching what they called ‘anti-vandalism’ campaign. This is being done

in close collaboration with Electricity Supply Commission of Malawi (ESCOM), Malawi

Telecoms Limited (MTL) and the District Assembly.

Theft of water supply facilities has been a national matter and has attracted attention of various

stakeholders. The March 20, 2007 issue of the ‘The Nation’ newspaper carried an article by

Anthony Kasunda titled “Centre develops lock to stop borehole theft”. The article reports on a

recent invention by the Malawi Industrial Research Technology Development Centre

(MIRTDC). According to the report, MIRTDC designed a lock called ‘pumpguard’ that makes it

impossible for thieves to unscrew the borehole. The discovery was made after the MIWD

complained that theft of water facilities was frustrating government efforts to provide clean

water in rural areas.

According to the news article, MIWD through RIEP project constructed 350 boreholes across the

country and more than 50% of them were vandalised. The article alleges that the pumps are

stolen by villagers who were trained to locally maintain the hand pumps. The pump was

launched in Thyolo district, one of the districts which are adversely hit by hand pump theft cases.

The newspaper article quotes one of the villagers as saying villagers are forced to guard their

boreholes in turns, hence limiting them from attending to their livelihood activities. Finally the

article quotes the minister of Irrigation and Water Development as saying he is still waiting for a

report on the effectiveness of the pumpguard.

The police in the district have also ventured into intensive participatory security service as one

way of fostering their decentralised constabulary services. This is being done through the

formation of community policing structures i.e.: formation and training of Community Policing

Forum at Traditional Authority level; Crime Prevention Committee at group village level and

Crime Prevention Panel at Village level. These structures are popularly known as ‘Inkatha’.

They are responsible for patrols and neighbourhood watch. Patrols are done in two ways. First,

they are ‘joint patrols’ where committees work jointly with the police officers. Second, patrols

are done through the ‘committee to committee’ collaboration or neighbourhood watch is locally

arranged between two or more households.

The study observed that not all communities have these structures and not all of them were

trained. The structures do keep inventory of the community assets within their areas of

jurisdiction. Their operations are better linked with the ADCs and very little could be seen at

VDC level. Members of the community suspect that men and women in these structures could be

involved in the stealing of water supply facilities; an allegation the police could not dispute.

However, the study sees the importance of these structures in the safeguarding of community

assets and people’s lives. Obviously their operations could be more effective if they linked well

with the rest of community structures in addition to being incorporated in community level

monitoring of water supply and sanitation activities.

(b) Scarcity and High Costs of Borehole Spare Parts

The study established that over 97% of the boreholes in the Thyolo district are equipped with

Afridev pump which is regarded as the Malawi’s VLOM pump. The study noted that

government arrangement of procuring, importing and distributing Afridev spares collapsed way



back in the late 1990’s. Chipiku Stores a chain store with some of their stores in the rural areas

had agreed to take on the distribution on a cost recovery basis. The MIWD with assistance from

UNICEF availed the first consignment of spares to Chipiku Stores. The system was to operate as

a revolving fund. After the first consignment, no further supplies were made to Chipiku Stores

until they had run out. The study noted that some NGOs in the district went even further to

facilitate the stocking of spares by local grocery owners in their respective project areas as one

way of ensuring steady availability of spares in the district.

There are many driving factors to scarcity of spare parts in the district according to study

findings. First, there is unsteady replenishment of stock at national level which should ideally be

coordinated by government. Second, most of the spares remained in the shops for too long

because the communities could not afford to buy them. Examples could be established where a

three-metre pumping rod was costing about US$30 (MK4000). Taking an average borehole of 45

metres deep which would normally have 12 rods, this would translate to US$360 (MK48000) per

borehole.

Water point committees in Thyolo have an average of US$40 (MK6000) which is enough for

only one rod. This draws major reasons for prolonged downtimes of boreholes in the district. The

spares are not readily available, but even if they are available communities cannot afford to buy

them. With increasing number of non-functioning boreholes, communities are willing to buy

whatever cheap spare parts come on their way. According to the police, it is suspected that

because of this, spares are stolen from one part of the district are sold on the other buy some

unscrupulous dealers. Theft of spares also affects gravity fed schemes which when stolen

according to the police, are sold in the surrounding trading centres.

(c) Decision Making at Community Level

Decision making at community level can be characterised by the community’s ability to develop

own action points to solve their problems. It can as well be measured by their ability to set up

and adhere to locally made governing rules of managing their water and sanitation facilities. The

study established that the communities in the district are able to identify their strengths,

weaknesses and opportunities. They prioritised projects in accordance to their needs and

developed all the necessary action points.

The communities developed governing rules for their water points including the following:

(a) Users should take part in cleaning the surroundings of their water points.

(b) No financial contributions drawing water from the water point, except for the old and sick.

(c) Every user of the water point to observe opening and closing times of water points.

(d) No washing of clothes and kitchen utensils at the water point.

(e) Children are not allowed to draw water or else should be accompanied by older people.

(f) Those found stealing hand pumps should be taken to the police.

(g) One person one bucket at a time.

In some communities these rules are well documented and are kept by community leaders and

the committees. Findings however showed that most of these rules are not fully adhered to since

they are mostly set by the committees and community leaders without consulting the rest of the

community members (user group).



In order to qualify community decision making, communities (user group) were asked whether

they were satisfied with their decision making level or not. Results showed that 23% of them are

satisfied. They cited their ability to meet and make own rules. The remaining 69% said they are

not satisfied and further cited a number of reasons. Firstly, they are not given a chance to

contribute during village meetings. Secondly, more power still remains with political and

community leaders. Thirdly, user groups do not receive reports from committees. Fourthly,

committees and projects impose financial contributions on the households. The last 8% were

neutral.

5.5.7 Community Meetings

Community meetings are conducted at different frequencies with 42% of the communities

indicating they meet every fortnight, 33% (every month), 8% (quarterly) and 17% (annually).

Evidence of community meetings was established in 28% of the communities through their

minutes of meetings. Issues discussed included financial contributions, theft of water facilities,

electing new committee members and solving squabbles among committee members. Meetings

are especially chaired by the VHWC chairpersons, Village Heads and sometimes facilitated by

health workers.

The study established that such meetings are very effective for addressing community needs.

Minutes of meetings demonstrates some evidence of decision local level making in addition to

challenges and conflicts that emerge in the villages. The minutes however did not show any

evidence of follow ups on issues. Most of the meetings just ended without drawing proper follow

up plans for agreed action points. This is one of the factors that lead to the ineffectiveness of

community based monitoring, hence betraying the purpose of decentralisation. The study

therefore sees the need for follow up support to communities in form of systems audit on

community based management by the DCT and extension workers. This would build the

confidence of the communities and would also ensure action monitoring for effectiveness.



CHAPTER SIX

6.0 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

6.1 Conclusions

Basing on the study findings the following conclusions can be drawn:

The overall conclusion of the study is that the decentralisation process is very effective in

sustaining RWSS services except that in Malawi it is challenged in many ways. The same

challenges that were there during centralised system of government still resurface after

decentralisation has been effected. Still there is no evidence of sustainable RWSS service

provision.

There is an efficient institutional setup which outlines functioning of structures from district

down to the water point level. If well supported it could be instrumental for sustainable

service delivery through effective planning, implementing and monitoring RWSS activities.

Room is provided for district level multisectoral collaboration and networking through their

involvement in the DCT activities.

The district level planning is ineffective due lack of sector collaboration and low technical

and functional capacity of the district assemblies. The situation is exacerbated by the three-

year non-existence of Ward Councillors. However, the district development planning system

which is in place is efficient except that it is not well followed.

Implementation of district development plan is generally ineffective due to inadequate

technical and functional capacity. There is no evidence of coordination among sector players.

Operation of DCT is project oriented and the team lacks evidence of autonomy, hence does

not effectively guide service provision.

The district development funding towards water supply and sanitation sector is very poor and

consequently ineffective for meeting the sector financial requirements. With the already very

low budget ceiling, the water and sanitation sector receives its funding from the National

Local Government Financing Committee (NLGFC) very late which makes its operations

almost impossible. Moreover, continuous dependency on external funding shows that

districts are generally failing to effectively manage the provision of RWSS services.

The district level support to community based management (CBM) of RWSS activities is

ineffective. The district through DCT demonstrates inadequate commitment and capacity.

Communities still look up to external support for sustaining their facilities.

6.2 Recommendations

The study makes the following recommendations:

The government should support the decentralisation process by creating conducive

environment for the district assemblies to enhance their financing mechanism and to retain

sufficient and competent human capacity. District assemblies should enforce a coordinated



establishment of community structures to avoid disintegrating the existing structures and

duplicating development efforts among the communities.

The sector institutional framework should be strengthened by the district assemblies by

recognising and strengthening relevant structures. These include district coordination teams,

village health and water committees and water point committees.

District Assemblies should adopt integrative water and sanitation sector planning by

facilitating joint planning by government institutions that are form the DCT membership.

District level implementation should be backed by a strong national level monitoring and

evaluation system to oversee the district functionality. Apart from DCT, the district level

monitoring should include the multisectoral technical teams comprising extension workers to

enhance the monitoring of water and sanitation activities at ADC and VDC levels. Such

teams should be reporting to AEC while working hand in hand with the ADCs, VDCs and

community leaders. Monitoring by the technical teams should involve regular update of

inventory for both village and institutional water and sanitation facilities.

In order to achieve sustainable CBM government should identify and advocate for water

supply technologies which are cheap and easy to operate. As a short term measure, the

MIWD should call for immediate multisectoral consultations to facilitate easy and affordable

accessibility of borehole spares by the communities. The water sector should strongly

collaborate with the police service to curb theft and vandalism of water supply facilities.



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APPENDIX 1.0: Research Design

Effectiveness of Decentralised Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Services Provision in Malawi

Monday, February 27, 2017

KEY ISSUE METHOD INDICATORS TOOLS

1.0 To determine the effectiveness of the institutional set up for RWSS service provision

Sector institutional setup Literature study

Interviews

# interviews

# literature

Checklist,

email

Water policy Literature, key informant

Literature, records, minutes Policy document

Checklist,

Literature

Sanitation policy Literature, key informant

Literature study

Policy document

Records, minutes

Checklist

literature

Sector devolution process Literature study Devolution document Literature

2.0 To measure the effectiveness of the district planning of RWSS services

Linkage with national

development objectives

Literature study, key

informants DDP document

Questionnaire

Question guide

Phone

Sector plans Literature study, Interviews DDP document, requests Question guide

Appraisal process Literature study

Interviews

VAPs, requests, notes,

reports, minutes Questionnaire

Approval Interviews

Literature study

notes, minutes

Sector plans, DDP

Questionnaire

Question guide

Service demand Literature study, interviews # proposals received

# proposal approved Question guide

Sector collaboration Literature study, Interview # meetings

Minutes

Questionnaire

Question guide

3.0 To assess the effectiveness of implementation of RWSS activities

Human Resources in the

water sector

Key Informant

Check records

# personnel in positions

# Qualified personnel in

place

# Positions filled

Evidence of officers

available for assignments

Questionnaire

Phone

Inventory

Transport and office

equipment Key informant, observation

# of vehicles

# of motorcycles

# of office rooms

# of computers

Questionnaire

Inventory

School Sanitation

Key informant

Observation

Reports

# schools with safe water

supply

average latrine/ pupil ratio

# latrines in schools

# condition of latrines

Reports

Checklist

Questionnaire

Catchment protection Observation

Interview

# schemes with catchment

protection initiatives

Evidence of initiated

catchment protection

Questionnaire

Transect walk




District Support Literature study

Interviews

Extent of support to

district

Reports

Type of support

Checklist

Questionnaire

Inventory

Private Sector Involvement

Key Informant, Interviews

Reports

# contract documents

Terms of reference

Questionnaire

Interview

Inventory

District level collaboration Interviews

Literature study

Minutes of meetings

Evidence of coordination

meetings

Evidence of sector wide

plans

Questionnaire

Checklist

Stakeholder participation Literature study

Interviews

Level of participation

Evidence of s/holder

meetings

Minutes

Questionnaire

Checklist

Monitoring & Evaluation Literature study

Interviews

# completed projects

Field notes

# progress reports

Questionnaire

Checklist

4.0 To assess the effectiveness of the district level financing towards RWSS development.

Budgeting Literature study

Key informants Sector budgets

Questionnaire

Financial

records

Financial management Review financial records

Interviews , key informants

Vouchers, activity plans

Audit reports, Financial

reports, receipts

Questionnaire

Sources of funding

Literature review

Review financial records

Key informants

financial records

Proposal documents

Bank statements, records

Questionnaire

Checklist

5.0 To analyse the effectiveness of the implementation of CBM for RWSS. (A): Extension Worker’s Level

Technical backstopping Interviews Field notes

# of villages

Questionnaire

Checklist

Field supervision Check records

Interviews

Reports

Memos, letters, minutes

Log books, financial

records

Questionnaire

Checklist

Community mobilisation Interviews, check records

Minutes, notes

Letters

# of self help projects

Questionnaire

Checklist

Facilitation Interviews

Check records, interviews

Field notes

Letters

Records, reports

Questionnaire

Checklist

(B) Community Level

Management Structures

Literature study

Interviews

Focus group discussions

Structures in place

Communities aware of the

structures’ existence

Checklist

Questionnaire

Ownership Interview,

Key Informant

Safeguarding measures

Willingness to pay

Observations

Checklist

APPENDIX 1.0: Research Design (cont’d/..)




Observations,

Focus Group Discussions

List of rules & regulations

# functioning water points

Amount of maint. funds

# spares in stock

Interviews

Operation and Maintenance

Interviews

Key informants

Focus Group discussions

Literature study

Downtime of facilities

# area mechanics

Amount of funds

# of spares available

Average prices of spares

# of distributors

Contributions per HH

Willingness to pay

Causes of facilities

breakdown

Questionnaire

Checklist

Community participation

Interviews

Focus group discussions

Check records

Minutes of meetings

Evidence of labour

contribution

Evidence of financial

contributions

Evidence of implemented

decisions

Evidence of monitoring

system

Evidence of local decision

making

Evidence of demand for

accountability

Questionnaire

Checklist

Financial management Check records, Interviews

# of IGAs

Evidence of raised funds

Up-to-date financial

records

Evidence of financial

reporting

- Upwards reporting

- Downward reporting

Questionnaire

Reporting Interviews, check records

Evidence of reports

Evidence of reports

Evidence of reports

Questionnaire

Decision making Interviews, Check records

Record of problems

identified

Record of action points

developed

Evidence of

accountability from

community structures

Evidence of service

requests

Questionnaire

Village level planning Interviews, Check records

Record of problems

identified

Record of action points

developed

Questionnaire





Evidence of developed

plans

Evidence of priority

action list

General information on sector monitoring and evaluation

Monitoring

Check records, interviews

Literature study

Key informant

Evidence of up-to-date

reports

Evidence of action taken

on issues

Evidence of adjustments

and corrective measures

taken

Evidence of collective

decisions undertaken

Evidence of monitoring

system in place

Questionnaire

Checklist

Management Information

System (MIS)

Literature study

Key Informant

Evidence of up-to-date

records

Evidence of data bank

Evidence of updated

database

Evidence of accessible

data

Evidence of sector wide

data management

Presence of data bank

manager

Questionnaire

Checklist

Note:

AIP Annual Investment Plan

CBM Community Based Management

FGD Focus Group Discussions

IGA Income Generating Activities

VAP Village Action Planning




APPENDIX 2.0: Questionnaire for Government Extension Workers

Name of respondent: Position: Years on Position:

Ministry of Health: Date:

Number of Villages: ------------------------- Number of GVHs----------------------------------- No of TAs:--------------------

Number of Water Points: ----------------Number of Households: ---------------Number of Latrines: ----------------

1. Please briefly list your roles and responsibilities?

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2. Which committees deal with water and sanitation issues in your catchment area?

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3. How often do you visit the villages?

[a] weekly [b] Every two weeks [c] Monthly [d] Quarterly [e] other

4. How often do communities consult you for support on their water and sanitation issues


5. How often do you conduct village meetings?


6. Water supply coverage within the catchment

Facility Total Details of water points

Functioning Non functioning With Committees Number Trained

Stand pipe

Borehole

Shallow well

Other

7. How long does it normally take for a broken down tap/borehole to be repaired?

[a] < day [b] one week [c] two weeks [d] one month [e] > one month

8. Who repairs broken down boreholes?

[a] WPC [b] Area mechanics [c] Extension worker [d] Users [e] other

9. Where do communities get spare parts for their water facilities?

[a] Groceries [b] Hardware shops [c] Area Mechanics [d] Extension Workers [e] Other

10. What are the common challenges with the water facilities in your catchment are?

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11. What are the common challenges with the sanitation in your catchment are?

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12. To whom do the user groups report in times of water and sanitation problems?

[a] WPC [b] VHWC [c] Village Head [d] Extension Worker [e] other

10. Do you think communities are now self reliant? Yes □ No □



APPENDIX 2.0: Questionnaire for Government Extension Workers (cont’d/…)

If YES, what do you think are the major attributes to that?

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If NO in 15, what are the major problems that hinder self reliance among the communities?

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13. According to your knowledge, how many water and sanitation projects have been initiated by the communities?

----------------------------------- Who supported them? ----------------------------------------------------------

14. How do you rate the following in your area?

Very Low Low Average High Very High

Theft of facilities

Vandalism

Breakdowns

15. Have you heard about the District Coordination? Yes □ No □

If [Yes], how do you rate the DCT’s impact on water and sanitation development in the district?

[a] Very poor [b] Poor [c] Average [d] Good [e] Very Good

16. In what ways do you think the VDCs have influenced water and sanitation development?


17. What ways do you think the ADC has influenced water and sanitation development?


18. How do you rate the effectiveness of VHWCs in water and sanitation development?


19. How do you rate the effectiveness of WPCs in water and sanitation development?


20. How do you rate community participation in water and sanitation activities?


21. How do you rate the sense of ownership of water and sanitation facilities among the communities?


22. How often do your prepare your reports?


20. How much support do you receive from the district?


21. What challenges do you face when carrying out your duties?

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APPENDIX 3.0: Focus Group Discussions with Water Users

TA: VDC: Village: Date:

WATER POINT DETAILS

1. Type of water source: Borehole □ Tap □ Shallow well □ Spring □ 2. When was your water point constructed?

3. Who funded the construction of the water point?

4. How many water points do you have in the village?

5. Who funded the other water points?

6. How often do repair your water points?

7. Do you have water point maintenance funds?

8. Who decide on household contributions? In what form do you contribute?

COMMITTEE DETAILS

9. How many committees do you have in this village? What are role do they play?

10. Do you have Village Health and Water Committee? When was your committee elected?

11. Who facilitated the elections of your committee?

12. How many are you in the committee?---------------------- Men ------------------------ Women ----------------------------

13. For how long will your committee be in office?

14. How often do you receive reports from your committee?

15. How often does your committee conduct meetings?

16. Which other committees do you have in this village?

17. Do your water points have committees?

PARTICIPATION

18. Did you take part in the planning for the project? Yes □ No □

19. Did you request for the water point? Yes □ No □

If Yes, When? Who supported you?

What contribution did you make towards the construction of you water point?

If No, Who supported you? What role did you play during implementation?

20. Who decided on the technology?

21. Are you satisfied with the technology being used? Yes □ No □

22. Who decided on the site of your water point?

23. How often do conduct village meetings concerning water and sanitation?

24. Who calls for the meetings

25. When did you last meet?

26. What water and sanitation issues did you discuss?

MONITORING


24. Do you have any rules for running your water points? Who makes them? Which are they?

25. Do you need any support from the district? In what areas do you need to be supported?

26. In what areas have you recently been assisted from the district?



APPENDIX 4.0: Focus Group Discussions: with VHWC and WPC

TA: VDC: Village: Date:

OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE

1. How many water points are there in your village?

2. When were they constructed?

3. How often does your water point break down?

4. Who repairs it?

5. When was its last breakdown?

6. How long does it take for your water point to be repaired?

7. Do you have spare parts? Yes □ No □

8. Where did you buy them?

9. Do have water point maintenance fund? Yes □ No □

10. How much do you have? In cash □ At the bank □

11. Who collects the money?

12. How much does each household pay?

13. Who decides on the money?

SANITATION

14. Do clean the surrounding of your water point?

15. Who cleans the water point surrounding?

16. What sanitation activities do you do in this village?

17. Who is supporting you?

18. What contribution you make towards sanitation activities?

EXTENSION WORKERS

19. Which extension workers do you know?

20. How often do extension workers visit your village?

21. What support do you receive from the extension workers?

MONITORING

22. How many are you in your committee? Men? Women?

23. When were you committee formed? Was it trained? When?

24. How often do you meet as a committee?

25. Who calls for committee meetings


27. How often do you prepare reports?

28. Who do you report to?

29. Which other committees do you work with?

30. Who do you consult in times of problems concerning

Water supply? ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sanitation? ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Leadership? ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

31. How many cases of waterborne diseases did you have last year?



APPENDIX 5.0: Institutional Setup for Rural Water and Sanitation Management

Source: Malawi Government, 2003

Action line/function Relationship line (referral) Reporting link

Area Development Committee (ADC)

Village Development Committee

(VDC)

Village Action Committee (VAC)

Community members at village level

(User Group)

District Assembly (DA)

(Deliberate on proposals, approves plans)

Group Village

Head (GVH)

Traditional

Authority (TA)

Village Head

Ward

(Ward Councillor)

Consolidates all VAPs

within a ward

Identify problems and set

priority action points

Consolidation of VAPS

DEC

(Desk & field appraisal)

AEC

(Preliminary appraisal)

DCT

(Supervision)



APPENDIX 6.0: Management Structure for Piped Water Supply Schemes

Source: COMWASH Project, 2006

District

Coordination

Team

Repair Team(s)

and Intake

Caretaker

Section

Committee

Traditional

Authority

Scheme

Manager

Scheme or

Main

Committee

Branch

Committee

Group Village

Head (GVH)

Water Point

Committee

Extension

Worker /VDC

Village Head

(VH)

Extension

Worker /ADC

Board of

Trustees

District

Assembly

Community (User Group)

Reporting link Working link



APPENDIX 7.0a: District Development Cycle (Malawi Government, 2006)

Source: Malawi Government, 2006

Situation Analysis and

formulation of DDP Framework

Production of Social

Economic Profile

Formulation of Local

Development Plan (LDP)

Monitoring and

Evaluation

Preparation of Annual

Investment plans

Approval of DDPF

Negotiations and

approval of LDP

Project Proposal

Preparation and Appraisal

Plan and Projects

Implementation

Annual Review and

Reappraisals

Feedback and Project

Identification



APPENDEX 7.0 b: Stages of the Local Development Planning Cycle (LDPC)

Planning Stage Remark

Production of the socio-economic

profile (SEP)

This is the first step in the LDPC. The SEP provides the necessary

information for carrying out a situational analysis and subsequent

formulation of the DDPF. The SEP is prepared by the DEC using

information provided by the VAP and administrative data.

Formulation of the District

Development Plan Framework (DDPF)

This is a policy document that provides a comprehensive policy

direction and guidance for the development of the LGA. Formulation

of the DDPF is a result of the situation analysis process derived from

the SEP. Preparation of the DDPF is done by the DEC through a Task

Force guided by the DPD. Process of situation analysis involves

evaluation of opportunities and problems highlighted in the SEP. This

includes the aligning of the key issues to the National Policy

Frameworks and objectives so that district policy direction conforms to

national policies and priorities.

Approval of the DDPF

The DPD prepares an executive summary containing the highlights of

the SEP and the DDPF. The draft is presented to the Planning and

Development Service Committee of the Assembly for review. Each

item in the DDPF is exhaustively discussed to ensure that it is

reflective of district conditions and priorities. The DDPF is then tabled

at a Full Assembly meeting for approval. In case the Full Assembly

rejects the DDPF, the DEC reconvenes for further analysis and re-

submission.

Feedback and Project and Programme

Identification

When the Assembly approves the DDPF, the Assembly Secretariat

through the DPD, issues a circular to all sectors, AECs and NGOs in

the district. The Circular is aimed at informing them of the approval. It

advises such players to begin the identification and consolidation of the

programmes.

Project Proposal preparation and

appraisal

The process starts with the identification of local need through the

VDCs from the Village Action Planning Process. The VAP process

employs participatory planning approaches in enabling the

communities to plan and decide for themselves the manner in which

they intend to develop their area.

Sector ministries and NGOs participate in developing strategic plans

that accommodate proposals from the lower structures of local

authorities. District based programmes have to be developed by

sectors. Communities cannot develop strategic projects. The NGO and

sector heads are part of the DEC where they fully participate in the

development of plans at the local. They form the task forces that are

responsible for the production of the DDPs and provide technical

inputs to the Task force. Sector plans are prepared by the sector heads

with the guide of DDPF by using the VAP A project proposals and

liaise with line ministries on National Programmes (National Sector

Investment Plans) that have been formulated to be implemented in the

district.

Formulation of the District

Development Plan (DDP)

A DDP is a three year rolling roadmap of desired projects and

programmes aimed at improving the social, economic and political

development of people in the District Assembly. The projects and

programmes are based on the DDPF. As a rolling plan, therefore the

DDP is annualised into a set of Annual Investment Plans (AIP).

Negotiations and Approval of DDP

After preparing the draft DDP, the task force presents it to the DEC for

comments and further inputting and building consensus. The DPD

should subsequently present the draft DDP to the Development Service



Planning Stage Remark

Committee. The District Assembly approve the plan through a

resolution by the Assembly members.

Preparation of the Annual Investment

Plan

This is a yearly activity that coincides with the preparation of the

Annual Budget. The process includes reviewing the previous AIP and

takes into account reviews of the VAPs and new programmes that may

have been designed at the district as well as at the National Levels. The

AIP includes only those programmes that are ongoing and those that

are new and secure funding from government. The preparation of the

AIP is the responsibility of the DPD and is done through DEC Task

Force as is the case with the DDP. The AIP determines the

development budget and each Local Government AIP is included in

the Public Sector Investment Programme (PSIP).

Plan and Projects Implementation

This is the stage when the major investments are undertaken and

or/services being provided are increasingly taken up by the targeted

beneficiaries. It involves preparation of detailed annual, quarterly,

monthly or even weekly plans that feed into budgets.

Annual Review and Reappraisal

This is an activity that takes place in the months of January and

February of every fiscal year. The activity succeeds routine monitoring

of the implementation of AIPs. The DPD calls for DEC meetings and

outlines the objectives of the review and reappraisals. Terms of

Reference (TOR) are developed including the time framework. A Task

Force is subsequently established. The review undertaken by the Task

Force, using the TORs, seeks to assess the AIP on how many projects

have been implemented in a particular fiscal year based on the AIP,

and how many have not been implemented or completed by the end of

the fiscal year.

In the event that all the projects that were included in the in the AIPs

have been implemented, two actions are undertaken at the time of

review. First, is to implement projects defined from DDP for 2nd year if

the Assembly still has resources available. Second, is to prepare the

AIP for the subsequent fiscal year in case where the Assembly does not

have extra resources. Where the Assembly has not implemented all the

planned projects and activities of the phased projects in the AIP under

review, the remaining projects and phases are rescheduled for the next

AIP and budgeting process.

Sources: Malawi Government, 2006

APPENDEX 7.0 b: Stages of the Local Development Planning Cycle (LDPC) (cont’d/…)



APPENDIX 8.0: Recorded cases of cholera and water & sanitation related diseases

a. Recorded cases of Cholera between 2002 and 2006

Recorded Cholera Cases Number of Cases

1813

1540 7 45

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Year

Num

ber

of C

ases

Source: Thyolo District Environmental Health Office, 2007

b. Cases of Water and Sanitation Related Cases

Recorded Cases of Water and Sanitation Related Diseases Number of Cases

0

20000

40000

60000

80000

100000

120000

140000

160000

180000

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Year

Nu

mb

er o

f C

ase

s

Source: Thyolo District Environmental Health Office, 2007



APPENDEX 9.0: Photo Gallery

Stolen tap and deserted water point (Field survey, 2007) Functioning standpipe (COMWASH, 2007)

Sky Loo latrine for Ecological Sanitation (COMWASH, 2007) Catchment Protection (Field Survey, 2007)

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