Abstract
Under Uganda’s decentralised system, rural water service delivery remains to some extent problematic. Several studies attribute the possible causes of deficiencies in the water sector to governance issues. This article applies social network analysis to map upward and downward water-related information flows between the actors of local government from village to district level. Comparing the actual information-sharing network with what’s on paper reveals a less reciprocal and more centralised network than that theoretically envisaged. Some actors, such as the district water officer, are more central than expected in terms of sending and receiving information, while others seem to underperform. Our findings show, however, that it is not the political–administrative information exchange which is the biggest obstacle, but rather information flows between higher (district and sub-county) and lower (parish and village) levels of the local governance structure. Adding water users to the analysis reveals the village chairperson as the most crucial broker of information upward to duty bearers at district level. The limited role of water user committees also becomes apparent. The authors conclude that information communication technology holds potential to overcome some of the bottlenecks (eg distance) hindering the flow of water-related information between actors at different levels.
Highlights
Extensive literature affirms that water provision among many rural communities in sub-Saharan Africa is typically problematic
Bamanyaki & Holvoet Information flows in Ugandan rural water service places where the water user committees (WUCs) is not functional, the Local Councils (LCs) I chairperson may be a key resource to collect this type of data, given the centrality of his or her position
The assumption was made that efficient water services management requires effective upward and downward communication streams between technical/administrative and political duty bearers, on the one hand, and WUCs and point water source users on the other
Summary
Extensive literature (eg Chowns 2015; Naiga et al 2015) affirms that water provision among many rural communities in sub-Saharan Africa is typically problematic. Allowing village-level actors (eg the village chairperson, the WUC or community monitors) to enter water-related information collected at local level into an online monitoring tool accessible by both sub-county and district technical staff would significantly reduce the time and financial resources needed to channel data upward These ICT-driven tools might overcome some of the ‘social distance’ hurdles, as little direct personal interaction would be needed. Bamanyaki & Holvoet Information flows in Ugandan rural water service places where the WUC is not (yet) functional, the LC I chairperson may be a key resource to collect this type of data, given the centrality of his or her position This database, containing all the uploaded disaggregated data, could be made readily available to district-level actors, including the DWO. Frequent upward and downward communication between sub-county technical/administrative (extension) staff, functional WUCs, the village chairperson and village residents should complement any ICT tools that are available and should reduce the distance that information has to travel to reach its intended audience
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