The effectiveness of the local management systems of rural water facilities for sustainable service delivery: a case study of the Sekyere East District, Ghana

Abstract

Involving communities in the operation and maintenance (O&M) of water facilities is expected to be a cost-effective means of ensuring sustainable provision of water to rural communities in Ghana. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of the community-based management strategy for the O&M of water facilities in the Sekyere East District of Ghana and to identify the best practices for replication. The data for the study were gathered from the District Water and Sanitation Team (DWST), Water and Sanitation (WATSAN) Committees and Water Boards (WBs) through direct interviews and focus group discussions. Analyses of the data revealed that the spirit of voluntarism that was expected to drive the local managers to be effective was fading away. Furthermore, the local managers were unable to mobilise adequate revenue to defray the cost of O&M partly due to households’ reluctance to pay coupled with the general lack of accountability on the part of the managers. The authors concluded that for the local managers to be effective, they need to be effectively motivated so that they could in turn be accountable to the community members.