Public Services –Sanitation (SEK0010)

NO. 5: PUBLIC SERVICES –Sanitation
Implement the new model of collaboration between STMA and landlords to increase the coverage of household toilets
Name and contact information of responsible department/team
Institution: Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly
Designation: Metropolitan Environmental Health Officer
Name: Abdul Karim Hudu
Telephone +233-24-3187938
Other involved actors
Government
Metropolitan Waste Management Officer, Sub Metropolitan District Councils Administrators, National Civic Communication Education Officer, Information Service Department
Civil Society, Private Sector
Institution: STMA - Citywide Settlement Upgrading Fund Designation: Project and Administrative Manager Name: Aziz Mahmoud Telephone: +233209056647 E-mail: admin@stma-csuf.com.gh or maktub22115@gmail.com Berea Social Foundation, Friends of the Nation, African Women International, Community Land and Development Foundation, Global Communities, Media and other relevant Local and International Organizations (eg World Bank, UNICEF)
Status quo or problem/issue to be addressed
Access to basic household toilet is a persistent sanitation challenge in most slum communities in the Metropolis. Currently, close to 70% of slum dwellers lack access to basic toilet facilities. Also, the nonexistence of a strong platform for Landlords and STMA to collaborate in the provision of these basic facilities further worsens the situation where open defecation persists. As a result, STMA is ranked low (201st out of 216) in the 2017 District League Table3 (DLT) which is published by UNICEF Ghana and CDD-Ghana annually. The DLT looks at indicators in education, health, sanitation, water, security and governance. To address this situation, the Assembly in 2016, developed an OGP commitment on Sanitation to develop a new model of collaboration with landlords to increase the coverage of household toilets (and move away from public toilet usage as stated in updated STMA bylaws). Already, the Assembly and its CS partners have engaged with landlords and other key stakeholders on how to increase the household toilets coverage in various communities. The new model of collaboration and financing in delivering of household toilets in partnership with key stakeholders has been developed and registration of households for the pilot phase is ongoing.
Brief Description of Commitment
Implement the new model of collaboration4 between STMA and landlords to increase the coverage of household toilets developed under Subnational Action Plan I. The partnership with Landlords in the provision of household toilet facilities is part of a broader strategy to solicit citizens‟ involvement and contribution in the provision of basic services.
Main Objective
To increase the coverage of household toilets by 30% among slum communities within the Metropolis through partnership with Landlord/ Resident Associations by July 2020.
Way in which this commitment is relevant to further advancing OGP values of access to information, public accountability, civic participation, and technology and innovation for openness and accountability
Of paramount importance to STMA is ensuring access to basic sanitary facilities. In this regard, as part of its Sanitation Bylaws, it is mandatory that every household must have a toilet facility to curb perennial outbreaks of cholera and other communicable “toilet” related illnesses. In furtherance of this, the new model of collaboration with Landlords in two pilot-communities (to be selected based on an analysis of “need and interest”) in the provision of household toilets would promote an enduring partnership that would promote OGP values such as public accountability, civic participation and advancement of OGP‟s Thematic Priorities on Water and Sanitation. This will ultimately facilitate the enforcement of Sanitation by-laws and improve the living conditions of the citizenry. Also partnership is being built between the Assembly, Landlords/Resident Associations and CSOs to explore innovative and appropriate toilets technologies as well as funding opportunities in the implementation of this commitment. Ultimately, open defecation will be reduced if not eradicated in the Metropolis and STMA‟s rankings in the DLT will greatly improve.
Linkage to SDGs
Ensuring healthy lives, sustained management of water and sanitation and making human settlements more safe; making basic sanitary facilities available for citizens through the provision of household toilet facilities will advance the achievement of the under listed SDGs; Goal 3 (ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages), Goal 6 (ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all), Goal 10 (reduce inequality) and Goal 11 (make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable)
Verifiable and measurable milestones to fulfil the commitment
1. Review the developed strategy/model of collaboration under the first Local Action Plan
Staff time
Oct. 2018 – Dec. 2018
2. The Metropolitan Assembly will intensify awareness creation on the need for household toilet
Staff time, airtime,
Jan. 2019 – Aug. 2020
3. Complete the compilation of data on the registration of households/landlords who do not have access to household toilets.
Staff time
Oct. 2018 – Nov. 2018
4. Hold a stakeholder consultative meeting with the Land Lord Association, Metropolitan Assembly, civil society organizations, including STMACSUF and Global Communities to integrate the data collection results into the new model and develop an implementation plan. The Assembly should involve tenants during such meetings to ensure better understanding of issues that may arise
Staff time, Resource person, Audio visual equipment,
Jan. 2019 – Feb. 2019
5. Conduct a 3 month test of implementing the new model. The Metropolitan Assembly – together with landlord associations, CSOs, and Media – will test the strategy in four pilot communities (to be selected based on an analysis of “need and interest”) over a three month period.
Staff time, Support for piloted household toilet cost,
March 2019 – June 2019
6. Review and assessment. The Metropolitan Assembly will meet with landlord associations and other involved actors to assess the advantages and disadvantages of the new model (and how it has or has not helped to achieve the goal within our bylaws). Based on our assessment, we will develop a plan for replicating the model in other communities, or testing a new one.
Staff time
July 2019 – Aug. 2020
Future Vision: To form an enduring partnership between key stakeholders for dialogue on the provision of social infrastructure.

5. Public Services – Sanitation

Language of the commitment as it appears in the action plan:

“Implement the new model of collaboration between STMA and landlords to increase the coverage of household toilets.”

Milestones:

1. Review the developed strategy/model of collaboration under the first Local Action Plan.
2. The Metropolitan Assembly will intensify awareness creation on the need for household toilet.
3. Complete the compilation of data on the registration of households/landlords who do not have access to household toilets.
4. Hold a stakeholder consultative meeting with the Land Lord Association, Metropolitan Assembly, civil society organizations, including STMACSUF and Global Communities to integrate the data collection results into the new model and develop an implementation plan. The Assembly should involve tenants during such meetings to ensure better understanding of issues that may arise.
5. Conduct a 3 month test of implementing the new model. The Metropolitan Assembly – together with landlord associations, CSOs, and Media – will test the strategy in four pilot communities (to be selected based on an analysis of “need and interest”) over a three month period.
6. Review and assessment. The Metropolitan Assembly will meet with landlord associations and other involved actors to assess the advantages and disadvantages of the new model (and how it has or has not helped to achieve the goal within our bylaws). Based on our assessment, we will develop a plan for replicating the model in other communities, or testing a new one. [39]

Context and Objectives

This commitment rolls over the sanitation commitment from the first action plan. The lack of household toilet facilities is a serious problem in Sekondi-Takoradi, where many people have been arrested in recent years for violating the assembly’s by-laws on open defecation. [40] A lack of household toilets and open defecation is one of the main reasons for the assembly’s poor performance on the UNICEF- and CDD-Ghana-published District League Table, coming up at 201 out of 216 districts in 2017. [41] This commitment aims to address an issue that has wider reaching medical implications. However, this commitment only addresses one dimension of the larger sanitation problem. The full scale of the sanitation issue includes problems like choked gutters or drains, lack of litter bins, and irregular waste collection and disposal. [42]

A change in government and resource constraints delayed implementation of this commitment during the previous implementation period. By the end of the period, the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly (STMA) was in the process of registering households in informal settlements for the pilot project. However, STMA did develop “a new model of collaboration and financing in delivering of household toilets in partnership with key stakeholders.” In particular, some headway was also made in getting landlords to acquire toilets for tenants in Fijai and Engyiresia. [43]

The current action plan will continue work on this commitment by registering and creating a database of households or landlords who do not yet have access to household toilets. The key CSO partners involved in this commitment are STMA Citywide Settlement Upgrading Fund (CSUF) and Global Communities, who, together with the assembly, will hold consultations with landlords and tenants. The scheme will first be piloted in four communities before being eventually extended to the entire metropolis.

This commitment is relevant to OGP values of civic participation in the provision of public services in that it involves consultations with landlords, tenants, and CSOs, among others. The stakeholder consultations and sensitisation on household toilet data and health risks make this commitment relevant to the OGP value of access to information. This commitment is specific enough to be verified.

If implemented as written, this reform is expected to have a minor impact on public engagement in sanitation. Collecting data and establishing an implementation model are important first steps to expanding access to toilets. However, some of these activities began during the previous implementation period, and milestones stop short at widespread rollout of the model. According to Aziz Mahmoud (CSUF), [44] this commitment could ease the difficulties experienced by residents with no access to basic household toilet facilities, while also helping the assembly to address a serious sanitation issue. Metropolitan Environmental Health Officer Abdul Hudu also believed that this would help improve the sanitation situation in the metropolis. [45] However, as indicated above, the problem of sanitation is much broader, and includes other aspects not mentioned in the commitment, such as waste disposal. Therefore, while the commitment is likely to address the problem of open defecation, there are other sanitation-related problems that remain. Having said that, it should be noted that for many poor residents, having household toilets installed in their homes for the first time is going to have a very meaningful impact on their lives. Going forward, this commitment could be effectively linked to a more comprehensive programme of combating sanitation.

Next steps

The IRM makes the following recommendations:

• Once participatory waste management processes are established, the assembly should consider broadening efforts to a holistic sanitation strategy. Such a strategy would involve well-maintained gutters and drains, provision of litter bins in public places, and enforcement of by-laws regarding sanitation-related nuisances.
• Public and CSO partners could also be engaged to develop guidelines and monitor new development planning to ensure proper sanitation and water management.