REPORT ON THE FIRST HUNI VALLEY LEARNING ALLIANCE (LA) MEETING AND LAUNCH OF THE LA
The first Learning Alliance meeting for Huni Valley TPP Pilot project came off on the 28th of May, 2010 as was agreed during the launch of the TPP project. Members from TREND who were present at the meeting included Mr. Benedict Tuffuor, the team leader, Mr. Eugene Ampadu, and Miss Jennifer Forson. Henrietta Osei Tutu of SWITCH also attended the launch. The task person for the TPP Pilot in Huni Valley, Mrs. Sylvia Amofa collaborated with Assembly member for Huni Valley to organize the meeting.
The meeting started with a prayer from Madam Agatha, a member of the LA. This was briefly followed by the introduction of participants in order to create an informal environment and make every member present comfortable.
The chairman for the occasion, Nana John Bernard Afful (an elder of the town), was introduced by the task person. In his opening remarks, the chairman requested for the full cooperation of members and re-echoed the need to improve on the water, sanitation and hygiene conditions of the community edging members to take the lessons and information that would be made known at the learning alliance platform seriously. He also again thanked TREND and all who made it possible for Huni Valley to be selected as one of the towns for the pilot project.
To prepare the participants for the launch of the platform, Mr. Tuffuor was called upon to briefly introduce the concept of District Level Learning Alliance to the participants. As introduction of his presentation he outlined the day’s activities as follows: a brief introduction of the concept of the LA in Huni Valley, Launching of the LA in Huni Valley, review of the brochure on the TPP pilot in Huni Valley and initial discussion on the implementation of the household latrines.
THE CONCEPT OF LA IN HUNI VALLEY
What is the LA - at the Local (District) Level
The LA platform is a forum that promotes active multi-stakeholder community participation in project implementation, ownership, facility operation, management, maintenance among others. All relevant project stakeholders in the LA platform work together to capture and share on a regular basis the lessons that are learnt from the project implementation, facilities operation as well as its management. It was agreed at the launch of the TPP Pilot that an LA comprising key leaders and sector actors in the Huni Valley Town be formed. A suitable day and duration for the meeting was decided to allow members of the alliance to participate in all meetings. The LA platform will also facilitate dissemination of project information and activities, sharing of local intellect, and resolution of conflicts if they are arise.
Objectives of LA in Huni Valley
Objectives of the LA in the Huni Valley pilot area included the following:
· Facilitate active multi-stakeholder community participation in the TPP WASH services delivery in Huni Valley
· Ensure that all relevant stakeholders of the project are committed and working together for success of the project
· Lesson from the development process are captured and shared on regular basis
· The WASH services intervention meets the real needs of the people of Huni Valley
Organization of the LA in Huni Valley
The LA platform is expected to take place once every six weeks on Fridays from 10:00am to 1pm to coincide with every other celebration of Adimu (a custom/traditional resting day) which is observed every three weeks on Fridays. Meetings are supposed to last for 3 hours. Meeting schedules can be altered by platform members if required. The TPP Task Officer in the District Assembly will be the main facilitator, the LA platform may select anyone to chair specific meetings as and when it is found necessary.
Who should be members of the LA
The list of groups and organizations proposed to represent on the platform was reviewed and updated as presented below. It was emphasized that the individuals nominated should be permanent representatives of their groups or organizations.
· PHDA representatives (administration/relevant department heads)
· Assembly Member
· Area council Representative
· Private Operators
· Traditional Authority representative
· The Media
· Contractors/ Consultants
· User groups representatives
· NGOs/ CBOs representatives
· Mining companies
· Representatives of each unit committee members
· Persons with disability – representative
· Women group representatives
· Representatives of the Landlords/Landladies
· Youth representative
· Water and Sanitation Development Board representative
LAUNCHING OF THE HUNI VALLEY LEARNING ALLIANCE
The DCE who could not make it to the LA meeting because of other equally important schedule, nominated Mr. George Frimpong (the District Environmental Health Officer) to deliver the launching speech on his behalf. In his speech, he mentioned that water and sanitation issues were critical and vital to the Huni Valley Township because it is very difficult to live in the community without adequate supply of WASH facilities and service. He therefore, reiterated the need for the people of Huni Valley to effectively and positively be involved in the LA platform and take part fully in the entire project in order to gain the maximum intended benefits. He hoped that in two or three years, the district will see a change especially with WASH situation in Huni Valley. On this note he declared the Huni Valley LA launched.
REVIEW OF BROCHURE
The project implementation brochure based on discussions at the project launch was presented to participants for their review. Due to challenges with availability of power, members were not given advance copies to be able to adequately review the document. The TREND Team presented a brief overview of the document, highlighting the objectives of the Huni Valley Pilot Project, components of the project, key stakeholders and their roles, and workplan and key milestones of the project. Members were given copies to review later when power was restored.
HOUSEHOLD LATRINE DELIVERY THROUGH REVOLVING FUND
The project seeks to construct 400 Household latrines within the project period which ends in February/March 2012 as a part of the improved WASH delivery in the Huni Valley Township.
A total number of about 5 – 10 masons and also carpenters will be selected from the Huni valley township to receive training in household latrine construction on the project.
It is envisaged that expertise obtained from the training would enable the artisans to take up construction of latrine facilities in the future even after the project.
It was made known at the LA that all the necessary feasibility studies would be made and all costs ascertained to enable the trust groups/cooperatives to know the cost of each type of facility and guide them to decide which type to select. Some questions were raised for discussions as below:
Key Discussion Questions
· What experiences exist in the town about credits and cooperatives? Two key examples were mentioned:
o ABRABO PA Buying Company gave an in kind credit (fertilizer) to groups of farmers. Even though some beneficiaries were difficult with repayment, everybody eventually paid up. This was possible because, according of report, the group leaders worked hard and were persistent.
o Under the Community-Based Rural development Project (CBRDP) some Fish Farmer-Based groups were given credit to invest in the fish farming. Some of the farmers invested the money but some did not and are facing problems with repayment.
The discussion did not delve into payment modalities of these initiatives and this has to be followed up in the next LA meeting. Comprehensive discussion and lessons of such initiatives will offer a good level of insight to the implement of household revolving/credit scheme.
· Appropriate management structure for the credit/revolving fund:
o The Water and Sanitation Development Board (WSDB) was mentioned as one option for the management of the fund. However, it was suggested that the current WSDB needs to be re-organised and strengthened through capacity building to be able to play such a role. In addition to that, the DA should provide a strong oversight of their activities to ensure transparency and accountability.
o The second proposal was the establishment of Sanitation Committee to overlook all the issues of environmental sanitation. The question of how to finance such a committee, as opposed to the WSDB where part of revenue from water sales is used for its upkeep, was raised
The LA members were tasked to continue to ponder over the possible options for further discussions at the next meeting.
As a matter of expediency, it was raised that the creation of a separate account by the DA for the operation of the revolving fund is key to the success of the project.
· What are the possible payment modalities?
o Monthly payment was agreed by the majority of members who argued that at least everybody expects some income by the end of each month and therefore can make some payments. This however, needs to be discussed further, i) to understand the repayment arrangement of existing credit initiatives and how effective they are; ii) suitable repayment arrangement for those in the informal sector employment and do not receive income on monthly basis.
o It was also suggested that prospective beneficiaries should be made to commit some money or materials up to for example 40% of the capital cost before one can qualify to access the fund to build a latrine. The platform proposed for instance that materials for the construction could be bought by the committee managing the fund and distributed to people who have shown some level of commitment in the form of acquisition of basic materials such as aggregates, wooden members and the capacity to excavate trenches. The discussion here, the platform concluded, was not directly to ensure recovery of funds but to help avoid diversion of resources.
o It was agreed that there was the need to have some bye-laws and legal regulations to bind the group members so that monies collected could be repaid and the necessary legal steps taken against those default in payment.
o Using the landlords as the focal points in the trust groups to be formed is very vital and can they provide some sort of collateral for the credit. It was proposed that landlords could be made to commit a room as collateral that can be rented out by the fund management committee to defray the loan in case of default.
o However, members of the LA were tasked to deliberate and brainstorm on other possible options of payment to be discussed at the next meeting.
It was emphasized that the vital aspect of the learning alliance is to realize and resolve shortfalls that may hinder the smooth project implementation and dissemination of information and members should play their role with commitment.
CHALLENGES OF ORGANISING LOCAL LEVEL LA AND PROPOSED SOLUTIONS
· Punctuality: Apart from 4 members out of expected 35 of the learning alliance and personnel from TREND, most members turned up very late, almost an hour late than 10am when proceedings were planned to start (the invitation even letter even stated 9am). The meeting could only start at 11am. Time should be greatly adhered to. It is proposed that members are constantly advised to make it a point to be present on time for meetings to start; meetings are to start at the specified time even if there are few people; and meetings should close on time and should not be dragged belong stipulated closing time.
· Venue: Formal and convenient spaces for meeting is always not readily available and one has to be prepared to improvise and adjust to some available facility. The town relies on one big classroom of the local school for such meetings. However, the school was in session and an alternative was found but was unfortunately poorly ventilated. When the meeting was about to start (late though) the classroom become available because the school had an outdoor programme. The meeting had to relocate, further causing delays. The planning of meetings at local level should consider venue issues as very key.
· Power outages: Regular power supply remains a big challenge in the country as a whole. The effect of erratic power supply on programmes like the LA in the local settings can be more disruptive and expensive because there are limited alternatives. Standby power generator should always be factored into the organization of such programmes that will have to rely on electricity. If possible, the reliance on electricity should be avoided.