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Launch of the 2021 Urban and Peri-Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Sector Report in Lusaka, Zambia

Written by s.mutafya on . Posted in Uncategorized, Zambia.

The award ceremony led by the Guest of Honour, Minister of Water Development and Sanitation, Hon. Mike Elton Mposha.
Copyright: GIZ

Zambia’s National Water Supply and Sanitation Council (NWASCO) launched the 2021 Urban and Peri-Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Sector Report at Lusaka’s Taj Pamodzi Hotel on 9th April 2022. Minister of Water Development and Sanitation, Hon. Mike Elton Mposha, was the Guest of Honor. The report covers the first-year implementation of NWASCO’s 2021-2025 Strategic Plan. This strategic plan focuses on “leveraging on enhanced enforcement, information communication technology, research and development and innovation to efficiently and effectively regulate water supply and sanitation services” at 11 Zambian water and sanitation commercial utilities (CU) and four private schemes.  

The event included the annual presentation of awards to the utilities demonstrating the strongest performance when it comes to sustainable water management in the sector, including the Water Stewardship Awards, presented by the Lusaka Water Security Initiative (LuWSI) .  

The Water Stewardship Awards were launched in January 2018 to promote sound water resource management by companies. It focuses on water conservation and efficiency in business and industry as a main criteria for evaluation. This year’s winners were the Southern Water and Sanitation Company (SWASCO) in first place followed by the Lusaka Water Supply and Sanitation Company (LWSC) in second place. See the video below for more information on the importance of water stewardship for all – private companies, public authorities and communities.

The Lusaka Water Supply and Sanitation Company (LWSC) also received six further awards; namely: (1) most improved commercial utility water service; (2) best staff efficiency; (3) best operations and management cost coverage by collection; (4) second place for Water Stewardship; (5) most improved commercial utility; and (6) 2021 CEO of the Year Award for Engineer Jonathan Kampata. 

LWSC and NWASCO are key partners of the Lusaka Water Security Initiative (LuWSI); Lusaka’s lighthouse initiative for water security, which NWASCO hosts. Through collective action and with private companies and utilities becoming water stewards, the country’s vital natural resources can be protected and sustainably managed. The awards acknowledge and encourage the important work utilities and companies are doing in this regard.

Author: Sonile Mutafya, NatuReS Advisor, Zambia

waste collectors Addis Ababa

A simple solution for a complex problem in Addis Ababa

Written by Support on . Posted in Ethiopia.

The Problem: Plastic Waste in the Rivers of Addis Ababa

river pollution Addis Ababa
Poor solid waste management resulting in river pollution. Gotera area, Addis Ababa. Copyright: GIZ/Meron Tadesse

Rivers in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa are living witnesses to the extent of environmental pollution in the city. When looking at causes of river pollution in urban settings, the one that sticks out most is waste. It is very unpleasant to walk by a river in Addis, and even riverside real-estate, which is a prime location in many cities, is very unattractive here due to the degraded state and smell of rivers. The most visible waste in rivers is plastic, due to its increasing generation rate and non-biodegradable nature. Plastic is dumped in rivers and persists in the environment for hundreds of years. The estimated daily plastic generation rate for the last year in Addis was 89 tons. And with less than 60% collection rate, the remaining amount finds its way into the environment and often gets washed into the city’s rivers. Hence, improving plastic collection and transportation leads to less waste ending up in rivers, while providing an opportunity to stimulate the whole plastic value chain. This results not only in more collection and less river pollution, but also brings extra income for waste collectors.

The Solution: The first manual baling machine of its kind in Addis

NatuReS together with Irish Aid supports the Partnership for Circular Value Chains in Addis Ababa to embark on introducing a simple, affordable and scalable technology to improve plastic bottle collection, storage and transportation. The 1st of its kind manual baling machine in Addis has been designed, targeting the many waste collectors with no access to electricity. Performance testing is currently being conducted with one association, in Addis Ketema sub-city woreda 08, which has 73 members, of which 41 are women. The machine will further be improved based on the collectors’ feedback and performance of the 1st prototype as a short- to mid-term solution for improving plastic collection.

waste collectors Addis Ababa
Waste collectors testing the prototype manual baling machine in Addis Ketema sub-city. Copyright: GIZ/Maria-Therese Eiblmeier

By enhancing collectors’ storage and transportation capacity and enabling them to sell the baled plastic at higher prices to recyclers, they will be able to collect more plastic in the future. This will result both in less river pollution and more income for the collectors.

Promoting Water Stewardship: The Lusaka Water Security Initiative (LuWSI)

Written by s.mutafya on . Posted in Zambia.

The Lusaka Water Security Initiative (LuWSI) is a multi-stakeholder collaboration system that was initiated from the realization that the complexity of issues threatening Lusaka’s water security could not be addressed by one single actor. Instead, it requires a multi-stakeholder collective action by water managers, water users and those who indirectly influence water security. The partnership, established in 2016, has currently 31 partners, comprising public sector, private sector, civil society and international organizations. They have come together to support a common agenda for “water security for all to support a healthy and prosperous city”.

The video below captures the views and perspectives of LuWSI partners as they describe what water stewardship means to them and why it is vital for the city of Lusaka.

Author: Sonile Mutafya, NatuReS Advisor Zambia