Factors influencing sustainability of boreholes in Chadiza District
Date
2016
Authors
Sakala, Adamson
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Zambia
Abstract
The focus of the study was to establish factors which influence sustainability of boreholes
managed by communities in Chadiza District. In order to do that, the study intended to answer
three research questions which are: (i) How does community participation at the initial stage of
the borehole projects influence sustainability? (ii) How do community members’ perception
towards contributions for maintenance of boreholes influence sustainability? (ii) How does
capacity building of water committee members and area pump minders (APMs) influence
sustainability of boreholes?
To meet its objective, the study used both primary and secondary data. Primary data was
collected using the interview schedule, focus group discussions and an oral interview. Secondary
data was sourced from processed data from the Local Authority, the internet, books, reports,
articles and journals related to community participation in the implementation of water projects.
The study showed that community participation at initial stage of construction instills the spirit
of self reliance in the community members throughout the project cycle. The communities
perceived community contribution as a positive way to sustainability of boreholes as it
symbolized ownership and hence the authority to make decisions related to water. The
communities which had trained water committees did not have problems with contributions and
hence maintenance of the boreholes, as compared to those whose water committees were not
trained. Further, communities which had trained APMs had reduced downtime on their
boreholes.
In order to protect the positive strides made by government to increase the provision of safe and
clean water to rural communities, these factors should be made known in areas where
sustainability seems to be weak or completely absent, through sensitizations. It is further,
recommended that the local authority should continue with the system where a contract for
borehole drilling should include a package for toolkits, APMs and water committee training
programmes for each borehole. The government should put guide lines in place which will help
communities to determine how much to contribute and how often. A research should be
conducted to find out how communities determine, how much they contribute towards
maintenance of boreholes.
Description
Post Grad. Dip. in Integrated Water Resources Management
Keywords
Water quality management-Chadiza,Zambia , Water Supply-Chadiza,Zambia