Government organisations
As you know from previous study sessions, the OWNP is a joint initiative led by the four WASH sector ministries: Water, Irrigation and Energy, Health, Education, and Finance and Development. In addition to these four main stakeholders, several other government ministries are involved.
Directorates of Women, Children and Youth Affairs
You may recall from Study Session 2 that one of the national policies underpinning the OWNP is the national Water Resources Management Policy. This policy sets out the need for women’s participation at all stages of water resource development activities, from planning to implementation and maintenance. The national Water Sector Strategy, also mentioned in Study Session 2, reinforces the point and specifies that gender mainstreaming should be secured in all aspects of water resources planning, new master plan studies and other water development projects. The Women, Children and Youth Directorate in each WASH sector ministry has a responsibility to assure the mainstreaming of gender issues when implementing the OWNP.
Ministry of Federal Affairs
The Ministry of Federal Affairs is a stakeholder in issues relating to pastoralist communities (Figure 9.1). The government has mandated the Ministry of Federal Affairs (MoFA) to coordinate and facilitate OWNP activities in pastoralist areas with due commitment to enhancing their socio-economic situation, based on its policies of equitable and just distribution of resources.
As stated in the WASH Implementation Framework, the MoFA is included in the National WASH Steering Committee and National WASH Technical Team on an invitation basis. They are invited to participate in any discussions relating to WASH issues in pastoralist parts of the country. At regional and woreda levels, pertinent government offices responsible for the pastoralist communities are included as members of WASH committees and teams.
Figure 9.1 Pastoralist communities move around with their animals and have particular issues with access to water and sanitation.
The implementation of WASH under the OWNP in pastoral areas is aligned with the Pastoral Community Development Programme (PCDP). The PCDP is a 15-year programme that started in 2003. It was developed to establish effective models of public service delivery, investment and disaster management in the arid and semi-arid Ethiopian lowlands in order to address pastoral communities’ needs, improve their livelihoods, alleviate poverty and reduce their vulnerability.
Water Resources Development Fund
The Ethiopian government established the Water Resources Development Fund (WRDF) in 2002 as a semi-autonomous body within the then Ministry of Water Resources (which was renamed the Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Energy, and has since been renamed again as the Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Electricity). It was created to facilitate the funding arrangements for urban water supply and sanitation services throughout the country. The WRDF receives funds from the government and different development partners and provides loans to assist water supply and sanitation projects in large towns. The agreement between the WRDF and the town utility to recover the project cost within a fixed period of time mandates that towns will reimburse the loan within that timeframe.
The operational activity of the Fund started in 2004. Since that time, the WRDF has participated in a number of financing programmes by receiving funds from the government and donors which are then transferred by loan agreement to medium- and large-sized towns to support WASH activities. Through this experience, the Fund has had the opportunity to work with several organisations including the Federal Government, the World Bank, the African Development Bank, the Arab Development Bank, the European Investment Bank and the European Union.
Ministry of Urban Development, Housing and Construction
The Ministry of Urban Development, Housing and Construction (MoUDHC) is responsible for the safe collection and disposal of household solid waste through urban development bureaus, offices, municipalities and enterprises. As you read in Study Session 6, Urban WASH is one of the components of the OWNP and will address solid and liquid waste management in towns. (Solid waste is refuse and garbage; liquid waste means all types of wastewater, including human bodily wastes.) The MoUDHC is mostly concerned with solid waste, but it also works on liquid waste management in large town municipalities.