Burkina Faso/Water and sanitation: A citizen watch project for optimal resource management

The Centre d'études et d'expérimentations économiques et sociales de l'Afrique de l'Ouest-pôle régional Burkina (CESAO), in collaboration with its partners, officially launched the Projet de veille citoyenne dans le secteur de l'eau et de l'assainissement (PVEA/CESAO) in Bobo-Dioulasso on Thursday, October 24, 2024. The official launch ceremony was presided over by Saïdou Sakira, High Commissioner of Kénédougou, representing the Governor of the Hauts-Bassins region.

The Projet de veille citoyenne dans le secteur de l'eau et de l'assainissement (PVEA) is implemented by the Centre d'études et d'expérimentations économiques et sociales de l'Afrique de l'Ouest, Pôle régional Burkina, in seven observation communes in the Cascades and Hauts-Bassins regions. These are the communes of Bobo-Dioulasso, Houndé, Karangasso-Sambla and Kourinion in the Hauts-Bassins region, and the communes of Banfora, Douna and Bérégadougou in the Cascades region. The project is the fruit of close collaboration between the NGO Labo Citoyenneté, which is in charge of coordination, and Fondation Hirondelle, whose support is focused on the production and dissemination of media content.

This project will help to improve the formulation of public policy documents and, above all, the implementation of policies that benefit all the populations of Burkina Faso in general, and all the communities targeted by the project in particular. According to project coordinator Nathalie Millogo, the project stems from the Fasoveil program. Indeed, following a call for applications (the second of its kind) in 2022, five civil society organizations were selected to cover the planning sectors identified in the program.

CESAO-PRB, which has experience in the water and sanitation sector, was selected to lead this project in the field of environment, water and sanitation. The aim is to contribute, alongside Fasoveil's implementing partners and other civil society organizations, to improving the quality of public policy formulation and implementation in Burkina Faso in general. The project is financed by the Swiss Cooperation and the European Union.

In his speech, Cheick Hamed Sanou, representative of the CESAO-PRB coordinator, recalled the objective of the Fasoveil program, which is to strengthen democratic culture through the exercise of citizen accountability, particularly by women and young people. He praised the importance of this project, which he said focuses on the influence of local CSO action on the quality of formulation and, above all, implementation of public policies in the water and sanitation sector.

"One of the government's priority development sectors is focused on the environment, water and sanitation. With the implementation of the national drinking water supply policy, many efforts are being made by the ministry in charge of the issue. However, there are still many challenges to be met, with demographic growth in towns and, above all, in rural areas", he noted. For this reason, he praised the development efforts made in this sector by NGOs and development partners at local and national level.

The project began with the training of civil society organizations selected for its implementation. The two-day training session focused on public policy analysis in the water and sanitation sector. The project's coordinator, Nathalie Millogo, emphasized that the aim was to help improve the quality of public policy formulation and implementation in the water and sanitation sector. She also indicated that several activities are planned to achieve the project's objectives, notably capacity building, which has already begun with the selected CSOs. In addition, radio activities are planned with partner radio stations in the various localities of the Fondation hirondelle, and participation in regional and national discussion forums.

The project's initiative was warmly welcomed by Saïdou Sakira, High Commissioner of Kénédougou, representing the Governor of Hauts-Bassins. On behalf of the governor, he expressed his gratitude to all those involved in launching the project. While inviting them to ensure efficient implementation, he reaffirmed the authorities' support for the project.

Source: lefaso.net/