The case study on Dar es Salaam in Tanzania looked at the challenges of pit-emptying (both manual emptiers and privatised vacuum truck services), the success of solid waste franchises and new approaches in social marketing and ecological sanitation. In the early Nineties, WASTE, a Dutch NGO, was responsible for introducing a new form of pit emptying into Dar es Salaam. This system, known as MAPET (MAnual Pit Emptying Technology), was an attempt to improve upon the traditional role of vyura or frogmen (manual emptiers), in emptying pit latrines by introducing appropriate technology and organising the small-scale entrepreneurs to made the task more hygienic. The emptying teams liaised closely with the then- Dar es Salaam Sewerage and Sanitation Department (DSSD).
For a range of reasons, MAPET no longer operates: settlement in low-lying areas prone to flooding has raised enormous problems around pit construction, pit emptying and disposal of waste (which could no longer be buried on-site). Since, decentralisation and the privatisation of water and sewerage has seen responsibility for on-site sanitation fragmented, and sanitation has largely been reduced to a side-issue of drinking water interventions.
Solid waste is making good progress, partly due to a franchise system which sees co-operation between private contractors and CBOs in poorer areas. The approach is interesting for on-site sanitation, especially in light of the problems MAPET faced with pit emptying.
International NGO have become some of the key actors in water and sanitation in low-income areas and are piloting new approaches such as social marketing and ecological sanitation; in this context of fragmentation, partnerships are even more necessary, yet for the moment dialogue between the various counterparts is preliminary at best.
For a more thorough overview please see this short BPD note on the Dar es Salaam case study.
Further information is also found in this chapter in an IDRC publication on solid waste management, which discusses some of the new contractual arrangements in Dar es Salaam.
The NGO WASTE have done interesting work on small-scale entrepreneurs working in solid waste and sanitation, and this example looks at the important issue of pit emptying and sludge management, including the MAPET experience.
The full BPD case study that analyses the policy context, service delivery arrangements and prospects for partnership in Dar es Salaam can be provided on request by email.