When the Ministry of Water and Environment in Uganda undertook to promote the formation of Hand Pump Mechanics Associations (HPMAs) as a way of enhancing functionality of rural water services, many districts started supporting the formation and operationalisation of the associations. With support from Triple-S Uganda and other partners, the Lira district HPMA was started and is now fully operational. The process has been dotted with interesting issues and lessons.
Published on: 14/06/2012
When Yusuf Kasumba in 1996 mobilised hand pump mechanics in Kibaale to form the first ever Hand Pump Mechanics Association (HPMA) in Uganda, he did not know that he was setting a revolution in motion. Fifteen years down the road, the Kibaale Mechanics Association is still growing strong and nearly 50 districts have followed suit – 37 associations have already been registered.
More still, the Ministry of Water and Environment has endorsed the formation of HPMAs as one of the strategies to ensure sustainable functionality of water services. In the annual Joint Sector Review of 2011, the Ministry, in its Undertaking Number Eight, committed to strengthen community based maintenance through the formation of HPMAs in 80% of the districts and to operationalise the associations in at least 30% of the districts by end of financial year 2012/2013. The Functionality working group, of which Triple-S Uganda is the Secretariat, was tasked to guide the undertaking.
Lira district is one of those that quickly embarked on the formation of an HPMA. By January 2012, the Lira HPMA with a membership of 35 had been registered as a community based orgaisation (CBO), with a constitution, an elected executive, a bank account and a work plan for the year. Additionally through the association, members were involved in the Mobile Phones for Water (M4W) project and in refresher training programmes. In April 2012, the HPMA was officially launched at a function officiated by the Lira District Chief Administrative Officer and the district Chairperson. In May 2012, the District Water Supply and Sanitation Committee (DWSCC) resolved that the HPMA become a member of the committee and they duly participated in that month’s meeting. The Lira District HPMA is being fostered as the model association for Technical Support Unit 2 (TSU2) with lessons already being replicated in neighbouring districts like Alebtong.
Although the process of forming the Lira HPMA might seem rather mundane, it provides insights and key lessons not just for other HPMAs but also for actors who are keen on making this approach universal.
The HPMA in Lira was a result of a series of meetings coordinated by a steering committee comprising key players in the district WASH sector. Spearheaded by IRC/Triple-S, WASH partners held an initial meeting and discussed how to start the association. The meeting resulted in the establishment of the steering committee comprising the District Water Office (DWO), TSU2, IRC/Triple-S, Divine Waters, Plan Uganda and International Lifeline Fund. The committee was to work behind the scenes while the Hand Pump Mechanics (HPMs) took the front seat.
In one of the initial meetings with the HPMs, the steering committee invited an experienced hand pump mechanic from Adjumani to share experiences with his counterparts in Lira – the Adjumani district HPMA has been operating successfully since its formation in 2009. The guest HPM particularly shared experience on how to form and run a successful HPMA. From the insights in that sharing, the Lira HPMs then identified their own gaps and requested the steering committee to help address them. The first step in that direction was a one-week refresher training in January 2012. The association has not looked back since.
Even as the Lira district HPMA continues to thrive, one wonders about their inspiration. Did the mechanics form the association upon the pushing of the steering committee? Did they really believe in the idea?
Whereas the mechanics knew that it was to their advantage to form a common body, they had never taken the initiative. So when the steering committee mobilised them, there was no hesitation. Lawrence Angoi the chairperson of the association says that working individually, the mechanics always had a hard time stocking spare parts and responding adequately to community needs. Also, they did not have operational standards and there were many masquerades and cases of indiscipline among the mechanics. There were complaints that the mechanics were doing sub-standard work, charging exorbitantly for their service and in some cases vandalising facilities.
Meanwhile, some Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) were each mobilising HPMs separately and sometimes selfishly. For example, if a particular organisation sunk boreholes in an area, it also mobilised and trained mechanics to attend to those facilities. It always seemed like the mechanics belonged to the organisation. For lack of a common voice and bargaining power, the mechanics were sometimes exploited. This often caused some mechanics to leave the trade in search of more lucrative activities. All these tendencies were ultimately affecting the quality of service provided by the HPMs. It was therefore envisaged that the formation of an association would address this whole host of challenges, and more.
“The steering committee wanted the mechanics to be organised and do work as a group so that they could give the best service to the communities. The committee also wanted the HPMs to have collective bargaining power at the district level and to enhance chances of learning from each other,” Teddy Bayige of TSU2 explains.
Now that the HPMA is in place, the real anxieties have started setting in. How do they ensure that the association is a viable and self-reliant enterprise? The association could get contracts from the CSOs, the district local government, private companies and other clients. However, is the repair of boreholes enough to sustain the association? Both the HPMs and the steering committee agree that unless the association attracts business and generates its own income, its sustainability will remain a key challenge. There are worries about how the association is going to compete for tenders with more established companies. There are proposals that the HPMA be given special consideration during the tendering processes. But since the association has registered with the Community Development Department as a Community Based Organisation, it is illegal for it to bid for tenders as this goes against the public procurement procedures.
All the worries notwithstanding, the association continues to enjoy tremendous support from many WASH actors who believe in its potential to improve services. Apart from endorsement by the Ministry, there is a lot of goodwill and support from the District Water Office, the Technical Support Unit and other organisations. International Lifeline Fund (ILF), Divine Waters, SNV, IRC/Triple-S, Plan Uganda are some of the non-government agencies that have supported the HPMA so far, mainly with mobilisation, facilitation of meetings, refresher training and provision of toolkits. Members of the steering committee are also taking advantage of existing structures and forums to spread the word about the association. Such forums as the Sub County and district level advocacy meetings, District Water and Sanitation Coordination Committee meetings are all providing a podium for HPMAs proponent. Such endorsement is crucial for the profile and sustainability of the association.
The HPMs also have their own ideas on how to scale to greater heights. The chairperson Lawrence Angoi explains that to start with, all registered members are expected to pay a subscription fee of 15,000 and annual contribution of 50,000. The funds collected have so far enabled the association to open a bank account and also to facilitate the primary processes of registering the association with the Community Development Office. They have also embarked on the production of an association identity card.
Angoi further explains that in the future the association plans to market itself to all potential clients. They want to create awareness about the association by advertising on local radio stations and through community level engagements. They particularly want to propose that Water User Committees (WUCS) put a monthly deposit in the HPMA account, so when the need arises for repairs, finances are readily available. For their own visibility and easy identification, the HPMs want to design a uniform for their members to wear whenever they visit communities.
The chairperson further says that they are considering opening a website and an email account so that they can appeal to international donors and friends for assistance. And to make a comprehensive contribution to the WASH sector, the association also hopes to engage in sanitation and hygiene promotion.
“Five years from now we want the association to be big and busy. We want to own property and to also do other business to sustain our association. We especially want to promote the M4W initiative because it makes our work easier,” Angoi says.
Perhaps many other districts will follow in the footsteps of Lira. But most importantly they must appreciate four key conditions necessary for the formation of an HPMA:
14 June 2012
