Disentangling water governance in Dar es Salaam: the role of NGOs and community water provision

摘要

This thesis aims to provide a contemporary account of the Dar es Salaam’s water sector as well as the role of the myriad stakeholders involved in it, taking into account the complexity history of the city’s water governance. As a rapidly growing city over recent years, the infrastructure of Dar es Salaam’s municipal system has not been updated for a significant period of time. As such, the areas served by this system face intermittent and piecemeal coverage whereas other large sections of the city are forced to come up with alternative, often expensive water resources that are unreliable and at times, unsafe. This thesis attempts to explore the lived realities of the individuals who reside in these unserved areas, and the ways in which community-based organisations and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) play a role in the city’s water sector. Through analysis of community-level water provision schemes in two case study areas of Dar es Salaam, this research provides a thorough account of the ways in which water resources are managed, debated and utilised at the local level and the challenges faces by these local organisations. In addition, through an observational research at two local NGOs working in the water sector in Dar es Salaam, this research examines these organisations’ place within the city’s broader water governance framework, as well as how they operate and prioritise their day to day work and their outputs. This research also takes into account the national and international policy environment, as well as the ways in which Tanzania’s socio- political history has influenced the current means of water governance. Through an exploration of the prevalent discourses in policy creation and implementation and the aforementioned stakeholders in the water sector, this thesis examines the multitude of influences on Dar es Salaam’s water governance, as well as the tensions that arise between rhetoric and reality, and the impacts these have upon its citizens.