MWANZA
Exploring sanitation, land use development and inequalities in Mwanza
OVERVIEW
In Mwanza, 3,500 central households are connected to a sewer network and a central pump station which conveys wastewater to a treatment plant. The percentages of households in Nyamangana and Ilemela with access to a piped sewer system are 6% and 7% respectively; of the remainder, some 70% have access to improved on-site sanitation facilities, while 24% have unimproved or no toilet facilities.
Removal of on-site wastewater and conveyance to the treatment plant is carried out by the regional utility, the Mwanza Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Authority (MWAUWASA), using two vacuum trucks, ran by both councils – and, increasingly, by private sector operators. Households with unimproved facilities, particularly those living in informal settlements on steep slope rocky areas, are affected by the regular filling up and flooding of shallow latrines, and rely on informal pit emptying.
The Lake Victoria Water and Sanitation Programme (LVWATSAN) has been particularly active and influential in recent years in planning and implementing improved water and sanitation provision in 15 cities and towns on the Lake Victoria Basin, including Mwanza. Supported by the Government of Tanzania, the LVATSAN Mwanza sub-project has completed a Water and Sanitation Master Plan, which programmes investments in water supply and wastewater treatment, including expansion of the piped sewerage system and on-site sanitation pilot projects.
RESEARCH APPROACH
Working in selected formal and informal neighbourhoods across Mwanza, we are documenting how infrastructural legacies, actual investments, and daily interventions of residents to fix and improve their access come together to shape the sanitation landscape and its inclusivity.
We especially explore the taboos that occur at the level of sanitation governance (how much is really allocated to sanitation compared to other services? How are long term inequalities addressed or reproduced by development projects?) as well as of users and providers (how do women cope with inadequate facilities, especially when menstruating? Who cleans, maintains and fixes sanitation and at what costs? Where is the waste disposed of?).
Fostering dialogue across institutions and in an intersectional perspective, taking into account the multiple elements which shape sanitation needs, access and experiences in Mwanza, we aim to support more inclusive, safe, and just sanitation pathways.
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