Sierra Leone

The GOSL wants to address the urgent needs for Rural Water and Sanitation Services and Urban Waste Management, which are components of the Infrastructure Development Project to be financed by the World Bank/IDA. The amount of money to be committed amounts to about US$7.5 million (rural water) and US$3.2 million (Urban Waste Management). The funds are expected to address the Water and Sanitation Millennium Goals.

There has been an initial undesirable development for this indicator, resulting from the destruction of infrastructure at the end of the conflict. The situation has since stabilized and it is expected that with increased investments developments in the water sector could improve access.

In the provincial headquarter towns and cities (Bo, Kenema, Makeni, Lungi) there are no sewer lines. In Kenema only 50% of all the houses were reported to have sanitation facilities. Similar situations were observed in Bo and Makeni. Most of the other 75 urban areas depend on pit latrines, cesspits and buckets. Rivers, coastlines and bushes are used routinely. Public toilets constructed by District Councils in some of the major towns are now being rehabilitated mostly by NGOs.

Sewage treatment is also a problem. Sewage from Freetown, Kenema, Bo, Makeni and Lungi is treated in polders (sewage treatment ponds) which are all at some distance from the towns. Slurry from the Freetown sewage system, or from cesspits in the other cities, has to be moved by truck to the polders. There is a shortage of trucks for this purpose: for example, Kenema and Bo share a single cesspit slurry truck.

Before the near collapse of the economy, local authorities (District councils) and Chiefdom Committees enforced the Public Health Act (1960). Almost every house had a pit latrine. Public sanitary facilities in provincial urban towns and IDP camps were introduced during the war by Aid agencies. Some of these camps are today being used as refugee camps (Taiama, Jerihun and Kenema). Most of the facilities are inadequate, as there was an influx of persons to some of the urban towns, which were considered safe. Some of the pit latrines have collapsed or are full. There is a need for the strengthening of the local government structures in order to supervise the operation and maintenance of the existing facilities. However, a significant investment is first needed to rehabilitate these facilities. In most towns, Water and Sanitation Committees exist, and there was a general willingness on the part of the communities to pay for the operation and maintenance of the facilities. Cost sharing options could therefore be explored.

Garbage disposal in cities (Bo, Kenema and Makeni) is carried out by the Town Councils with the support of youth groups organized by the Ministry of Youth and Sports. In Kenema, Bo and Makeni no garbage containers or skips were observed. Designated areas are fenced and garbage is deposited mostly from public institutions and nearby houses to these facilities. Youth groups (hired) collect and transport the garbage out of town to dumpsites, usually inland valley swamps. It was obvious from interviews conducted that the activities are largely uncoordinated. In Kenema garbage collection has been subcontracted to the Community Development Unit (CDU). The Kenema landfill site, also located at Bandama, does not meet the demand. In most other urban areas garbage disposal is done by backyard composting, either in a fence or in pits. Method of final disposal is by incineration.

About 75% of population live within a rural setting including the peri-urban fringes. Today this amounts to about 4 million people. As little as 2% of the rural population has access to safe drinking water, while only 1% has access to basic sanitation facilities. It had been long recognized that improved water supply alone has minimal health benefits unless accompanied by proper sanitation and hygiene education. Before the International Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation Decade (IDWSSD), 1981 to 1990, there was very little coordination of effort between water supply and sanitation authorities. The lessons of the IDWSSD are the backbone of any future strategy for Rural Water Supply and Sanitation – see Box 3.

IDWSSD in Sierra Leone
During the IDWSSD, with the assistance of UNDP, a Rural Water Supply Unit was established within the Water Supply Division of the Ministry of Energy and Power in 1981. This unit was responsible for planning and implementation of rural water supply and sanitation activities by developing standards, policies and guidelines. Rural water supply and sanitation projects were implemented to cover the entire country, supported by various donors. An integrated approach was adopted, involving community sensitization, community mobilization, and community involvement in site location, construction, installation, operation, maintenance and monitoring. There was total involvement of all key players: Donors, Implementing Partners, Government Agencies, and Communities.

The needs assessment and costing exercise for water and sanitation also considered other supplementary interventions, like overall capacity building for the sector: Human Resources Development, Support for Institutional Reforms, and Policy Reviews and Dialogue. These policy reviews can form the basis for planning the sector strategy, into which this ten year costing plan can feed.