Congo/City of Owando: a participatory framework to strengthen the management and attractiveness of the commune
New concepts of local governance are being applied in Owando, the capital of the Cuvette department, with the installation of a value chain linked to waste and development work. On January 21, the commune's participatory framework approved the launch of a home waste sorting and composting service in the city.
The participatory framework is a decision-making body, bringing together neighborhood leaders, women's and youth associations, including departmental directorates and municipal councillors who are heads of neighborhood. It validates the proposals of the partners of the "Resilient Cities" program that the European Union is financing for the benefit of the communes of Owando and Nkayi.
The activity of the participatory framework, according to Stève Moukendi, GRET's Waste and Sanitation Project Manager, is part of component 3 of the "Resilient Cities" program.Resilient Cities'' program, which aims to strengthen the participation and involvement of local civil society in the governance of sanitation services. This new dynamic aims to create a better climate for dialogue between local authorities and their constituents.
"The permanent framework for dialogue begins at the neighborhood level, with local committees (neighborhood chiefs, youth dynamics, women's groups), before reaching the communal level. Each of the local neighborhood consultation workshops sends a delegate to the participatory framework to represent them at the commune level," said Stève Moukendi.
A total of thirty-five delegates were called on January 21, at the commune's headquarters, to decide on the choice of schools in which sanitary blocks (modern latrines) will be built and on the launch of a home sorting and composting service in Owando's neighborhoods. The selection of schools is based on predefined criteria and the types of improvements to be made in each school.
But one of the innovative projects concerns household waste management. "For sorting and composting, we are working with two operators, one in waste collection and the other a youth dynamic. The next step is to identify fifty households where we will install composters and plastic garbage cans; The idea is to encourage new waste sorting practices within households," said GRET project leader.
Let us add that the composters at home are reserved for organic waste (food scraps, vegetables, fruits ...), to allow after six months of fermentation and maturation to recover the compost that can be used for market gardening activities.
Source: www.adiac-congo.com/
