Applying the Survey of the Citizen Report Card (Data Collection)

To facilitate the selection of Households to be interviewed for each stratum in the village, tables of random numbers were used to avoid biased selection. The Field staffs were trained on the use of the tables of random numbers. For each village a total of 5 replacements HH were also selected although this was increased to 10 HH during the field due to some respondents having left completely the houses where they were residing initially. In some instances, the owners could not be seen although they were selected.

Field activity
The household survey data collection exercise was conducted over a period of ten days and started from the 29th of August 2008 and ended on 7th of September 2008. The team comprised of nine Research Assistants, two field supervisors and three specialists on the team monitored the field exercise. Data collection was successfully carried out in partnership with the Town council, Local Councilors and Water Board members. Two Service providers were interviewed as the NGOs currently working in the Town council, either do not provide services within the Town council or are not directly involved in Water. 8 Water Board members were also interviewed.

During the data collection process, the Research Assistants experienced different scenarios that are worth mentioning:
a) Tenants who connect water and then sale the water to their landlords, hence rather than the common scenario of the landlord being the owner of the water source i.e. the tap and being the one to pay the bills, it is the tenant who pays the water bill and sells water to the landlord.
b) There were tenants who are allowed by their landlords to use water in the house and water in the compound/plot at no cost. That is to say they have never paid for the water they use and the cost of water is also not included in their rent.
c) There are landlords who offer space on their land to service providers to construct water kiosks and compound taps in return for free water access. Hence these lands have piped water in their compound but cannot answer question on the application for connection, payment of bills.
d) There were also cases especially in Upper west were households visited had piped water connection but had never applied for the water because the household members found the houses already connected with water.
e) Similarly there are households that were found to be using both piped water sources as well as the borehole but were not paying for the water at all.