NETWAS mobilized communities who would attend the community meetings. In the meeting, community members were asked to select their representatives in the community meetings. The criteria to select members were; someone who could articulate issues, read and write. In this case 6 members from the following user groups identified during the survey were selected; business owners (hotels, clinics, schools) Children- 9–15; women, youths, men, local leaders and water vendors. All service Providers attended the service Providers meetings and the interface meetings were attended by representatives from the community and the Service providers. Invitation letters were sent in time and followed up with telephone calls. The venues were identified in time and Lunch and/or snack providers were also identified. Facilitators worked in the evenings to prepare charts for score cards including one that would be used as an example during the plenary, cards for the different focus groups as well as the final community score card. Charts were also prepared for the service providers’ meetings and the interface meetings. All Charts were prepared in the Luganda language. The charts provided space for 3-4 issues identified by the particular group, as well as the programme objective issues of social accountability, transparency and dialogue.
Six community meetings were held for community members from Upper East/West and Kikasa in Bukalasa, Kigulu, Kitante, Gwafu and Sikanusu in Wobulenzi. An average of 50 participants attended these meetings. The main purpose of the community meetings was to allow users of a water service to share their experiences, identify priority areas for improvement as well as the roles and contributions they can make towards improving governance, management and delivery of water services. NETWAS had already mobilized communities. Focus group discussions were held in each meeting for women, men, children, local leaders, youth and business community.
Four service provider’s self- assessment meeting took place. One was carried out for Bukalasa College (one of the two private provdiers evaluated in this program), and three for Wobulenzi Town Council service provider (Trandit Ltd) respectively. Members included, the Water Board Members, NGOs, Trandit Company (the operator that providers water to the core urban area of Wobulenzi), Councilors and Kiosk owners. Only one meeting was held for Bukalasa because the issues for Kikasa had already been addressed in the first meeting. The objective of this meeting was to give service providers the opportunity to discuss and share their views on the quality of services and factors that they think or know affect its effectiveness. They also proposed activities they think can help improve service delivery, management and governance. The main output of this meeting was a Service Providers Self Assessment Card.
Dissemination of results of the Community Score Card. The results of the CSC were typed and shared with the service Providers. Each community remained with a copy of the cards for reference during implementation. Platforms like the Budget conference in Wobulenzi were used to inform members of not only NETWAS contribution but also to remind members of their plans. Individual meetings were also held with the Principal for Bukalasa to share the outcomes of the meetings. Follow up meetings with the community members and those implementing the plans were made by NETWAS staff.
Preparation for the Inter-face Meeting. All the previous activities described above served as preparation for the inter-face meetings, and it is a process of gaining trust from each other and building a fruitful relationship. Indeed what it built for being able of having an inter-face meeting is crucial for having a lasting relationship. This is part of the action learning process that is a step by step path that includes reflection, learning, fine-tuning, and implementation of the joint action plan.
The Inter-face-Meeting and Agreements between Users and Providers. Five (5) Interface meetings were held for Sikanusu, Upper East and West, Kikasa, Gwafu and Kitante plus Kigulu. The last one was combined as the service provider was one and the issues were almost similar. The interface meeting brought together all stakeholders after their independent meetings, to present, negotiate, agree on a joint position, and develop a joint plan of action. The main output of this meeting and the whole process was a Joint Action Plan. The joint action plans were funded by the Service Provides and the community members using their resources. The meetings were very fruitful, as they enabled the two parties to understand why certain things were being done, especially on the part of the service provider. It was evident that the process had triggered channels of dialogue between the two parties. Some of the agreed actions in the joint action plan were acted on immediately. For example, on the Kikasa community, members requesting for telephone contacts of key personnel of the service provider at Bukalasa, the contacts were provided there and then. After making the joint action plans between the providers and water users, the NETWAS representative pledged to contribute 500,000 towards the plan of each of the 6 communities and community members agreed on how to spend this money.
Six community meetings were held for community members from Upper East/West and Kikasa in Bukalasa, Kigulu, Kitante, Gwafu and Sikanusu in Wobulenzi. An average of 50 participants attended these meetings. The main purpose of the community meetings was to allow users of a water service to share their experiences, identify priority areas for improvement as well as the roles and contributions they can make towards improving governance, management and delivery of water services. NETWAS had already mobilized communities. Focus group discussions were held in each meeting for women, men, children, local leaders, youth and business community.
Four service provider’s self- assessment meeting took place. One was carried out for Bukalasa College (one of the two private provdiers evaluated in this program), and three for Wobulenzi Town Council service provider (Trandit Ltd) respectively. Members included, the Water Board Members, NGOs, Trandit Company (the operator that providers water to the core urban area of Wobulenzi), Councilors and Kiosk owners. Only one meeting was held for Bukalasa because the issues for Kikasa had already been addressed in the first meeting. The objective of this meeting was to give service providers the opportunity to discuss and share their views on the quality of services and factors that they think or know affect its effectiveness. They also proposed activities they think can help improve service delivery, management and governance. The main output of this meeting was a Service Providers Self Assessment Card.
Dissemination of results of the Community Score Card. The results of the CSC were typed and shared with the service Providers. Each community remained with a copy of the cards for reference during implementation. Platforms like the Budget conference in Wobulenzi were used to inform members of not only NETWAS contribution but also to remind members of their plans. Individual meetings were also held with the Principal for Bukalasa to share the outcomes of the meetings. Follow up meetings with the community members and those implementing the plans were made by NETWAS staff.
Preparation for the Inter-face Meeting. All the previous activities described above served as preparation for the inter-face meetings, and it is a process of gaining trust from each other and building a fruitful relationship. Indeed what it built for being able of having an inter-face meeting is crucial for having a lasting relationship. This is part of the action learning process that is a step by step path that includes reflection, learning, fine-tuning, and implementation of the joint action plan.
The Inter-face-Meeting and Agreements between Users and Providers. Five (5) Interface meetings were held for Sikanusu, Upper East and West, Kikasa, Gwafu and Kitante plus Kigulu. The last one was combined as the service provider was one and the issues were almost similar. The interface meeting brought together all stakeholders after their independent meetings, to present, negotiate, agree on a joint position, and develop a joint plan of action. The main output of this meeting and the whole process was a Joint Action Plan. The joint action plans were funded by the Service Provides and the community members using their resources. The meetings were very fruitful, as they enabled the two parties to understand why certain things were being done, especially on the part of the service provider. It was evident that the process had triggered channels of dialogue between the two parties. Some of the agreed actions in the joint action plan were acted on immediately. For example, on the Kikasa community, members requesting for telephone contacts of key personnel of the service provider at Bukalasa, the contacts were provided there and then. After making the joint action plans between the providers and water users, the NETWAS representative pledged to contribute 500,000 towards the plan of each of the 6 communities and community members agreed on how to spend this money.
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