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2.1 Topic h: Management and planning

Administration of MSWM systems takes many different organizational forms across the continent. However, the institutional arrangements are fairly consistent across countries. Generally, administration is relayed through three layers of responsibility.

At the highest level is the Ministry of Environment or its equivalent. In some countries responsibility for MSWM rests with the Ministry of Health or the Ministry of Planning and Development. The ministry is generally responsible for overseeing MSWM across the country. It controls the allocations for MSW capital investments by city municipal waste authorities. In many cases this ministry is charged with setting standards for MSWM based on laws enacted by the legislature. It is also through this ministry that international cooperation in MSWM is effected.

Often, the central government ministry, such as the Ministry of Environment, is charged with other responsibilities like tourism, wildlife conservation, and land and/or water resources management. These responsibilities generally carry a higher national priority than MSWM, since they often directly generate income. When combined with limited staff and budget constraints, MSWM may not receive due attention or financial allocation from the ministerial level.

Besides the ministries, other national environmental agencies share oversight for MSWM. The Federal Environmental Protection Agency of Nigeria and the Environmental Council of Zambia are two such examples.

Under the national ministry are the various municipal agencies responsible for planning and urban affairs in the country's major cities. These generally take the form of district governates, such as the Governate of Cairo, the Communaut* Urbaine in Dakar, the Gouvernorat de District in Bamako, and the municipal governments in Ibadan, Accra, and Harare. The planning and design of MSWM services is carried out by these agencies. They receive their annual operating budget from the central ministry and generally do not charge a fee for their services. They are generally not empowered to levy taxes. There are some notable exceptions. For example, in Accra, Ghana, the solid waste department is authorized to raise and retain revenues through direct user charges. In Conakry, Guinea and Lagos, Nigeria, municipal agencies raise revenue through direct user fees.

The municipal agency is also charged with implementing the MSWM plan in its respective city. Thus, in collaboration with the central ministry or national environmental agency, it constructs the necessary facilities, purchases the required equipment and hires the necessary staff to operate and maintain the system. Because such agencies are generally proscribed from retaining any revenue they raise independently, the scope of their operations is limited by the budget they receive from the central treasury or general municipal funds. This budget may not often match the needs of the MSWM agency. As a result necessary MSW services and operations are compromised.

The actual execution of day-to-day MSWM operations is carried out by a combination of official municipal workers and fee-based contractors from the private sector. The latter provide collection services as noted earlier. In Cairo, the Zabbaleen operate as a cooperative and use trucks, plastics pelletizers, and rag pullers in their collection and recycling operations. In CÔte d'Ivoire, Ghana, South Africa, and Tanzania, initiatives are underway for private operators to provide MSW collection in all or parts of their major cities. Cooperatives and community groups may also be involved in collection, recycling and composting of MSW. For example, in Cotonou, Benin, community groups participate in the collection process under contracts with the municipal agency.

In several cases the Ministry of Environment shares responsibility for MSW administration with the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Public Works. However, performance and compliance monitoring as well as enforcement of regulations are still not routinely conducted. This adversely affects system performance.

Several of the major cities in South Africa have organized MSWM systems in place. These are run by municipal agencies with clear mandates of administrative responsibility. Additionally, these systems are supported by and accountable to academic institutions and professional organizations active in the field of solid waste manage-ment. There are privately owned landfills in South Africa. Many are associated with industrial and hazardous waste. However, a few are owned by private collection services. In general, however, private ownership and/or operation of MSWM facilities is rare in Africa.

In summary, administration is one of the major weaknesses of MSWM systems in Africa. Limited funding and restrictions on raising or directly accessing user fee revenues is another. Any plans to upgrade MSWM at the country level would do well to first focus on the administrative and organizational systems on which the service ultimately depends. Provisions must also be made for public feedback and for input from related professional organizations in the planning, evaluation, and upgrading of the system. Cost recovery by municipalities through retained user fees and taxes has shown promise in several cities. Private enterprise may play a role in vastly improving MSWM services in Africa. In many cases improvements may be obtained with high-labor, low-capital alternatives and enabling administrative changes. Cooperatives and community organizations may also play a role in providing MSWM services, from pre-collection to recycling and composting.

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