community management plus

01:07 Dec 11, 2014 

While there is no compelling evidence of any ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ Service
Delivery Models, what is clear is that there has been a generalised trend away
from the more voluntary arrangements of community-based management,
towards professionalisation, or what has been termed ‘community management
plus’. Some of the founding principles of community-based management,
such as community cohesion, common participation in the broader user community
and informal accountability to a water committee, are crucial though
insufficient. The ideals behind it are often undermined by lack of formalisation
of these arrangements within broader local government bye-laws and
national legislation and policy, the absence of clear contracting, lack of legal
standing of the committees, and the lack of professional capacity in certain
aspects of running and managing systems.