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ASIST Bulletin no. 10, January 2000 country project news Labour-based works in Lesotho By Celestina Pama, LCU, Lesotho The Labour Construction Unit (LCU) is one of the Departments of the Ministry of Works and Transport in Lesotho. This department has now merged with the Civil Works Section of the Ministry of Works, to form the Department of Rural Roads (DRR). The mission statement of the new department is: provision of all weather rural transport infrastructure using labour-based methods. Current responsibilities Current responsibilities include the construction and maintenance of all rural roads allocated to DRR. Secondly, the completion of construction of about 1000 km of Lesotho Highlands Revenue funded community road projects. Thirdly, the maintenance of completed rural road infrastructure constructed by Lesotho Highlands Development Authority around the dams. Fourthly, the construction and maintenance of footbridges and rural airstrips in the remote parts of the country. Capacity building There is insufficient capacity to implement the expanded programme. Therefore in order to implement the expanded programme, the LCU is following a number of strategies to build capacity: a) Training and development of small scale contractors; currently all maintenance and rehabilitation works are carried out by contractors. b) Increasing force-account teams by training supervisors c) Increasing in-house capacity for supervision and design by orientation and use of local consultant firms and use of long-term local consultants. General Progress Six training courses consisting of an average of 12 candidates per batch have been running since 1993. To date, about 56 contractors have been trained in road rehabilitation and maintenance. Eleven construction companies consisting of five participants per company (Managing director, one site agent and three technical assistants) are undergoing a road construction course that started on the 16th of September 1999. The course will be completed in September 2000. Contractors will carry out part of the new construction works in the year 2000, while the remainder will continue to be carried out by force account teams. The rehabilitation and construction works carried out by contractors are being supervised by consultants. For more information contact: Tel: +266-314514/500770 Urban training Engineers and planners course By Wilma van Esch, ASIST, Nairobi Based on a training needs assessment in 1998, the need and demand for training of urban engineers, planners, technicians and community foremen was established. Although the education of technical personnel may have equipped them to construct roads, drains, water supply and sewerage systems, it has not prepared them for the challenge of working in unplanned areas. In the poor un-serviced urban areas labour-based technology is almost a must, as access is very limited and co-operation with the community is essential. Hamish Goldie Scot of Scott Wilson in the UK, and Jan Fransen, of ILO ASIST, developed training material for urban engineers and planners. The first international pilot course was organised in Tanzania by the University College of Land and Architectural Studies in Dar es Salaam and ILO ASIST from 1-12 November 1999. The pilot course can be considered as a broad success, with 18 participants attending the course from Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia, at almost full cost recovery. As intended, it provided the participants with an introduction to new concepts and challenged them to apply what they were being taught in project assignments. The project assignments were based on actual data from an unplanned area in Dar es Salaam, and developed in close co-operation with Concern, an institutional NGO. According to the evaluation and individual action plans the course had a marked impact on participants' attitudes towards community managed and labour-based construction. Plans are currently underway to conduct a second international training course for urban engineers and planners, and to develop training material and a course for community foremen/women. Training of community-based organisations In Lusaka (Sustainable Lusaka Programme), training material is being developed for training of community-based organisations on how to complete a business plan for the operation of a water distribution system, and for waste collection services. This training material is based on the ILO's Start and Improve Your Business training material for micro-entrepreneurs. South Africa community based public works programme — policy research series By Craig Harvett, Policy Section, Community Based Public Works Programme, South Africa
In Bulletin No. 8 (January 1999) Colin Relf, Technical Adviser to the Community Based Public Works Programme (CBPWP), provided an account of the progress with respect to the UNDP-financed project. This outlined in particular the value of the 1996/1997 evaluations of the programme, as well as other interventions, in co-operation with the Department of Public Works (DPW). In addition to the interventions mentioned in the article, is the compilation of a second policy research series aimed at enhancing the CBPWP with respect to the findings and recommendations of the evaluation and subsequent changes to the CBPWP. The first policy research series, commissioned in 1997, focused on a set of high priority issues in Public Works Programmes, including targeting, poverty alleviation and international perspectives. For the second policy research series, the DPW began from its own perspective to identify operational issues affecting the CBPWP. These were captured in a discussion paper that formed the basis of subsequent discussions with other departments administering similar programmes. The aim was to reach inter-departmental consensus on priority issues that should be investigated. The underlying objective is to pursue policy convergence among different departments and programmes. It is expected that this will not only lead to greater consistency of approach, but will also permit the achievement of synergy among different programmes. The policy issues, grouped into four themes, are as follows: Theme 1: Site Level and Implementation
Theme 2: Inter-Programme
Theme 3: Costs and Benefits
Theme 4: Sustainability
The identified priority issues for this policy research series include: operation and maintenance, financial planning time frames and the capacity of programme implementing agents. The financial planning timeframes and capacity of programme implementing agents research papers are being financed by the DPW, whilst the paper on operation and maintenance is being funded by the ILO. The operation and maintenance research paper is the most critical, in that the development of feasible procedures and systems for the operation and maintenance of local level physical infrastructure is essential for the sustainability of continuing benefits from the programme. This research paper is, therefore, expected to make practical recommendations on specific measures likely to ensure the operation and maintenance of different types of assets being provided by the CBPWP. The long-term aim is to enable the DPW and other concerned departments to draw up both policies and practical guidelines for programme administrators, project planners, managers and beneficiary communities to maximise the prospects for successful operation and maintenance. Research on all three policy research papers started in early December 1999 and will be complete by April 2000. Rehabilitation and maintenance of district and feeder roads in Mwanza region, Tanzania By Lasse Melgaard, UNCDF/UNDP, Tanzania
Cradling the south-western part of Lake Victoria, Mwanza region has recently seen the introduction of a new method of road construction. For the past year, the UNCDF/UNDP Rehabilitation and Maintenance of District and Feeder Roads project has been busy with on-the-ground training of local contractors, district engineers and technicians in labour-based road rehabilitation in Magu, Sengerema and Geita districts. Seeking to revive nearly 200 km of roads utilizing labour-based methods while creating capacity in the District Councils, and in the private sector, to rehabilitate and maintain a network of roads, the project is now nearing completion of the first trial contracts with private contractors. The six best performers will start civil works this year, supervised by the District Councils and consultants, who are also trained as part of the project. Providing direct cash income for villagers during times of agricultural inactivity, the project utilizes one of the region's most abundant resources: labour. Approximately 40 villages with an average population of 1000 each will benefit directly from the project. Villagers will earn about 600,000 person-days of income. Moreover, access to markets will be improved. Some stretches linking fishing villages to vital arteries of the road network have already seen a three-fold increase in traffic, leading to increased economic activity. The sense of ownership and participation, also a critical component
of the project, will continue to make the project feel like a home-grown
initiative in the eyes of the people it affects. This is aptly illustrated
by the response of one villager who, when asked who was building
the road, replied: For more information on this project, please contact: Mr. Lasse Melgaard CONTACTS ASIST maintains a database of CVs of practitioners and others involved in labour-based technology. Registration with ASIST facilitates networking and recruitment for long and short term job opportunities. If you are interested in registering, send your CV to Website update As of March 2000 the ASIST |
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