Blantyre City hosts international sanitation conference

Mayor Wild Ndipo on Monday (4 December 2017) opened a three day International Conference on Fecal Sludge Management.

The conference convened by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) and the Department for International Development (DfID) has gathered over 30 delegates from 10 countries including Malawi.

Blantyre City Council is a beneficiary of a funding from BMGF and DfID to implement a project aimed at establishing Public-Private Partnerships on sanitation services also known as Sanitation Service Level Agreements (SSLA).

One of the objectives of the conference is to share lessons and develop a roadmap on Service Level Agreements based on the work done in the DFID/BMGF Partnership cities.

Ndipo confessed that Blantyre City, like many other Cities in developing countries, faces challenges in the provision of services to its rapidly growing population.

“The City Council as a local authority is charged with the responsibility of providing services to its residents and that includes sanitation especially in public facilities but also has the responsibility of enforcing improved sanitation in private homes and institutions,” said Ndipo.

“However, the informal settlements have complicated the process of collecting enough revenue for the Council to discharge this duty,” he added.