Water committees in the implementation of decentralization measures in the water sector in Gaza Province, Mozambique: ownership and resistance

In 2015, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were adopted, including SDG6 – universal access to water and sanitation by 2030, recognizing that access to these basic services is essential for human health and development. Some progress has been made toward achieving SDG6; the proportion of the global population using safely managed drinking water services¹ increased from 70% in 2015 to 74% in 2020 (UN 2022).

The coverage of safely managed drinking water services varies considerably globally, regionally, across wealth quintiles and sub-national regions. Of those who have safely managed drinking water services, 1.9 billion (1 in 3) live in rural areas (Idem). In sub-Saharan Africa, more than half of the population (328 million people) have basic access to water compared to 400 million without access to safe water (Kanyangarara 2021). The UN-Water Global Analysis and Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking Water (GLAAS) suggests that, in many countries, insufficient financial resources are a major impediment to achieving higher levels of investment (WHO 2017).

The situation of access to water in rural areas is more critical than in urban areas and between rich and poor (Moriarty et al. 2013; Van et al. 2017). In the Democratic Republic of Mozambique, hereinafter referred as Mozambique, a lower-middle income country in Sub-Saharan Africa, only half the population has access to safely managed water (DNAAS 2018)². Although most of the population resides in rural areas, DNAAS (2018) indicates that only 37% of rural areas have access to safe drinking water, in contrast to the situation in urban areas, where access to water through pipes is around 58% (INE 2019)³.

Consistently to this slow increase in access to water, the water sector is struggling with the problem of the sustainability of the infrastructure built, which negatively affects the progress of rural water supply. Studies suggest that in rural sub-Saharan Africa, up to one-third of the handpumps are nonfunctional at any given time (RWSN 2010; Chowns 2015; Fisher et al. 2015). For its part, World Bank (2018) also indicates that the water sector in Mozambique is facing sustainability problems, with approximately 35% of handpumps in rural areas having broken down.

To address this sustainability challenge, Mozambique has adopted a decentralized model in which community members have a responsibility to manage water points at the community level. For the purpose of guiding the operating modalities of community management of water sources, in 2002, the Implementation Manual for Rural Water Supply Projects (MIPAR) was introduced. The manual sets out the guiding principles for community participation in the provision of water services, it also stipulates that committees are expected to play an important role in the sustainable management of water supply systems. However, little is known about who legitimizes the decisions of policymakers in the water sector and who resists and what motivations may lie behind these positions.

Therefore, the research was driven by the following question: are the committees acting in accordance with the legal framework in the context of decentralization as laid out in the MIPAR? The aim of this study is to understand the role played by committee members, and the extent to which the functioning of the committees may or may not contribute to the sustainability of water sources. The article seeks to understand the sustainability of water systems in Mozambique from the perspective of socio-cultural dynamics, the regulatory and institutional frameworks, as well as the interaction of social actors involved in community management of water systems.

For the purposes of this research, we use the concept of a Water User Committee from Uckrow & Stephen (2012), who consider the Water User Committee as a group of individuals representing the users of a water source in a certain area. The perspective brought by Uckrow and Stephan allows us to understand how social-cultural and political conditions should be considered for the functioning of a committee.

There is no precise definition of sustainability. For this paper, we use the approach of Abrams et al. (2000) who define sustainability as the continuity in the availability of water services in quantity and quality for the period for which the system was designed. Certain elements should be included, such as the technical aspects, social factors, financial elements, the environment, gender and equity aspects, empowerment, and institutional arrangements (Abrams et al. 2000).

For the analysis of the individual motivations for membership to the committees, this study applies the concept of reasons proposed by Alfred Schutz's phenomenological perspective (1997). Therefore, based on this theoretical perspective, we understood the reasons, and motives for, the involvement of communities in water committees. In the phenomenological theory, the reasons why can only be understood from the knowledge of the individual's life history, of what led the individual to practice such actions. These motives are rooted in their personality, in the learning they have accumulated throughout their life; only by knowing their past does one have the possibility of knowing the type of mind that undertook such an action (Zeferino & Carraro 2013). Thus, this study contributes to the following:

• (1)

  understand how water committees implement the promotion of WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene) in the study sites in Mozambique and how the water committees promote the sustainability of WASH.

• (2)

  understand the different interpretations and perspectives on WASH supply and the complexities involved in the triangle of policymakers, water committees' members and users of WASH.

• (3)

  recommend changes to water committees' guidance and policy to increase their outcomes.

The discussion on the sustainability of water supply systems is not a new subject. It is a concept whose pivotal point of discussion dates to 1987 when the international conference on sustainable development was held, and the focus of the discussion was on the management of natural resources. The literature review reveals that there are a few scientific studies on the topic of sustainability of water supply specifically for Mozambique. The available studies, by Jansz (2011), Uandela (2012), Forquilha (2013) and Van (2022) show that sustainability issues are strictly linked to the decentralized water management models, weak financial, technical, and management capacity of the Water User Committee. Most of the available analysis on this topic is a result of consultancies commissioned by non-government organizations that support water supply in Mozambique.

The discussion on the sustainability of water supply services in rural areas has been the subject of much debate in academic circles and at the level of non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Initially, debates and project evaluation reports tended to refer to a more technical discussion in the sense of the technical capacity of communities to maintain functional systems. However, there are now debates that seek to understand the influence of various social, policy, and financial factors.

From a technical and financial perspective, Lockwood (2004) argues that most of the community cannot guarantee the maintenance of the water systems by themselves, and they require some external support for long-term assistance, and part of the solution has been the involvement of NGOs, private sector, local and provincial government, and the support associations for access to funding and monitoring. However, the criticism of this perspective is the fact that it does not consider the social, cultural, and political environment in which this same technology was applied.

Beyene (2010) considers the existence of the following two determinants for the sustainability of water systems in rural regions: (1) pre-intervention factors that comprise community participation, choice of technologies, choice of site, quality of construction, the population and training and (2) post-intervention factors that encompass on-going technical support, community satisfaction, institutional, and financial management. In the same view, Abrams et al. (2000), Loucks & Gladwell (1999) and Marks & Davis (2014) present a more complex approach to sustainability which in their view should include broader factors such as technical, social, financial, environmental, gender, equity, empowerment, and institutional arrangements.

Other explanatory variables for the poor sustainability of water infrastructures in rural areas have been introduced in studies over the last few decades. Fisher et al. (2015); Marks & Davis (2014) and Harvey (2004) consider that functionality depends on source age, management, hydrological determinants, tariff collection, the number of other sources in the community, and the district. In the same view, Carter (2016) argues that social factors can suggest a more qualitative dimension of sustainability analysis and thus provide more information than quantitative indicators.

By analyzing the various explanatory perspectives on the problem of access to water, we can understand that sustainability depends on a range of complex factors, including social, technological and/or economic factors, the formulation of public, and environmental policies. As such, there is an urgent need to understand the phenomenon of sustainability, with a view to find the strengths and weaknesses that do or do not favor the formulation and implementation of appropriate public policies and management systems that guarantee sustainable access to water for communities.

The community water management model was adopted by many countries to address sustainability challenges. As a result, the rural water sub-sector has increasingly incorporated community participation (Marks & Davis 2014). The introduction of community management models follows a general trend toward the decentralization of services that characterized the 1980s and 1990s in several sub-Saharan African countries such as Mozambique.

To better categorize community participation, organizations have adopted the concept of Water User Committee, which we previously defined from the perspective of Uckrow & Stephen (2012). However, some actors call them water management committees, but they refer to the same social group. This committee is elected by the users or community to carry out water infrastructure management activities for the mutual benefit of the community, operator, and local authorities. The core of the community management model is the water point committee, typically a group of 6–10 villagers elected or otherwise delegated by their community to take responsibility for the water point (Chowns 2015). For the specific case of Mozambique, according to MIPAR the committee is composed of 6–12 people (50% female and 50% male) and they should be democratically elected. However, the filed data indicated that most of the members are delegated, meaning that in this process they are not following the MIPAR procedures, this result is in line with Nhaurire (2017), who found that in many cases, people are involved in committees by appointment rather than by election, as MIPAR advocates. However, there is always an acceptance of the tasks on the part of the people chosen. The majority of those chosen justify that they cannot deny the choice made by the population, which in many cases is made in the presence of community leaders. A choice or election along these lines generates fear of denying or rejecting work in favor of the population's well-being (Nhaurire 2017).

Uckrow & Stephen (2012) consider that specific tasks of a Water User Committee can be divided into social management, technical management, and financial management. A salient factor in the authors' definition is that for a Water User Committee to function properly and meet the needs of the community, members must be elected. The committee should consider and represent all members of the community – irrespective of wealth, inclusive of gender differences, ethnicity, and disadvantaged and vulnerable groups such as those living with a disability.

Studies signify two critical expectations regarding the role of communities in the management of rural water supply systems. Chowns (2015) illustrates that first, improvements in technical performance would result from more frequent maintenance and repair works by local technicians. Second, an improvement in financial sustainability is expected insofar as users would have a direct interest in making contributions because they would see a clear and necessary link between the fees and the continued functionality of the source. However, optimism in community management is now being challenged and debates are growing about the shortcomings of the model (Chowns 2015).

The reliance on community management is not perceived as entirely adequate for the sustainable provision of access to water. In Carter's (2009) view, traditional structures, especially in rural areas, are threatened by modernizing influences. His argument positions that development itself weakens the traditional forms and community values that would make community management of development projects possible, even if these projects may increase the availability of resources. Therefore, community management of water supply services without robust external support is questioned in the current context.

The MOPH (2001),⁴ considers that the non-operational or obsolete state of water sources is essentially the result of poor community involvement. Conversely, in the view of the International Water & Sanitation Centre (2012), the community management model of water services has been encouraged in many countries to give communities greater control and ownership over their water supplies. However, the sense of ownership by the communities has been pointed out in the current research as one of the challenges of community management linked to this aspect, which is what Van (2022) called the ‘romantic idea of participation’, referring to the fact that communities are not effectively involved in decision-making, for example, in deciding the type of technology and the type of the management model.

However, little is known about the engagement and participation of water committee members in Mozambique, and this study aims to contribute by analyzing the roles of the selection processes, the profile, and the motivations of the members in carrying out their roles as members. It also analyses the extent to which these members are playing their role in accordance with what the legislation or policymakers expect of them to respond to the challenges of sustainable water services.

Gaza is linked to the province of Manica to the northeast to Inhambane and to the south to Maputo. It is also bordered by South Africa on the south and to the west with Zimbabwe. In the south-eastern region, it also has about 200 km of coastline with the Indian Ocean. The province is predominantly inhabited by the Changana ethnic group. The main economic activities are agriculture, cattle-raising, and tourism. The water supply and distribution network are composed of scattered springs, water networks from surface water sources, and traditional wells that supply about 71% of the population according to DNAAS data (2018).

Gaza Province was selected as the study site as it has some of the highest numbers of water committees experiencing operational issues influencing functionality and access to water in the southern-zone provinces. DNAAS (2018) indicates that of the 1,534 committees constituted in Gaza Province, 784 (about 51%) are not operational, as compared to the Inhambane Province, for example, where only 41% of committees (315) are not functional. The functionality of the committees is measured by whether water committee meetings are held.

A qualitative method was used for field-based data collection. Focus group discussions and in-depth interviews were conducted with key informants and water point users. This was accompanied by a documental and bibliographical analysis of official government documents (Poverty Reduction Action Plan – PARP), National Programme for Water Supply and Rural Sanitation (MOPH 2009), National Water Strategy, Water Policy, statistical data obtained from the Manjacaze and Xai-Xai SDPIs,⁵ and academic works. The official documents used were obtained through an internet search, for district coverage data and water committees, we used the DNAAS database (mSinas)⁶.

The document analysis sought to understand the content of government policies and strategies aimed at increasing the levels of coverage in the country and examine the strategies that have been adopted by the government to address the issue of sustainability of water sources.

The field study focused on two water committees in the rural context of Manjacaze district. The target group was made up of members of the Water User Committees and other members of the community, with a particular emphasis on women who usually play the role of providing water for family use in Mozambique. From a total nominal population of 24 committee members (12 committee members per target community), we interviewed 15 people.

For the interviews we adopted three criteria for the selection of interviewees: first, be a member of the community where the study was carried out; second, not belonging to other committees of the same type for we would be sure that we are talking about the committee that constitutes our target group. Also, finally, to be a user of the water source under analysis, because then we believe that, for these, possibly the committee could have some impact on their lives and on the lives of their family members. Table 1 shows the socio-economic characteristics of the interviewees. The data showed that of the 15 people interviewed, 10 were female and 5 males, revealing a greater participation by women in water-related issues. In terms of education, the data showed that only 1 person had a secondary education, the majority (9) had a primary education, and the rest (4) had no education at all. In terms of income-generating activity, the majority (10) practiced agriculture, following the trend of national statistics. In terms of marital status, the data showed that the majority were married, with two cases of widows.

The key informants interviewed were selected at three levels: district, provincial, and national. We used purposive sampling to select eight key informants at all levels. The choice of informants allowed for an in-depth view of the functioning of the water sector in Mozambique, including plans and strategies for the sector. In terms of profile, two of the informants at the district level fulfill technical functions, two fulfill political functions, and all are male. In the province, we interviewed a key informant who performs technical functions and has extensive experience in the country's water sector. At the central level, the three key informants have extensive experience in the water sector, one of them female with a political function and the other two males with a technical function, and have participated in the formulation of policies, plans, and the implementation of water supply projects in Mozambique.

In the data collection process, we developed a question guide that directed one-to-one interviews with key informants, committee members, and source users. The interview guides were also used to guide the focus group interviews. The main topics considered were, firstly, related to the history of the committee to understand the process of setting up the committee, as well as establishing the key milestones in its life. Secondly, we also included topics to understand the process of selecting committee members, their responsibilities, the role of the committee in ensuring the functioning of the water source, the users' contributions, as well as the management of any funds collected. These topics allowed us to understand the motivations of the members, the benefits of being a member, and the capacity of the committee to remain functional, as well as to understand barriers to implementation and sustainability.

We used the model proposed by Richardson (2008) which consists of five steps: (1) transcription of individual interviews and focus groups; (2) search for categories; (3) detailing and selection of data which consists of grouping them according to each question asked to the target group, (4) highlighting and selection of data; and (5) elaboration of an analysis scheme (narrative synthesis). We captured the meanings and perceptions that committee members and users have regarding sustainability, considering the social and cultural context in which they are inserted. We gave greater attention to generalizations of the responses of the respondents considering the context under analysis.

Several themes emerged from the documentary analysis, including the genesis of the establishment of the community management model, the role of committee members in guaranteeing sustainability, and the challenge of community participation. From the empirical data, themes emerged such as the issue of accountability, the social relationships that are established around the water supply system, and the process of appointing committee members. In addition to analyzing the official documents, a review of scientific articles on WASH and sustainability was carried out, with a focus on sub-Saharan Africa.

This study was approved by the National Bioethics Committee of the medical school – Eduardo Mondlane University under the reference CIBS FM&HCM/P106/2020. To safeguard against ethical issues, respondents were asked to sign an ethics commitment. Respondents were informed in detail of the objectives and benefits of the study in their preferred language and that their participation in the research is voluntary. The research participants were invited to sign an informed consent form to acknowledge their willing participation.

The findings revealed that most participants agreed that the committees arose from the need to respond to the precepts of decentralization, combined with the lack of human resources on the part of the District Planning and Infrastructure Services for the management and permanent monitoring of dispersed sources.

The respondents explained that after Mozambique gained independence from Portugal in 1975 the communities were grouped in communal villages to better serve the communities with basic services. Prior to the institutionalization of Water User Committees under the guidance of MIPAR, there had always been ‘non-formalized’ institutional mechanisms for organizing communities to manage water supply services.

In the context of the implementation of the rural water supply program which is extended to suburban neighborhoods, the committee designated other positions, such as fountain caretaker and community manager. In line with this perspective of the creation of a Water User Committee, Uandela (2012) considers that the institutionalization of Water User Committees in Mozambique is the direct result of the decentralization process.

The assumption of decentralization as a factor in consolidating water committees is also supported by Moriarty et al. (2013) considering that over the decade community management emerged not only as the main management model, but largely as a reaction to the failure of centralized government service delivery. Moriarty also positions that the water committees emerged as a by-product of the project approach of most NGOs and donors. Donors believed in the importance of giving people at the grassroots greater influence over decisions that affect them (Manor 2004).

The decentralization of rural water supply to rural communities promoted a particular articulation of the roles and responsibilities between the state and the community (Hope 2015). These theoretical perspectives are part of a neoliberal perspective on reduced state involvement, water as a basic human right, water as an economic good, and empowerment approaches putting users at the forefront (Harvey & Reed 2006). These authors consider that there are two more reasons for establishing the Water User Committee approach: on the one hand, the need for NGOs and bilateral cooperation partners to ensure the sustainability of water supply systems through the involvement and ownership of communities leading to enhanced accountability, and on the other hand, related to the hegemonic nature of development in the sense that community management was a concept developed predominantly in the West (Harvey & Reed 2006).

About the selection of members, the results showed that the democratic principles advocated by MIPAR for the election of committee members were not obeyed. The community's involvement was often by appointment, a task often delegated to the committee president under the advice of community leaders or the neighborhood secretary. Once the committee members have been pre-selected, they are then presented to the community for legitimization. It is therefore a top-down process at the community level. In an interview, one participant when asked how some members were chosen, replied as follows: ‘….They didn't say anything, they just said that José will be our committee member…’ On how the committee came about, he replied as follows: ‘…The owners sent Father Leonardo to build that water committee club to organize the community, to keep the area that has water clean…’. These answers lead us to conclude that, in the perception of some members, there is an organizational structure above them that makes decisions. In another example, there are cases where being a member of the management committee is by inheritance as one of our interlocutors described.

In Gaza Province, the findings illustrated that since the departure of one of the NGOs that supported the government's objective of implementing the Water User Committee approach, communities have been struggling with problems of access to water services. This phenomenon is also seen in other African countries where most water supply projects are funded by donors and NGOs (Kativhu et al. 2018). So, the question emerges as to what changes the decision to establish Water User Committees guarantee sustainability in a context of strong external dependence and a top-down approach. Therefore, the analysis of the water policy indicates that Mozambique has a robust legal and regulatory framework that clearly addresses the issue of sustainability and there is a well-structured institutional framework at four levels: 1 – Central represented by DNAAS; 2 – Provincial represented by the provincial directorates; 3 – District by the district planning and infrastructure services; and 4 – at the local level represented by the Water User Committees capable (in theory) of responding to the sustainability challenges of the water supply services. However, the way in which the legal processes and framework are implemented in practice is problematic.

There was unanimity among the respondents that the Water User Committees have a relevant role in the provision of water supply services to the communities, in so far as from the users' point of view this allows regular maintenance of the water source and receiving and managing contributions from communities for the purchase of spare parts in case of breakdown. Another relevant role of the Water User Committees is to guarantee the cleaning of the water source. When it was set up, members were identified whose role would be to keep the fountain clean so that it would not be a source of disease. As such, this group should sensitize users not to throw rubbish around the fountain, and prevent domestic animals from roaming around the fountain so that they do not spread excreta that could contaminate the water. However, this group has no responsibility for monitoring water quality. The health authorities, in coordination with the district planning and infrastructure services, have the role of regularly taking samples and sending them to the laboratory for water quality analysis, which does not happen regularly.

The findings also revealed that there is community recognition by water users of the role that the committee plays in making water available and thereby enabling improved hygiene. The roles and responsibilities of the Water User Committee demonstrate the significance it has for the community in terms of access to water. One of the roles played by the committee is to ensure the management, maintenance of the infrastructure and repair of the source in cases of breakdown. The management committee is defined based on its function. This committee is elected by the users or community to carry out water infrastructure management activities for the mutual benefit of the community, operator, and local authorities. However, as we mentioned in the previous chapter, the findings of this study revealed that the democratic principle of electing members is not always followed.

The activities carried out by the committee should be on a voluntary basis according to Uckrow & Stephen (2012). In general, this is fulfilled through the formation of a community water committee that is responsible for operating the system, setting, and collecting water tariffs, and managing maintenance and repair activities. Although some community members have a positive perception of the role of the committee in water source management, others from the same community have the perception that there is a lack of transparency and accountability in the management of funds as illustrated by the statement of one of the interviewees.

In line with this view, there are some studies that found a less positivist view of the committee's role in the community management of water sources. Chowns (2015) considers that community management cannot be called a ‘success’ because it has imposed unrealistic management burdens on users. Users do not fully value the health benefits of clean water, and they face serious collective action problems in managing water supplies themselves. As a result, performance is sub-optimal: community management is not an efficient or effective framework for public service delivery. In the same perspective, Lockwood (2004), Carter et al. (1999), Harvey & Reed (2006), consider poor planning, services delivery operations and maintenance of the water infrastructure as causes of community management failure. This may contradict expectations regarding the principles of adopting this decentralized model by governments.

Despite the issues that users and committee members described with the committee model, there is nevertheless a recognition of the role of the committees in ensuring the functioning of water sources. The role that the committee plays in guaranteeing access to water in the community is linked to the meaning that water has in the community. There is a generalized perception that does not escape a global perception about the meaning of water …without water there is no life. The discussion has revealed the importance of water committees as described by both the primary data and the theoretical framework, but the analysis has made it possible to take a critical approach to the role of the committee and the actions of committee members. The committees evaluated in this study have shown accountability problems and do not act effectively in carrying out their roles.

Findings of the study revealed that the weak willingness and capacity to pay for water, combined with poor management of funds, constitutes a financial problem that affects the sustainability of water sources. One of the systems was once supported by an international NGO, but with the departure of the NGO from the District, the problems have been exacerbated.

This finding is in line with the Lockwood (2004) perspective. His argument is that most of the community cannot guarantee the maintenance of the systems by themselves, and they require long-term external technical support. The solution for this, in part, has been the involvement of NGOs, the private sector, local and provincial government and/or support associations for access to funding and monitoring. The financial determinant matches with one of three determinants of water supply sustainability from the perspective of Foster (2013).

One of the key technological factors was that in one of the communities visited in this study, the water supply system was powered by solar panels and it was not efficient in its operation, especially on days when the sunlight was not intense. This resulted in many days without the system supplying water. Also, and importantly, the fact that communities' members were not trained to ensure maintenance of the water solar panels installed in one of the water sources. Therefore, when the system breaks down they must require technical support from the district technicians. This finding is in line with Sousa et al. (2020) and Harvey & Reed (2006) when they revealed that the technical training of the members of the community organization responsible for maintaining the supply service is a fundamental element for the success of the model.

The complexity of the type of the system (solar panels) exacerbates the weak technical and managerial capacity of the community to manage, maintain and repair in the event of a breakdown, leading to dependence on technicians from the Province or District.

The social relations between members are not always harmonious; the interviews revealed the existence of conflicts between committee members, between users and between members and users. Most of the conflicts result from a lack of understanding about some decisions taken by the committee members on management and use of user contributions funds. Another aspect that leads to conflicts among users results from the disagreement on the amount of water each member draws as illustrated in the following interview excerpt.

The results of the study also showed that the conflicting relationships between members stem from the fact that the water system cannot provide enough water for users, with the aggravating factor that some take the water to irrigate their fields, as observed in the Sumabanine community. According to Mozambique's water policy, the minimum amount of water needed per person per day to meet their needs is 20 l for dispersed sources. Due to the frequency of conflicts between users, the committees have established rules to resolve them. In some cases, conflictive users who do not comply with the coexistence rules are fined.

The study revealed that conflicts are common among the water committees studied. Conflicts occur both between committee members and users, as well as between committee members. The main sources of conflicts are related to water scarcity and mismanagement of funds by the committee. These results corroborate the studies of Ndelwa (2014), in the sense that in his studies he reveals that resource conflicts occur when resource scarcity causes competition and disagreement. Solutions for conflict management are established at the committee level, which reveals the relevance of the committee in managing water conflicts at the community level. The field data revealed that individuals are identified at the community level who are responsible for supporting the committee in resolving water conflicts. As such, some of the procedures adopted to resolve conflicts consist of imposing monetary fines on members who break the rules on the amount of water established for each user, while another mechanism involves sensitizing community members who get involved in conflicts. However, there are situations in which they are unable to resolve such conflicts due to their complexity. It should be noted that the procedures governing the functioning of the committees do not include any measures for resolving conflicts.

Ndelwa (2014) reveals that water use conflicts are a common feature in Tanzania and affect the management and sharing of water among the users themselves, in many cases these conflicting behaviors lead to violent actions. In the case of the committees studied in this research, there were reports of cases of witchcraft and suspected poisoning among community members, which probably without the committee's intervention would end in serious violence in the community.

Most of the conflicting issues observed and reported during the interviews involved women. One of the hypotheses we can assert is the fact that most of the people who fetch water from the water points in Gaza Province are women and children. The distribution of tasks in the communities is disaggregated by gender, with women being assigned hygiene and cleaning tasks, while men are responsible for tasks considered heavier, such as the maintenance and placement of the fountain's protective fence. In line with this, studies carried out by Van (2016) and Nhaurire (2021) show how gender roles, marital status, and division of labor are connected to everyday water practice.

In line with the study results, Jayashree (2022) indicates that lack of access to safe water and sanitation facilities disproportionately affects girls and women: women and girls continue to have the bulk of care responsibilities (in rural communities in particular), which includes managing the water supply and water usage, as per household needs.

The committees do not function based on an elaborate plans, plans are made based on identified problems, for example, when there is a need to discuss an issue related to breakdowns, payments, or even when the committee receives information that somebody from local or district government will visit the committee. Most of the committee members have income-generating activities. As committee members they do not receive payment, so to satisfy their needs, they practice some economic activities such as agriculture or informal commerce. Like most rural communities in Mozambique, the main economic activity of the communities surveyed is agriculture and informal trade. Therefore, the committee members' days are limited to these activities, and they only meet when there is an issue to discuss. The meetings, when they happen, are attended by a small number of participants, and the meetings must always take place after returning from the fields.

As described in the guidance of water committees, they should organize regular meetings with the participation of the water source users; however, this study showed that these meetings do not happen regularly. The irregularity of the routine meetings by committee members with the participation of the water source users is described by some community members as bad. Community members' perception is that the lack of these meetings constitutes a limitation to discuss the main issues that affect the functionality of the water point. This idea is corroborated by the International Water and Sanitation Centre (IRC 2012) when it considers that one of the factors affecting the sustainability of water infrastructure is the irregularity with which committee members meet to discuss infrastructure management issues.

On accountability, the results showed that the practice of rendering accounts is not exercised regularly. The meetings often take place only when there is some breakdown of the source or when the source does not supply water regularly. The result of this lack of regularity of meetings is that some members are no longer recognized as committee members. When asked about the membership of the ‘Chiculute committee’, members present at the interview found it very difficult to count and name members. However, there is an acknowledgement that initially there were 12 members, and that each member had some role.

The lack of regular meetings among members, and between members and users, leads to a lack of regularity in sharing information on the functionality of the committee, as well as on available funds. The lack of information on the financial status of the committee extends to the committee members themselves. Therefore, although the committee plays a key role in maintaining the water sources, the challenge of accountability puts the committee in a survival challenge, as users are not motivated to make their monthly monetary contributions due to a lack of transparency. The following transcripts illustrate this finding:

Although it is an issue that affects all the committee members and users, in general, it is the men who have shown great concern for the way in which accountability is done. At the committee level, although women are usually responsible for the collection of money from the water users, there is always a male element supporting the collection and management process.

On accountability of the committee, Houston & Moriarty (2018) consider that clarity is required on the services to which users are entitled and the payments they are expected to make for those services. In line with this perspective, projects should adopt clear and transparent rules that allow users to select the level of service, technology, and location of facilities that best fit their needs, with a clear understanding of the costs and responsibilities that these options bear (UNDP & World Bank 2018).

We have highlighted in this section that some practices, such as a lack of transparency in the management of the committee's finances, and failure to render accounts both among the members and to the users of the water source, can lead to communities perceiving committee members as untrustworthy and in turn not feeling encouraged to pay the tariffs for water use, with consequences for the sustainability of the system. Without funds, the committee will not be able to guarantee the purchase of spare parts for regular maintenance of the water pump, which contrasts with the logic by which community management was established.

The data revealed that there is resistance from some water committee members to comply with the rules established by the committee for its operation. Resistance is often illustrated by absenteeism at meetings scheduled by the committee, and by the reluctance of some users to contribute to the maintenance of the source. These facts are illustrated in the following excerpt:

The process of selecting committee members goes beyond the voluntary basis or election as described in the MIPAR guidance. It has become common for both committee members to be nominated by local leaders. Appointment of committee members by the local leadership is a strong acceptance factor, as members cannot rationally refuse a leader's request because he or she represents the highest point of leadership in the community. As such, members become complacent with water policy guidelines regarding community participation in the management of water infrastructure. The MIPAR guidelines are often promoted by NGOs. For the case of the committees under review, the promotion of community participation in the management of water sources was promoted by the international NGO World Vision⁷.

In both water committees, we found that there are cases of resistance from its members regarding participation in the role of the committee. It is important to note that the low participation of members is not always due to the resistance of the committee itself. There are cases in which members do not participate due to illness or because they have other activities which are more important than participating in the water committee meeting, as illustrated in the findings. Community participation can be stimulated by a community itself, or by others, and begins with dialogue among members of a community to determine who, what, and how issues are decided, and to provide an avenue for everyone to participate in decisions that affect their lives.

However, it is important to note that although there is recognition of the role and relevance of the water committee in the management of the source and the fact that the policy describes the principles of participation, reality has shown that water committee members do not always get involved in the committee willingly or through their own choice and in turn have demonstrated that they are not fully committed and have not been dedicated enough to keep the committee running efficiently.

One of the examples of resistance found during the study is related to the refusal to pay any money to guarantee the maintenance and repair of the water source in case of breakdown, which goes against the principle of participation recommended by the national water policy (República de Moçambique 1991) and Harvey & Reed (2006). In line with this perspective, Hassamo (2015) consider that the level of accountability of the committees to their members and the destination of the funds resulting from the members' contributions makes members reluctant when they are asked to pay monthly dues for the functioning of the committees and to fix handpump breakdowns in a short space of time. In turn, Van (2022) found in her study that one of the reasons that users refuse to pay is the fact that they view the well and the rivers as a common resource, indelibly tied to nature, social relations, and religion or ‘God’, while the planners approached the handpump as a commodity that could be owned by an exclusive group and had to be paid for.

The results of the research showed that in the context of decentralization of water supply services management, there is an expectation from a political point of view that communities should play a key role in the management of water infrastructures. However, contrary to political expectations, the community management model adopted in Gaza Province, Mozambique has not fully fulfilled these expectations and has failed to deliver a satisfactory level of sustainable services. Among the reasons affecting the performance of the committees, we highlight the following: lack of structures in place to monitor accountability, lack of transparency, and a weak process of selecting committee members. In addition, internal conflicts between members and users, and payment of tariffs by users featured heavily as barriers to the success of the committees. From a management perspective, weak management capacity and resistance to complying with committee rules significantly hampered the legitimacy of the Water User Committees. In addition, the wrong perception that communities are driven only by volunteering for their involvement in water committees emphasized by the MIPAR, proves to be out of context with reality.

Despite these challenges, the findings of these studies illustrate that water committees remain relevant actors in the decentralization process of water supply services at the rural level. However, for their actions to be conducive to the sustainability of services, it is necessary that technical and managerial support by the local government be constant until water committee members and users reach a high level of awareness of their role in the provision of services and the exercise of their duties in response to the decentralization process. Further research on this subject is recommended to improve the understanding of issues affecting sustainability with a focus on social-cultural factors.

All relevant data are included in the paper or its Supplementary Information.

The authors declare there is no conflict.