Ghana has recently decided to shift from centralized maintenance of handpumps to community managed maintenance.
| Title | Evaluation of maintenance systems in Ghana |
| Publication Type | Miscellaneous |
| Year of Publication | 1994 |
| Authors | Baumann, E, Fonseka, J |
| Pagination | 51 p.: fig., tab., photogr. |
| Date Published | 1994-01-01 |
| Publisher | SKAT (Swiss Centre for Development Cooperation in Technology and Management) |
| Place Published | St. Gallen, Switzerland |
| Keywords | afridev pumps, cab95/5, community management, community participation, cost recovery, decentralization, evaluation, ghana, hand pumps, india mark ii pumps, maintenance, maintenance costs, monarch pumps, moyno pumps, nira pumps, private sector, projects, spare parts, vergnet pumps |
| Abstract | Ghana has recently decided to shift from centralized maintenance of handpumps to community managed maintenance. Ghana has both centralized and decentralized systems in operation at present with 8,000 handpumps under the government managed maintenance structure and new projects which leave financial and managerial responsibilities to the communities. This transitional period allows for the assessment and comparison of costs, sustainability and effectiveness of both systems. The objective of this study was to visit six projects in Ghana in order to collect data, and analyse the weaknesses and potentials and from this analysis to recommend a maintenance strategy that strives towards cost effectiveness, sustainability, and safeguarding existing water points during transition. The study concludes that while centrally managed maintenance systems allow preventive maintenance, the need to organize tariff collection makes it difficult to operate the system efficiently; whereas, in community managed projects, preventive maintenance is generally not done and therefore fewer pumps remain operational. Recommendations from the study focus on the maintenance structure, costs, spare parts distribution, and private sector involvement in operation and maintenance. Appendices give complete and detailed project data and cost analysis of each project visited. |
| Custom 1 | 232.2, 824 |
