Regulating emptying and transport services for faecal sludge in Sub-Saharan African cities

In Sub-Saharan African cities, the majority of the population relies on onsite sanitation facilities, that typically generate faecal sludge. Emptying and transport services for this faecal sludge are key components of a complete sanitation service chain, without which the sludge would be left on site, pits or tanks would overflow, and sludge would not effectively reach treatment or safe disposal sites. These services are crucial to enable safely managed on site sanitation in cities, to protect public and environmental health. To address the adverse impacts and the inadequacy of many such emptying and transport services, local governments and national entities have started organising and regulating them.

The effective regulation of these services, both on paper and in practice, is the focus of this research. The research explores the current regulation in place in sub-Saharan African cities and analyses the barriers and enablers to regulating emptying and transport services. It does this by using a mixed-methods approach and a combination of three studies: a Delphi study among emptiers, an Inventory of regulatory practices, and a multiple-case study of three cities (Kampala, Lusaka, Freetown).

The research concludes that there are a variety of regulatory situations in sub-Saharan African cities. Many cities have at least some regulation in place for emptying and transport services, and this regulation is often at least partially implemented. Three regulatory approaches, often combined, are commonly used by the regulators: a) command and control; b) support and incentivise; c) self-regulation. The degree of implementation of the regulation is influenced by the content of the regulation, the regulatory process (from initiation, through creation/reform to implementation), and the context. The motivation, capacity, knowledge, and resources of all stakeholders are crucial considerations to achieve regulated services. Five categories of stakeholders were found to play an important role in the regulation of emptying and transport services: regulators, monitors/enforcers, regulated, self-regulation bodies, and influencers.

This research led to the development of a framework incorporating the key elements to be taken into account when regulating services. This will prove a useful guide to regulators, sanitation planners, and their development partners, when starting the process of regulating services or when wanting to understand why the enacted regulation is not being successfully implemented. It will also enable researchers to further analyse the regulation and the regulatory processes within other cities where on site sanitation facilities services are present.