Present-day Community Management of Rural Water Supply; Does it fulfill expectations in practice? An assessment of the situation in Maswa District, Tanzania

Abstract

Community management of service delivery has been an innovative approach that emerged in the past two decades. At the moment it is implemented in many policies since there are high expectations that the approach can contribute to sustainable access to services for the population of developing countries. This paper reviews the situation of community management in rural water supply in Maswa District, Tanzania by indicating the characteristics of the Water User Group, clarifying the roles of relevant actors in the sector and presenting improvements that can be made to increase functionality of the system.