Day #2 – June 2, 2019
Informally organizing to create & sustain community resources (e.g., borehole maintenance in rural Malawi) by A. Kusi-Appiah, 2019 QE scholar.
1. Setting the Stage
Today I was up early as usual and I was out jogging before 05h00. When I got out there, it was so dark that I almost returned home, but I persisted and jogged for well over 20 minutes before the darkness dissipated. This afforded me the opportunity to enjoy the scenes of Mzuzu. Throughout my jog/walk (which lasted over 90 minutes) I found myself contemplating 2 very important themes very close to my heart namely; a) *informality*, and b) *organization*.
2. Informality is Everywhere
Fiege (1990:990) defines informality as *”those actions of economic agents that fail to adhere to the established institutional rules or are denied their protection”* (cf. Portes and Haller, 2005:404). This definition pits activities that violate state regulations against activities that conform to state regulations. But I agree with Harris (2017) that informality *is everywhere, and applies equally everywhere*, but in practice, it manifests itself differently.
As Harris (2017:2) puts it; “there are degrees of informality”, hence the informal sector in Mzuzu may be completely different and practiced differently from the one in Ottawa. However, the two places still have informality within their respective systems. In Mzuzu, informality seems to be the preferred mode of operation, with the proliferation of *bicycle taxis* which operate freely in the city. In my usual walks/jogs, I encounter them on a regular basis, with most of them offering their services as I go about my normal activity.
The history of informality informs its meaning. Historically, informality is always in flux, and it is shaped by systems of property, colonial legacy, disjuncture of legislation, or the lack thereof (see Castells and Portes 1989: 298-99; Van Gelder, 2013:509). One cannot fully grasp an informal system at a point in time (snapshot won’t give you the true picture of an informal system because it is a slippery ‘beast.’ In spite of its slippery nature, informality is real and very relevant for global planning and research.
3. Organization is Everything
However, just like any mode of operation, an informal system relies on informal *organization*, which is mostly rooted in the social norms and customs of the community. It was the Osagyefo who famously said: *”organization is everything”* . This is true today as it was during the independence seeking days of yesteryear. Development officers on the ground swear by it. Indeed, if one can get about 15-20 community members in a room to constantly tackle resource access issues within their communities, they can get what they want.
Here in Malawi, Mr. Soko country director, FYF Malawi) has been working with mostly rural communities to manage their boreholes for over 15 years, and he can attest that *organizing* community members into what he refers to as *water point committees* affords them the opportunity to sustain community assets (in this case bore holes) through effective monitoring and maintaining their community assets while providing a most vital resource – water – to the most vulnerable in society. Furthermore, the work of *water point committees* makes it possible to sustain the environment against any form of abuse.
4. Overcoming Informal Water Access Challenges
As far as the issue of potable water is concerned, it is instructive to note that many communities are now sinking boreholes to help them with their water needs. However, these boreholes are not without both environmental and socioeconomic challenges. For example, the issues of sustainability and of maintaining boreholes sunk are real, and requires an approach that could lead to constant monitoring and evaluation of the community resource to avoid environmental calamities which then affect the health and sociocultural wellbeing of the community involved. According to Mr. Soko, a *water point committee* within a catchment area is the answer. A *water point committee* is a practice that has now become standard after many lessons of failure in the past.
In terms of quality control, it is strongly encouraged that if any entity is going to support communities with say boreholes, they don’t just do it as an individual entity, but as an endeavour that involves the whole community for sustainability of the community resource. A *water point committee* must be formed as soon as a community resource like a bore hole is being contemplated. The *water point committee’s* role is simply to oversee the construction and maintenance of the community resource.
5. The Way Forward
One of my goals is to find out how such an informal committee is organized and some of the cultural norms that play a role in its successful operation.