Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) participated in the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) stakeholders meeting on the Just City Project on November 24, 2022. The Just City Lagos project is part of FES’ continent-wide efforts to establish a social democratic perspective on urban policymaking by empowering local voices and linking progressive actors in urban environments championing the advocacy for social justice to work together, share and learn from each other.[spacer height=”25px”]
At the FES partners’ review meeting, civil society organizations, media practitioners, trade unions, representatives of government agencies and communities gathered to discuss the key outcomes, challenges and next steps regarding the various projects they had undertaken in the past months. The FES’ Just City project is focused on four micro struggles that ensure that the voices of urban poor and vulnerable persons are amplified and reflected in governance decisions. These micro struggles, known as thematic areas are:[spacer height=”25px”]
- Land rights and Affordable Housing
- Clean Water and Sanitation
- Integrated Transport system
- LPG Retailer
Of the four thematic areas, CAPPA and FES are partnering on a clean water and sanitation 18-month-long project which kick-started in April 2022. At the meeting, Tunji Buhari and Aderonke Ige, Associate Directors of CAPPA, recounted activities and engagements undertaken by CAPPA in its clean water and sanitation project in Epe Local Government Area, Lagos State. Their narrations were equally supported by two community members and representatives from Poka and Iragushi communities in Epe who were also present at the event.[spacer height=”25px”]
CAPPA’s interventions in Epe strive to build community power to resist water privatization and demand participatory water governance through media advocacy, strategic engagements with community members, state authorities and decision-makers.[spacer height=”25px”]
Whilst narrating some of its community engagement activities, CAPPA presented reports of information gathering and fact-finding exercises carried out in Poka and Odo-iragushi communities of Epe town to document the water challenges of locals. Following the completion of these fact-finding missions, CAPPA organized water parliaments in focus communities to discuss its findings with community members and strategic actions to improve water governance and access.[spacer height=”25px”]
Some of CAPPA’s findings revealed the poor conditions of waterworks in Epe town, the intent of state authorities to privatize water, and challenges of community members who lack access to water.[spacer height=”25px”]
To amplify the voices of communities, CAPPA convened media-community dialogues which helped many community members in the town share their water stories with newspaper and television houses. A lot of the stories bordered on their lack of access to safe, regular and affordable water. CAPPA also published details of its fact-finding mission, engagements with community members, and recommendations which it transmitted to state authorities for action. Overall, the major demands of residents of Epe community include:[spacer height=”25px”]
- The Rehabilitation of Odo-iragushi and Epe mini waterworks
- A demand for the government of Lagos state to connect water pipelines to the homes of community members
- A demand for the community waterworks to be connected to electricity mains.[spacer height=”25px”]
Projections for 2023
CAPPA hopes to consolidate its work in Epe by recruiting more allies and bolstering the capacity of community members to initiate strategic engagements with state authorities that can improve the conditions of water governance and supply in the area.
