Autonomous Sanitation: African emptiers have created a Pan-African Association

The APAA was launched this Sunday, February 17, 2019 in Cape Town, SOUTH Africa, in the presence of about forty representatives of associations of emptiers, from 19 French and English-speaking countries in Africa. A launch organized on the sidelines of the pan-African conference AfricaSan 5 and the World Conference on Faecal Sludge Management WSF5, which takes place from 18 to 22 February 2019 in Cape Town.

During the launching ceremony the President of APAA, Mr. Ibra Sow, President of the Association of Sanitation Actors of Senegal (AAAS) thanked the AAE and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation under whose leadership, their Association could see the day, for all the support received. He said he was pleased with the strong mobilization of his peers at this meeting, rejoicing to be with them, the forerunners of such an organization that now has a say on issues of sanitation on the continent.

"We have decided to think big, we have decided to put in motion our intelligence, we have decided to put into practice our experiences, because the vision we have of this sector is neither partial nor fragmented, it is global and complete," he said. He then urged his colleagues to change their perception of the profession of emptying: "we are not only those who talk about the problems of sanitation, but rather, we are those who propose solutions, we are among the solutions to the problems of sanitation" he hammered.

Mr. Sylvain Usher, Executive Director of the AAE, also welcomed the creation of the Association which fills a big gap in the sector; however he warned, "the hardest thing is not to set up an association, the hardest thing is to make it work to achieve the objectives it has set. He then presented the alarming situation of sanitation in Africa before declaring: "Africa is counting on you"; and in order to move forward, he invited the APAA to sign a memorandum of understanding with the AAEA to jointly initiate collaborative actions and receive possible support.

The representative of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Mr. Brian Aborgast, Director of the WASH Team, wished that APAA effectively contribute to the improvement of the conditions of its members so that they can offer quality services to the population. He reminded them of the essential role they play in the sanitation value chain and invited them to grow the association by continuing to raise awareness in countries where there are not yet any associations of emptiers and which are therefore not members of APAA.

Note that the creation of the emptying associations was facilitated by the African Water Association (AfWA) within the framework of the implementation of the Capacity Building for African Sanitation Operators through Peer Learning Partnerships (RASOP-Africa) project under funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The constitutive General Assembly of APAA will be organized in the coming months. For the time being, the provisional board is working on finalizing the statutes and regulations and developing an action plan.

In Senegal the project is implemented by the consortium
IPAR/CRES and SPEACK UP AFRICA / NIYEL which mobilized Mrs. Rose WARDINI, Mayor of Dakar to represent Senegal.