Quarterly Progress Report: Water Governance and Capacity Building -WGCB Activity

The project duration is for 2 years, and the cost of the contract is USD 2,053,426. The project includes activities contributing to improved sub-national governance and increased and broad-based citizen engagement with the government. It links to USAID/Pakistan's broader Community Resilience Activity, specifically its "Strengthening Local Governance" and "Community Resilience" components. The project will incorporate existing projects that work with local governments to strengthen community resilience in areas vulnerable to violent extremism. The inception phase of the project was completed in May and June 2019, with activities including the submission of the pre-mobilization plan and budget, the work plan for year-1, hiring of staff, and their orientation for the project. The technical team is currently reporting on weekly checklists for the supply of water and lab test reports. The technical team has also conducted a joint visit with the assistant executive engineer and the sub-engineer of the Municipal Committee Jacobabad to explain the water intake, storage, filtration, and distribution processes. The team will support the Municipal Services Delivery Program (MSDP) in the test-operations of the rehabilitated and newly built water supply system. Water quality parameters, including turbidity, pH, and Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), have been monitored during the quarter. The turbidity levels in the Khirthar Canal remained almost the same during July and August but jumped in September due to high flows in the canal. The pH value of the Khirthar Canal water is well within the range, and the filtration process further stabilizes it to even close to neutral values. The civic engagement component of the project has been active, with the social mobilization team conducting regular meetings with Mohalla WASH committees. A total of 461 meetings were conducted in the current quarter, with 208 male and 253 female participants. The team has also conducted orientation sessions with Chairman MC, technical staff, and councilors, and has supported the MSDP in the test-operations of the rehabilitated and newly built water supply system. The project has also made progress in other areas, including the orientation session with Chairman MC, technical staff, and councilors, the bidder's conference for the development of a Management Information System (MIS), and the decision about the operation and maintenance agency. Leadership training has also been conducted, and documents have been approved during the quarter.