As part of the implementation of Component 2 of AfWA AfriCap program, which focuses on the development of partnerships and mentoring relationships between AfWA members, experts from Togolaise des Eaux (TdE, water utility of Togo) and the Office National de l'Eau et de l'Assainissement de Djibouti (ONEAD, water utility of Djibouti) made a benchmarking visit to the Office National de l'Eau et de l'Assainissement of Burkina Faso (ONEA, water utility of Burkina Faso) from April 19 to 21, 2022. The objective of this visit was to share ONEA's best practices in water quality monitoring and control.

This mission started with a series of presentations on the institutional and legal organization of the drinking water sector in Burkina Faso, the organization and operation of ONEA, ONEA’s laboratory for water quality analysis and monitoring, water quality management in ONEA, the management of metrology, and the monitoring and management of the equipment pool. Actions in progress and future endeavors for improved monitoring and control of water quality were also discussed.

These various presentations were followed by field visits and individual interviews. Thus, the delegations actually visited the ZIGA treatment plant, the Water Quality Department’s laboratory at the PASPANGA plant, the facilities of the National Public Health Laboratory (LNSP) and the Centre des Métiers de l'Eau (CEMEAU, Center for Water Professions) as well. They equally visited the water quality management equipment as well as the visible part of the CEMEAU underground network for leakage detection. The visit of the Ziga plant allowed these visitors to appreciate the size of investments and the facilities in this renowned site, and better still, its key role in supplying water in the capital city of Burkina Faso.

At the end of these three (3) days, the experts unanimously affirmed that this benchmarking visit allowed them to acquire new knowledge and discover innovative practices in the field of water quality monitoring and control. These new skills will be shared with their respective teams and put into practice in order to improve their utilities’ performance. They also expressed their gratitude to USAID and AfWA for initiating such a substantial program.

It is worth noting that Africap program is a capacity building program of AfWA that aims over the period from 2016 to 2023, to promote partnerships in the drinking water sector. It is structured around three (3) components: i) Disseminating knowledge products and good practices in line with the demands of AfWA members, ii) Developing partnerships and mentoring relationships between AfWA members, and iii) Strengthening AfWA institutional capacity.

 Quotes

‘’At ONEAD Djibouti, we are certainly doing a lot, but ONEA Burkina Faso is ahead of us in terms of accreditation, something we would like to acquire as well. And the road is winding, the benchmarking mission and the online training have given us the tone of what lies ahead.’’ Hana Abdourahim, Head of Laboratory Department, ONEAD (Djibuti)

‘’Exchanges with our colleagues from Djibouti and Burkina Faso have allowed us to grasp their way of doing things. It is up to each of us to take advantage of this and to add a small seed to our plants to achieve improvements.’’ Tebié Esso-Nana , Head of the Laboratory Department, Togolaise des Eaux (Togo)