The African Water Association (AfWA), together with the Société des Eaux de Guinée (SEG) (the Guinea Water Utility) organized a Master class from October 15 to 17 at the ONOMO hotel in the Guinean capital. This training, which was about “developing the managerial capacities of the leaders of the water and sanitation companies”, was part of the capacity building of the members of the African Water Association in order to improve the quality of service provided to users and to ensure the sustainability of their entities.

Some twenty senior executives from Mali, Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Togo, Liberia, Senegal, Malawi and Guinea at least seven attended the training.

During the first day, the focus was put on the role and responsibility of the managers in achieving the objectives of the water and sanitation utilities in Africa, the definition and differentiation between management and leadership was explained, as well as the functions of management. This day was an opportunity to discuss the issues facing water utilities in Africa before ending with a case study and sharing experiences.

On the second day, the participants dealt with the choice of management strategy, the manager’s tools and then a case study followed by the sharing of experience. Also, the manager's communication and the ability to delegate, the distinction between ''delegating'' and ''representing'' were discusses before closing the session with a case study.

The third day's presentations focused on finance, accounting and planning. It was an opportunity for the trainers to show participants how to prepare, monitor, understand and analyse a budget. The discussions followed focused on the different investment vehicles and on enterprise risk management.

The last day of the training was devoted to several visits, including the headquarters of the Société des Eaux de Guinée. According to Mrs Konaré Kadiatou Malinké, President of the Malian Network of Professional Women in Water and Sanitation and Head of Commercial Agency in Djélibougou (Mali), one of the participants, "all the expectations have been met. They are all ready to meet the challenges in their companies by implementing the knowledge acquired during this seminar".