The first Annual General Assembly of the Pan-African Association of non-sewer Sanitation Operators (PASA), was held in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire from 15 to 17 October 2019. This meeting, which was intended for coordination, orientation and monitoring the implementation of the PASA action plan, brought together about fifty representatives of African Emptier Associations and partners.

During two (2) days, the sanitation operators discussed about the situation and needs of sewerage service in each of their countries, including the assessment of the implementation of every association action and came to an agreement on what the APAA expects from governments and partners.

During the opening of the meeting, the President of APAA, Mr Ibra SOW urged his peers to focus on action: to act in order to address the issue of outdated equipment in order to promote better quality services, widespread use of mechanical collection, formalization of operators to ensure that there are faecal sludge treatment stations in all the cities across Africa,. He expressed his conviction that the General Assembly will be the trigger mechanism for a better future in the sector of sanitation.

For his part, Mr Sylvain Usher, the Executive Director of AWA indicated that he appreciated the testimonies given by the emptiers themselves and how through the Association, their activities which were previously frowned upon, have now generated interest in their different countries as they have been associated with projects concerning improvement in sanitation. He urged them to move forward to ensure improve sanitation sector in Africa.

Mr Aka Lambert, representative of the Minister of Sanitation and Hygiene, announced the will of the Ministry to assist Ivorian emptiers and to PASA in general.

The participants believed the meeting had been an enriching one. The discussions held by the peers had made them understand a new reality prevailing in other countries; this would help them to adjust their action plan and to have the necessary responses to address the challenges in their respective countries. They expressed the desire that meetings of this nature should be organized regularly to ensure that all the countries achieve progress together.

The General Assembly of PASA ended with the launch of the initiative “One City, One Faecal Sludge Treatment Plant”.

The Pan-African Association of non-sewer Sanitation Operators was set up on 17 February, 2019 in Cape Town, South Africa, on the sidelines of the AfricaSan5/FSM5 International Conference.