Improving the internal drains is something that takes place mainly in the public domain, but with a strong relation to the private domain, as the internal drains are directly linked to individual households.
Involvement of YCDC
Although the internal drains are officially part of the responsibility of YCDC, due to lack of capacity and budget within the local government this is not always executed. However, if other stakeholders take up the work on the internal drains, it is still very important to discuss the activities with YCDC. The basic design should be agreed by YCDC to connect with the bigger network outside the ward.
Often YCDC is able to and willing to pay for the materials and even give a compensation for labor.
Ward officer
The maintenance and improvements are often overseen and coordinated by the Ward Officer, the local community leader. The Ward officer already plays an important role in regular cleaning and maintenance of the drains in the ward. There are also ward committees; one committee for each neighbourhood (within ward 5 there are three smaller neighborhoods). The ward committee members are also consulted and are part of the discussions.
Residents
The people living (and working) in a neighbourhood can play an active role in improvements and especially day-to-day maintenance of the local drains. This is often coordinated by a Ward Officer and/ or a ward committee.
Potential donors
By using the network approach, potential donors who would be interesting to invest in improving internal drains should also be looked for. This might be especially interesting for back alley drains, where with a confined group of people (residents living in this back alley) a place-making process can be started, similar to other projects of Doh Eain.
