The management of artesian boreholes poses enormous difficulties for most of the sites in Benin. In the Mono and Couffo departments, a capacity building mission for the artesian borehole users was initiated by the Country Water Partnership. At the IWRM demonstration sites, awareness sessions on the management of artesian borehole were conducted. In Zounhomè the borehole management committee members and some thirty users, including 18 women attended the session. The objective was to provide an update on the management of the money collected and expenditures of the borehole. In accordance with the principles of accountability, the Secretary of the Committee subsequently reviewed the recoveries and expenditures made in the water management of the Zounhomè borehole. The account book opened for this purpose was presented to users with a statement of the balance.
All users present at the session expressed satisfaction about the transparent management of the borehole accounts. The late payers committed to pay off their debts. They were urged by the management committee to pay as early as they can. The assembly has therefore shown its indulgence by deciding by mutual consent that the elderly, widows and widowers be exempted from the costs of their drinking water charges. Fundraising will be done either by moving from household to household or by collecting user fees at the end of the month at the drilling level.
The mission allowed the inhabitants of Zounhomè to be informed about the management of the collected fees. This exercise should be repeated frequently to improve transparency in the management of funds.