Abstract
Independent small-scale providers play a significant role in enabling faecal sludge emptying and transportation (E&T) services worldwide. The study presented in this paper is a case study from Mzuzu, Malawi, to assess the challenges related to the sustainability of faecal sludge E&T entrepreneurship in the city. A series of interviews were conducted with different stakeholders during data collection, including 10 faecal sludge E&T entrepreneurs, and four existing organisations in the sanitation sector. Additionally, a questionnaire was administered to 20 low-income households from informal settlements. The study revealed that the entrepreneurs faced financial constraints as they lacked access to loans/ aid, delayed payments from customers, and low service demand. Technical challenges were evident due to poor design of households’ onsite sanitation systems (OSS), and desludging through digging secondary pits. The lack of defined responsibilities among the existing organisations involved in faecal sludge management (FSM) in Mzuzu was linked to incoordination of service delivery across the FSM chain, and lack of professionalization and support for the entrepreneurs. Households’ low willingness to pay (WTP), reliance on undesludgeable pit latrines, and low awareness of the available desludging services, contributed to the limited success of the E&T service entrepreneurship. The study has suggested introducing a household sanitation tax (2.7 USD monthly) as a strategy for improving faecal sludge E&T service delivery, and viable E&T entrepreneurship.
