WILLIAM ROBINSON
THE 80mm PVC water pipeline had been installed by Australian aid some years before my time.
It was laid 700mm below ground starting in the high hills of Mount Gahavisuka in the Eastern Highlands where there was little or no population and the water uncontaminated.
The pipeline wound its way down, crossed under the highway and continued to Nagamiufa village and further. It passed through some 21 villages in all and a tapped standpipe was placed in each one.
The water was intended for domestic and light agricultural use.
Unfortunately, due to the jealousies between various villages along the pipeline route, the regulated village tappings were altered to a much larger tapping, particularly in the flatter farming areas. Also, the tappings often broke and water was wasted.
Eventually, the people at the lower end of the line were receiving little or no water.
Even worse, rival users would damage other tappings or breach the pipeline, often using a crowbar to penetrate the pipe wall.
After my arrival, I approached AusAID to see if a full repair could be done. When I described the condition of the pipe the response to me was, “You have to be kidding!”.
I advised AusAID that, while the pipeline was a brilliant project, a water committee from the affected villages should have been formed.
Its members would inspect the pipeline along its length and warn villagers not to interfere with the pipe in any way, apart from their tapping.
Today the pipeline is not functioning.
AusAID had a history of designing and delivering projects that were sound technically, but the organisation failed to realise there is a social contract required with the recipients of aid.
The aid agency would have been wise to allocate funds to train a committee to manage the water pipeline and funds for the inevitable repairs.
The project would have been included in an AusAID Annual Report, in which they would have been proud to say, “We spent $X million on aid to EHP, so we have done well”. The Australian electorate might have been impressed with such targeted aid. The Eastern Highlands provincial government simply ignored the project.
