GEDEC – Strengthening local waste management and sanitation services

For years, waste production has been steadily increasing in Togo. Yet, inadequate management degrades urban living conditions and poses a major public health threat. It also exacerbates the effects of climate change.

Togo commits to a 28% reduction of waste-related CO2 emissions in its nationally determined contributions (NDCs) for the Paris Agreement. Waste management also often appears as a priority sector in Togolese cities that are signatories of the Covenant of Mayors in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Since 2015, the European Union has been accompanying local governments with water and sanitation projects (PEAT-1 and PEAT-2), which include the provision of waste management and sanitation infrastructures in the 5 regional capital cities of the country (Tsevié, Atakpamé, Sokodé, Kara and Dapaong). 

The GEDEC project therefore builds on the infrastructure installations of the PEAT-1 and PEAT-2 projects. It aims to accompany the regional capital cities in the development of a solid and liquid waste management service, and the improvement of urban sanitation.

Its key objectives are to maximise and sustain the utility of the infrastructure investments made under the PEAT projects, provide a quality sanitation service, address related public health issues, improve environmental impact and develop the autonomy of municipal staff.

Through the project’s actions, we aim to strengthen regional capital cities in their capacity to plan, manage, and supervise the service, support existing local actors of the waste management sector, raise service users’ awareness and contribute to the evolution of waste management public policies.

Local waste management services must align with national sectoral orientations, while adapting to the particularities of each city and the needs of its citizens. This requires the inclusion and coordination of:

• National authorities: the Ministry of Territorial Administration, Decentralisation and Territorial Development (MATDDT) and the sectoral ministries,
• The 5 regional capital cities,
• Economic operators (both formal and informal) in the waste management sector,
• The inhabitants of the cities,
• The Faitière des Communes du Togo.

The project promotes multisectoral coordination at the national level, dialogue between several levels of bodies, knowledge sharing and local capacity building.

Expertise France also mobilises and coordinates a pluridisciplinary team of experts, including The Group for Research and Technology Exchanges (GRET) and Entrepreneurs du Monde (EDM).

Expertise France supports cities throughout all phases of the development of their local waste management policy. An initial transitory commissioning phase provides cities with a better understanding and allows for the iterative design of waste management policies.

Cities also get support to develop  resource mobilisation strategies for their service, in collaboration with the Ministry of Economy and Finance. Within the framework of the project, awareness raising campaigns and activities are set up for the population.