Dependence and Autonomy: Conditions of Possibility for Nigerien Ownership in the Water Sector

Abstract

In order for development assistance to contribute to sustainable reform it is considered necessary for recipient states to become owners of and assume leadership over their own policies and strategies. Based on state–agent narratives and participation in ministry–donor negotiation meetings and workshops, this paper investigates the process of achieving Nigerien ownership in the water sector through the implementation of the programme approach. Against the backdrop of new mechanisms of aid and promises for the future, the article shows how Nigerien ownership in the water sector is imagined as the ability to act, which requires the close presence of donors rather than autonomous decision-making. At the same time, the promise of agency creates a space for negotiation of the role of the state that may or may not be utilized.

Keywords:

• ownership
• water services
• Niger
• institutional reform
• programme approach
• narratives

Acknowledgements

I would like to express my gratitude to Sida/Sarec for funding my research and to the Nordic Africa Institute, Knut and Alice Wallenbergs stiftelse and Adlerbertska forskningsstiftelsen for travel grants. I am also indebted to the agents at the Ministry of Water in Niamey, to regional and district offices, as well as CREPA, PSE and SPEN, for their cooperation. I am very grateful to the two anonymous reviewers whose suggestions helped strengthen the argument.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on Contributor

Stina Hansson is a lecturer and researcher at the School of Global Studies, University of Gothenburg, Sweden. ([email protected])

Notes

1. Not all donors fully embrace the programme approach, but continue to organize their assistance in projects.

2. For example, the route of decision for the new water code is that every report is first sent to the donors, then there is a workshop around it, a consultation framework between the ministry and donors discusses it and then a review is made. After that it is discussed in regional workshops and in Commission Nationale Eau et Assainissement, CNEA (which includes donor representatives), before being finalized (Omar 2010) .

3. It is worth mentioning that Rabiou does not hesitate to criticize donor practices in general, but is very outspoken, in interviews as well as directly in discussions with donor representatives.

4. Idrissa is here referring to me as a donor. Throughout Idrissa refers to me as ‘from the rich countries’ or as a donor. In that capacity I am both blamed for the problems caused by donors, as here, and requested to bring home his message about what state agents need to be able to do in order to do their job.

5. This particular argument has also been discussed from a methodological point of view in Hansson (2015).