A capacity-building process was undertaken as part of the project that involved members of the communities chosen by them to be standpipe operators, members of the community water committee, community leaders, and members of the District Municipalities and of the Municipal Councils of Maputo and Matola. The training process was undertaken progressively in the target areas for pilot experience on the new management model. This training focused on general management that included issues of standpipe management, conflict resolution, etc. Centro de Formação Industrial, for instance, facilitated training for 15 days for about 100 people among standpipe operators and local chiefs.
To guide the PPP process, a special task team of activists/facilitators gave training in November 2002 to promote awareness-raising campaigns within the communities. This was done in the areas of community participation and education and standpipe management.
In May 2003 junior Matola Municipality staff were involved in capacity building courses on human resources and municipal administrative procedure to participate in water management systems. Additional training was given to 30 sanitation facilitators, 11 of them women, from Maputo and Matola in June-July 2003. In the same process, the District Municipality for Water and Sanitation carried out capacity training for community animators in some neighborhoods where CARE was responsible to enable them to train operators and water committees in support of the new management model. One of the key elements in the capacity building undertaken was the production of the standpipe operator manual, which was improved in a revised second edition based on the experience obtained on the project.
The project supported several kinds of institutional capacity developments of the Municipalities, ranging from strengthening the Maputo council's linkages with private sector and civil society associations, to creating mechanisms for resolving problems through working groups, multi-stakeholder thematic workshops and coaching of individuals and small groups.
However it was also observed that the training could have had more impact when the target group had been better defined and when it had been more responsive to the community needs. Moreover the low level of education and skills among municipal staff also determined the quality of training. Lastly the private sector (AdeM) was not yet involved in receiving or facilitating training and awareness raising.