Combining support programmes

'Things got going with the second Nakopa project – and over the years we seized almost every opportunity that the Service Agency offered', says Benjamin Klaus with a wink. He initiated the partnership between Enzkreis and Masasi Town and District in 2011, and took it forward later on as an integrated expert. 'Together we electrified almost the entire district', says Klaus. This was made possible through support instruments delivered by Engagement Global/the Service Agency Communities in One World, on behalf of, and funded by, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). In one case the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH was the cooperation partner. The story begins with the power supply solution at Mkomaindo Hospital, which is the central hospital for Masasi Town and District.

From 2013 to 2014 Mkomaindo Hospital received a solar power system with an attached battery, thanks to the financial support provided through the Partnership Projects for Sustainable Local Development' (Nakopa) programme.

This system has since been cushioning the effects of power cuts, which occur particularly during the rainy season and last between a few hours and several days. In the past, whenever there was no electricity for warming beds and oxygen supply, this used to present major challenges, and not just on the postnatal wards. Although there used to be an emergency power generator, often there was no money to buy diesel. Now, when technical problems arise, an expert is on the spot right away: Two female and 10 male technicians from Masasi are available to maintain and repair the photovoltaic modules. One of the technicians is employed by the municipality and is responsible for the system.

'At the same time there was another small Nakopa project in which biogas plants were built', explains Angela Gewiese, who works in the Climate Action and District Development Unit in Enzkreis. We learned a great deal through both projects. And because things had gone well, we just kept on going', says Ms Gewiese.

The lessons learned smoothed the path for the partnership to think more ambitiously. 'At the request of both municipalities we quickly proposed a large project – and received the funding from 2016 to 2018', Angela recalls with pleasure. She and Klaus agree that the successful Nakopa projects created a reliable and sustainable bond between Enzkreis and Masasi Town and District. Without this, and the good communication between the partners, the two sides would have lacked the courage to risk such a major project.

With funding from the Programme to Support Municipal Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Projects (FKKP), the partners equipped two large health centres and 27 small health posts in Masasi Town and District with solar power systems. Since then these systems have ensured a reliable power supply for night-time lighting, and the operation of medical analysis equipment as well as mobile phones and laptops. The neighbouring residential buildings for the nursing staff and doctors at the facilities were also equipped with solar technology.

This is benefitting the population throughout the region. Previously, medical treatments and births in the healthcare facilities had been taking place largely without being connected to the regional power grid. As in the Nakopa project, twelve specially trained technicians are on hand to make sure the systems keep running smoothly.

'Two of our ASA Municipal projects also involved solar power', explains Ms Gewiese. In these project internships, young people from Germany travelled to Tanzania, where they spent three months working together with Enzkreis's partners. The ASA Municipal project was a collaborative undertaking between the Service Agency and ASA Municipal, which came to an end in 2019. The project teams in Masasi installed solar modules on the roof of a school, designed and built solar-powered lamps and studied solar home systems. 'Our projects supported by the Service Agency and the BMZ were almost always interrelated, and in some cases ran concurrently', explains Ms Gewiese. And she adds: 'An important link in the chain for all of them was our integrated expert on the ground, Benjamin Klaus'.

From 2013 to 2017 Benjamin Klaus was there to support the partnership under the Experts for Municipal Partnerships Worldwide (FKPF) programme, which is run in cooperation with the GIZ. 'Ms Gewiese and I worked well together as a team', says Klaus. The two remained in close contact throughout the process, from proposing the projects through to implementing and finally completing them. On the Tanzanian side Klaus took care of finding local partners, worked together with the respective contact persons in the municipality of Masasi, supported the submission of project proposals and made sure for instance that receipts were properly issued for accounting purposes. These were then important for Angela Gewiese in Enzkreis. On the German side she was responsible for ensuring that all project steps were completed in accordance with the rules.

'At the beginning, the guidelines that went with the support were not easy for us to understand', reveals Klaus. 'Angela Gewiese and I ploughed our way through things. We learned quite a bit in the process, and the positive experiences we had from time to time led us to become more ambitious. Our professional collaboration turned into a friendship.' Cooperation at the local level worked. However, keeping up communication with the municipality in Masasi did remain a challenge. There was a reason for this: After several years the contact persons are always transferred, in order to prevent corruption.

To cope with the joint projects both sides therefore make sure that they involve as many people as possible. Those involved include the planning officer, the town directors and the mayoral offices. This means that knowledge of the partnership’s history and its joint plans are broadly spread. The partners also use all the platforms offered by the Service Agency Communities in One World. Klaus sums things up: 'I left my job as an integrated expert in 2017. The cooperation is continuing, and the climate partnership has now reached its tenth anniversary - which speaks for itself!'

In 2020 the climate partnership, which was established in 2011, became an officially documented municipal partnership. And there is plenty more going on besides: As well as partnerships between schools on both sides, since 2012 the 'Marafiki wa Masasi Enzkreis – Masasi/Tanzania Partnership Association' has also been in place. Through this association, interested individuals from public and private institutions, and citizens, can get involved. The municipality of Enzkreis has close links with the partnership association. Some of the association's board members are local administrators or district councillors. Angela Gewiese has been Chair of the Association since it was founded.

The topics addressed by the association are renewable energy, medical aids, climate action, and education and training. The partnership association uses its own funds for instance to support Enzkreis's projects in Masasi, such as the FKKP project for solar power systems on the roofs of healthcare facilities. The association also maintains a climate partnership with Mkomaindo Hospital. The Mühlacker and Neuenbürg hospitals in Enzkreis are also involved. Some of the doctors have already been to Masasi for training purposes. The long-standing Deputy Chair of the Partnership Association was also the Chief Physician in the Department of Surgery in Mühlacker.

The coronavirus pandemic has made the situation in Mkomaindo Hospital even more difficult than it already was. As an employee of Enzkreis, in summer 2020 Angela Gewiese applied to the Service Agency for support under the Municipal Corona Solidarity Package (KCS). The plan was to procure additional equipment for the medical staff at the district hospital and the major health centres in the district. The association also supported the invitation to tender for the equipment, and helped obtain bids from Tanzanian firms.

It had experience in this area, because equipment had already been purchased for Mkomaindo Hospital in the past using donations. 'I'm pleased that our partners in Masasi have received basic equipment', says Angela Gewiese, 'as well as protective masks and sanitisers, this includes two oxygen concentrators that can be used to ventilate Covid-19 patients and two data displays for recording values such as heart rate and respiratory rate'.

Health, education, resilient infrastructure, sustainable cities and communities, climate action – many points contained in the 2030 Agenda are also found in the jointly implemented projects. And where do things stand with implementation of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Enzkreis?

Since 2018 Dr Jannis Hoek, the coordinator for municipal development cooperation there, has been exploring sustainability management in line with the 2030 Agenda. What he always focuses on is long-term mainstreaming of the relevant themes in the specialised departments and units of the district administration. To achieve this he works with the local authorities and the public in Enzkreis. Dr Hoek says: 'You can come up with plenty of good ideas sitting at your desk, but ultimately it's about people embracing them and making them a part of their lives.'

How that can work, is a question that was addressed at the expert dialogue held in Masasi on implementing the 2030 Agenda. Together with Angela Gewiese, Dr Hoek got this event off the ground in 2020 with support from the Service Agency. The key representatives of both municipalities were involved. 'I was surprised how naturally mindful of the SDGs our Tanzanian partners are', said Ms Gewiese.

One of Dr Hoek's themes is fair procurement and strengthening fair trade in Enzkreis, which is a Fairtrade District. At the expert dialogue the two sides jointly thought about how cashew nuts – Masasi's main agricultural product – could be exported to Germany, with a view to marketing them as a partnership product. A further topic of the dialogue was the latest FKKP project, which involves promoting education and training through the use of renewable energies, establishing an environmental education centre, and CO2 offsetting measures in Masasi. The project was launched in 2021 with a first video conference, and will run until 2023.

'The Small-Scale Projects Fund would be very suitable for us', says Dr Hoek, thinking aloud. He adds: 'That would enable us to realise a few of the ideas on awareness-raising that came up at the expert dialogue.' Who knows – perhaps the two municipal partners might try out this support instrument too?