{"id":5950,"date":"2018-08-04T14:28:11","date_gmt":"2018-08-04T11:28:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pcdcr.org\/?p=5950"},"modified":"2018-08-06T14:35:32","modified_gmt":"2018-08-06T11:35:32","slug":"%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%85%d8%b1%d9%83%d8%b2-%d9%8a%d8%b9%d9%82%d8%af-%d9%84%d9%82%d8%a7%d8%a1-%d8%ad%d9%88%d8%a7%d8%b1%d9%8a-%d8%a8%d8%b9%d9%86%d9%88%d8%a7%d9%86-%d9%88%d8%a7%d9%82%d8%b9-%d8%ae%d8%af","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pcdcr.org\/en\/%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%85%d8%b1%d9%83%d8%b2-%d9%8a%d8%b9%d9%82%d8%af-%d9%84%d9%82%d8%a7%d8%a1-%d8%ad%d9%88%d8%a7%d8%b1%d9%8a-%d8%a8%d8%b9%d9%86%d9%88%d8%a7%d9%86-%d9%88%d8%a7%d9%82%d8%b9-%d8%ae%d8%af\/","title":{"rendered":"The Centre holds a dialogue meeting entitled \"The reality of water and sanitation services in Deir al-Balah City\"."},"content":{"rendered":"

Within the activities of the project \"Empowering citizens through institutionalising social accountability in local government\", with support from the Local Governance Reform Programme implemented by GIZ on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).<\/p>\n

The Palestinian Center for Democracy and Conflict Resolution, in cooperation with Deir al-Balah Municipality, held a dialogue meeting on Saturday 4 August 2018 entitled \"The reality of water and sanitation services in Deir al-Balah City\".<\/p>\n

It was attended by the director of Deir al-Balah Municipality, the director of the Coastal Municipalities Water Utility (Middle Governorate) and municipal officials, along with a number of mukhtars and representatives of neighbourhood committees and institutions, including the Deir al-Balah reconciliation committee, the Higher Authority for Tribal Affairs, the Ministry of Awqaf and others, and a diverse group of activists among women and young people.<\/p>\n

The session was opened by Ms. Alaa Al-Hosni, social accountability project coordinator at the Palestinian Center for Democracy and Conflict Resolution, who welcomed those present, commended the municipality's continued cooperation and stressed the importance of community participation in the process of positive change. Among its clearest expressions is the participation of neighbourhood committees and institutions, whose role complements that of local authorities and municipalities, with the aim of improving municipalities' performance in delivering services with better quality and effectiveness and enabling citizens to take part in decision-making on the services the municipality provides.<\/p>\n

The municipality director, Eng. Abdullah Nasrallah, head of Deir al-Balah Municipality, affirmed the municipality's continued efforts to create a channel of communication between the municipality and citizens on the one hand, and to listen to public opinion in the city on the other.<\/p>\n

Eng. Youssef Al-Buhaisi, head of the water and sanitation department, gave a presentation on the municipality's departments (inspection, follow-up and maintenance), the number of wells, reservoirs and desalination plants, and how work is organised within the departments. He stressed the complementary relationship between the municipality and citizens and their participation, and the importance of paying municipal dues regularly so that the municipality can deliver its services with the required quality and efficiency.<\/p>\n

Eng. Radwan Abu Karim, director of the Coastal Municipalities Water Utility (Middle Governorate), highlighted the Utility's continued efforts with Deir al-Balah Municipality to improve the service, the main problems facing the water sector, and the key interventions planned to improve water quality in the Middle Governorate.<\/p>\n

Finally, the floor was opened for discussion with those present. Their questions and enquiries were answered and a number of solutions and recommendations were proposed on the issues related to water and sanitation and how to improve them from the perspective of both the local community and the municipality, resulting in the following recommendations:<\/p>\n