Makassar Mayor, Ramdhan Pomanto, USAID Assistant Administrator for Asia, Mr. Michael Schiffer, USAID Indonesia Mission Director, Mr. Jeffery P. Cohen, and a representative of Bappenas visited Banta-Bantaeng urban village in Makassar city on July 21st, 2023, to observe USAID IUWASH Tangguh’s community interventions to expand climate resilient safely managed drinking water and sanitation access.
The National Coordinator of Drinking Water and Sanitation of the Directorate of Housing and Settlements, Indonesian Ministry of National Development Planning/Bappenas, Mrs. Nur ‘Aisyah Nasution, joined the visit.
Banta-Bantaeng urban village is one of two USAID IUWASH Tangguh community intervention locations in Makassar city. A series of participatory assessment and triggering that the project and community members conducted from April to May 2023 revealed that some families in the village still lack access to safely managed drinking water and sanitation.
Some families still use toilets without fecal containment, while some others use septic tanks and connect to communal wastewater treatment plants— managed by a community-based caretaker group. However, the wastewater treatment plant’s operation and management still need further improvement.
In the water sector, some households still rely on well water for their daily needs. In addition to limited safely managed drinking water and sanitation access, the hygiene practices in this village are poor.
These poor WASH conditions have become the city government’s concerns. In response, the city’s public works office will build 50 septic tanks through a sanitation grant funded using the 2023 regional budget.
During the visit, the USAID delegation discussed with the city government, Bappenas, and community members the people’s current WASH access, support from USAID IUWASH Tangguh, and the city government’s commitment to providing safely managed drinking water and sanitation for larger populations.
The Assistant Administrator reiterated USAID’s commitment to supporting the Government of Indonesia to achieve resiliency in water sector. “We are delighted that Indonesia takes global leadership in the water and sanitation sectors,” said the Assistant Administrator.
Mrs. Nur ‘Aisyah Nasution, encouraged local communities in Banta-Bantaeng to connect to the communal wastewater treatment plant and connect to water utility service.
Mayor Pomanto also highlighted that the government fully supports USAID IUWASH Tangguh to expand access to safely managed drinking water and sanitation in Makassar city.
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