The building of a local political field in Accra (Ghana) and Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso). The case of waste management policies ; La construction du champ politique local à Accra (Ghana) et Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso). Le cas de la politique de gestion des déchets

Abstract

Accra and Ouagadougou have been decentralised during the 1990s. This process gave more powers and responsibilities to these capital cities. It created a « new deal » in terms of urban management that led to new kinds of arrangements, such as privatization of services or participation of the civil society through a « governance » process. Ouagadougou and Accra's situation is though paradoxical: As capital cities, they are local bodies, yet, at the same time, they still remain the symbol of the central power. In this context, waste management reforms, that are technical issues at first sight, are deeply political: they question the municipal authorities' capacity to control their territory and to answer the government and international donors' demands. The waste management reforms are very similar in both cities but their results differ greatly. After an overview of the waste management issues in both cities, this study tries to understand why the results are so different, by focusing on institutions, history and human factors. Besides, as both cities face a lack of funds or capacities, their actual autonomy is questionable: what is their range of action when they have to negotiate with the donors and the central government? Even if the reforms have been difficult to implement, they have been an opportunity to develop new kinds of political relationships at the local level and contributed to the building of a local political field, defined by specific rules and identities. These new relationships are mostly unexpected. They remind that, beyond an analysis in terms of success or failure, the local political life is a major scene for political invention. ; Les processus de décentralisation ont renforcé les pouvoirs et les responsabilités d'Accra et Ouagadougou et créé une « nouvelle donne » urbaine, qui implique la mise en place de modes de gestion renouvelés, comme la privatisation de certains services ou la prise en compte accrue de la société civile à travers des processus de type « gouvernance ». Ouagadougou et ...