(Lack of) Social control of the municipal water and sanitation policy: a study in four municipalities in Minas Gerais

Abstract

In Brazil, the normative emphasis to social participation and control of public policies in the field of water and sanitation services has been increasingly pointed out. This aspect has been reinforced by the legal framework for this sector, which stresses the importance of intersectorial actions, planning, and social control. Based on that context, how are local authorities organizing themselves to plan their sanitation policies? Are sanitation issues present in the discussions within municipal instances aimed at social control, including urban policy, health, cities, housing and the environment committees? Trying to address these questions, we investigated perceptions in urban committees located in four different sized municipalities regarding population that belong to the Rio das Velhas Basin, in Minas Gerais: Contagem, Nova Lima, Sete Lagoas and Vespasiano. The study design focused on the vision of committee members' on their actions and perceptions regarding the inclusion of sanitation subject on the agenda of the committees, as well as the emphasis on this theme. The analysis of official documents and interviews with committee members showed that, in the absence of formal specific water and sanitation participatory institutions , other instances related to different public policies discuss these themes, although they do it in a peripheral way regarding the process of policy implementation. Shortcomings and fragilities in participatory processes were observed, which result in incapacity of controlling the local public policies for water and sanitation services.