South Africa
Presentation by Kenny Phasa and Barbara van Koppen on South Africa: MUS pilot projects Sekhukhune and Vhembe district, Limpopo province
Presentation of findings of a DFID study carried out by the University of Leeds, University of North Carolina, University of East Anglia and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Powerpoint presentation given at the MUS group meeting in 2011 in Rome by Virginia Molose, The Mvula Trust on the South-African NGO The MvulaTrust and MUS.
This presentation by Marna de Lange looks at the costs and benefits of rainwater harvesting from a MUS perspective in South Africa.
Financing of multiple use (i.e. domestic and productive) water services was identified as an important ingredient to ensure improved water access for rural poor and broaden livelihood options in South Africa. Following the principles of integrated water resource management (IWRM), efficient, equitable and sustainable investments in improved water services should be based on a thorough understanding of actual demand by consumers. Comprehensive studies looking at multiple use water services are not common in South African rural areas, where most of the economic analyses focus on either domestic or irrigation water demand. This study aims at filling this gap by assessing the household demand for multiple use water services in Sekororo-Letsoalo area in the Limpopo Province.
Looking at livelihoods strategies of poor rural communities, it becomes evident that people require water for both domestic and productive needs. Access to reliable supplies of water affects a great number of activities, and water availability can provide a wide range of opportunities for the rural poor. However, traditionally, water supply planning has focussed on meeting basic domestic needs only. To achieve greater water security at village level, and for water to meaningfully tackle poverty, a more holistic and integrated approach to water planning is needed, which is based on an understanding of people’s livelihood strategies and the role of water resources (and constraints) within those.
This paper attempts to discuss such an approach, which was developed and piloted in Bushbuckridge, South Africa. SWELL (Securing Water to Enhance Local Livelihoods) is a community-based planning approach that aims to enable improved allocation and use of water resources for water-related livelihoods. The SWELL methodology is based on a participatory process that brings together villagers, water service implementers and other agencies. The process enables stakeholders to develop a greater and shared understanding of people’s multiple water needs and available water resources, and to jointly develop strategies and plans, based on that information. The paper provides an overview of the methodology, as well of the application in Bushbuckridge, through to the outcomes of the assessment processes and how those were taken forward.
This paper was presented at the 7th WaterNet/WARFA/GWP-SA Symposium, held in Lilongwe, Malawi.
In South Africa multiple water use services have been recognised as an important component for poverty reduction and rural economic development. This has been made explicit in, for example, the Strategic Framework for Water Services. However, this policy isn’t yet elaborated into local government guidelines. Likewise, there exists a conducive policy environment for integrated planning and cooperative governance, two key issues to facilitate institutional support to multiple use services. This paper examines to which extent these policies are followed in Bushbuckridge Local Municipality, a poor rural area in Mpumalanga Province.
Bushbuckridge is currently struggling with reducing service delivery backlogs. There are many reasons for that, including the pre-democratic governance and neglect of rural areas, while others are the institutional confusion that has arisen as a result of changing mandates for water services provision and a lack of staff capacity (both in terms of absolute numbers and skills profile). Even providing Free Basic Water remains a challenge.
One way, in which planning for multiple uses could be improved is through integrated development planning. Although the framework for that is clear, it is followed in a minimal way. Assessment of the village water situation is not done in a comprehensive way, the time of planning is way too short and not all relevant stakeholders, including decentralised line departments are involved. Again, lack of staff and skills, is a main reason for this. But there is also a failure to learn from past mistakes and to see the benefit of true integrated planning, rather than a box-ticking exercise. Although the Municipality is trying to respond to this, by improving its skills profile, in the meantime backlogs will remain and performance of systems will be poor. In such a context, supporting livelihoods, through multiple use services will be a tough call.
This document provides learning support material on the relation between water and livelihoods. It is directed towards agencies supporting communities on water-related interventions. It helps in analysing the role of water in livelihoods, and participatory planning of interventions to increase water security. It has been developed for the specific context of the Bushbuckridge Local Municipality in South Africa, but is considered relevant for others in South Africa, and elsewhere as well.