Tap into people to deliver water
Initiatives affecting people’s lives are more likely to succeed if they participate in their own development
We are often overwhelmed by the positive outcome our projects have in communities and the lasting effect these projects have on the partners we involve in our work. The excitement brought by the limitless potential we see from the multiple water use project is beyond measure; the value counted in years and the savings we bring to such projects amounts to millions of rands.
When the African Water Facility appointed us in 2016 to offer a perspective and leadership on operationalising communitydriven multiple use water services in South Africa, we knew that we had a daunting task of making the promulgation of regulations and guidelines practical. Such a beginning has brought us to a position where we have a well-researched baseline and draft design information. We are able to tell the extent of the intervention required from stakeholders and funding partners.
Our biggest concern has always been the disjuncture between the supply of water and its usage by communities, which is caused by the type of methodology used for public participation. Government draws up plans for water provision, particularly in their integrated development plans, but these often conflict with what communities have in mind, making most of the schemes ineffective over a period of time. In addition, massive neglect of the infrastructure provided leads to the total collapse of some of those schemes.
In our two years of research we have come to tap into community wisdom that has strengthened our position on multiple water use. Communities don’t only need clean, treated water; they also need water for irrigation, livestock, farming and other activities.
Today, we boast invaluable knowledge into how people living in Tshakhuma, Khalavha, Ha-Gumbu, Phiring, Ga-Mokgotho and Ga-Moela have turned their dire need for a consistent water supply into a major community initiative that promises to go beyond what government has provided. Even more appealing is the knowledge that the various schemes we researched are primarily community driven, thereby helping to ensure their sustainability.
Our partnership with various structures and organisations, and using participatory approaches to solving water challenges, has been the cornerstone of this research. Dialogue has paved ways for a finer funding formula that we shall explore to the full in the implementation stages.
We partnered with the International Water Management Institute, Tsogang Water and Sanitation, the departments of water and sanitation, agriculture, forestry and fisheries, Limpopo’s department of agriculture and rural development, African Water Facility, African Development Bank and the Vhembe and Sekhukhune district municipalities.
We are persuaded that this partnership and its dialogues will ensure that people receive reliable, year-round water for both domestic and productive use. The next two years will test our resolve as we move into the implementation stage, using the major component of our funding from the African Water Facility. What is of value is seeing that the experiment undertaken in the two district municipalities is replicated across the country, particularly in areas where there is an abundance of water and an egalitarian society.