In the course of the legal reforms following the elections of 1994 in South Africa two main laws regarding the management of water resources and the provision of water services were passed: the National Water Act (1998) and the Water Services Act (1997). The main change resulting from these laws was to turn water into a public good.

While having far-reaching implications on water management, the Water Services Act is just a framework act, leaving much of the details of implementation to be defined on a local level. This institutional transition however causes confusion about who is responsible for delivery and maintenance of water and sanitation services and it seems that a full understanding of the intended transformation process is lacking even at the concerned positions.

The main focus of this project is to assess the gaps between the water and service needs of the most vulnerable population groups (women headed & child headed households, households affected by HIV / AIDS, families with people living with disabilities, and refugees) and the policy response at the municipal level. The pilot will provide an inclusive and informed perspective of the efficacy of the decentralised institutional mechanisms with regard to their ability to incorporate the needs of the most vulnerable end users in the water and sanitation. The learnings from the CARE South Africa’s Water Health and Livelihoods project (funded by the Australian Government) will enrich both the pilot design, as well as the development of a longer-term programme aimed at increasing the efficacy of service delivery within decentralised rural governance.

Based upon the lessons learned in this process, it is the second objective of this project to compile guidelines and a methodology, which can by utilized to strengthen inclusive and decentralized mechanisms of governance, also in different contexts. To achieve this, the factual and experimental information gathered during the project will be used to develop a model design that will empower vulnerable communities, supportive civil society organisations, and existing governance structures to respond more effectively to the needs of vulnerable end users.

The long term goal of the project activities is to assure the mainstreaming of the water and sanitation needs of the most vulnerable people in rural areas in this phase of redesign of the water resource allocation in South Africa.

The pilot project will be conducted between July 2005 – January 2006 in the Sand River Catchment area, where droughts occur as often as every 3 ½ years, in the Limpopo province, South Africa. The project will be carried out within an action research approach, which requires that the research is situated within work which people recognise as assisting them in some immediate way, rather than only in the abstract and long term. A useful possibility of implementing the project would be within the framework of a rainwater harvesting project that has already been agreed to in principle in the target area.

Duration

01.07.2005 - 31.12.2005

Donors

Austrian Development Agency (ADA), CARE Österreich

Downloads

LSO032_CARE_Final_Report.pdf

314 K

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