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Southern Africa

Reestablishment of SA CWP

The water sector in South Africa is dynamic and facing major challenges such as reduction in capacity of the Department of Water Affairs (DWA) to engage as extensively with stakeholders. As a result of a weak partnership base, it has been difficult to ensure the implementation of equitable and sustainable IWRM. Although a South African Country Water Partnership (SA CWP) was launched in 2002, and was active in early GWP activities such as the Framework for Action (FFA) over the years the sense of purpose for a partnership among water actors diminished as the water sector changed it’s strategic dimensions. One of the challenges that the SA CWP of the Global Water Partnership faced was defining exactly what its role in South Africa would be and how it would partner with other Water sector stakeholders to ensure that it executes its tasks and achieves success.

However, with the reduced capacity in the sector and the need to improve upon knowledge generation and dissemination activities, it was felt by key South African stakeholders that the time may well be ripe for a Country Water Partnership (CWP) to be re-established in South Africa. Whilst discussions and studies to this purpose have been undertaken in the last year, the official resolution to re-establish the CWP was made at a meeting attended by 27 stakeholders on 10th April 2013 at the Water Research Commission (WRC).

Prior to that meeting, a number of meetings had been held with the aim of establishing necessary stakeholder buy-in for the establishment of a CWP. These meetings were held between 2005-2008. In 2011, GWPSA in partnership with the Water Research Commission (WRC) and Pegasys Strategy and Development conducted a stakeholder mapping of water and non-water partners with the aim of identifying some possible focus areas for a CWP for South Africa once re-established.

At the April 10th meeting, stakeholders discussed a number of pertinent issues. A highlight of the discussions involved finding a niche for the existence of a CWP. The stakeholders agreed in principle that a CWP is desirable as it provides an open and inclusive platform for elevating water and development issues, knowledge and policy into a different level of advocacy and mobilisation. Stakeholders also acknowledged that a big attraction of the CWP is that it broadens conversations by virtue of it including many more players and increases the layers of debates that are brought to the fore with government as a contributing member. A major outcome of the meeting was the nomination of institutions to sit on the Interim Steering Committee (ISC). The selected people who will serve on the ISC include the following:

  1. Mbangi Nepfumbada: Department of Water Affairs – Interim Chairperson
  2. Nic Lesufi: Chamber of Mines
  3. Dhesigen Naidoo (CEO) & Eiman Karar (Director, Water Resources Management): Water Research Commission (WRC)
  4. Sabine Stuart-Hill: University of KwaZulu-Natal
  5. Takalani Mudau: Mvula Trust
  6. Mpetjane Kgole: Eskom
  7. Nozibele Mjoli: Hlati Development Service

    The 7 members of the ISC will have the task of steering the official formation of the SA CWP and guiding the process until the official launch and committee election of the SA CWP to be held in September 2013.
Page last edited: 8/2/2013