WASH News Southern Africa
News feed maintained by information specialists from IRC and partners.
Botswana: Outrage as Court denies Bushmen access to water
22 Jul 10
There was outrage today as Botswana’s High Court denied the Kalahari Bushmen access to water. The Judge ruled that the Bushmen were not entitled to access an existing water borehole on their lands or to drill a new one inside the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, one of the driest regions in the world. The hearing [...]
South Africa: Shortage of fresh water supplies looming?
16 Jul 10
South Africa will benefit from tackling the country’s water challenges by drawing on lessons from its international counterparts and neighbouring countries’ water infrastructure projects, says engineering services company VWS Envig MD Dr Gunter Rencken. Speeding up this process is critical, given that some water scientists predict a shortage of easily accessible sources of freshwater, such [...]
South Africa: Cape Town water meters leave poor high and dry
15 Jul 10
Sixty-six year-old Langa crèche owner Nombulelo Dyira says parents of the children she caters for are sending their children to other crèches because her property has not had running water for a month now. Dyira is one of thousands of township residents running their households on just 350 litres of water each day, as a [...]
Namibia: Cabinet approves water resources management bill
15 Jul 10
Cabinet has in principle approved the Water Resources Management Bill of the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry, and directed the Cabinet Committee on Legislation to scrutinise and finalise the Bill before it is tabled in the National Assembly during 2010. Soon after the implementation of the Water Resources Management Act during December 2004 it [...]
Zimbabwe, Harare: a decade of water woes
13 Jul 10
At 12 midnight, Grandmother Ambuya Marvelous Mlambo makes her way quietly to the neighbouring borehole armed with her two 25-litre buckets. Scores of other women, young and old, are already at the borehole when she arrives so she has to join the queue. Those waiting have an average of at least three containers each. When [...]
Namibia: government moves closer to subsidising water for the poor
13 Jul 10
A group of experts has presented findings on possible future subsidisation of water tariffs for poor households, a plan that was mulled some three years ago. Although thousands of water points have been set up in rural areas, many households had their taps disconnected because they couldn’t afford to pay for the water they and [...]
Africa: project helps local governments contribute to water and sanitation MDGs
12 Jul 10
A two-year project launched in March 2010 is helping local governments in 15 African countries contribute to the achievement of the Water and Sanitation Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). United Cities and Local Governments for Africa (UCLGA) and ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability – Africa are partners in the European Commission (EC) funded project ‘Local [...]
South Africa, Cape Town: escaped hippo shipped out of sewerage works
07 Jul 10
A young hippo has been shipped out of a Cape Town sewerage works, where he made his home after fleeing a nature reserve where he had clashed with his father. The four-year-old nicknamed “Zorro” fled the Rondevlei Nature Reserve outside Cape Town in February 2009 for the lush grass and abundant water of the Cape [...]
Namibia: Locally invented toilet to improve lives of millions
07 Jul 10
In a global first, German-born Peter Arndt from the Clay House Project in Otjiwarongo, Namibia has invented a new dry toilet technology which has the potential to drastically improve the lives of not only Namibians, but millions of people in the world. One of the few taboo subjects left in the world, the toilet nevertheless [...]
Zambia: Nkana Water sources K2.8 billion for Ndeke Township
02 Jul 10
NKANA Water and Sewerage Company (NWSC) has sourced K2.8 billion for improvement of water reticulation in Kitwe’s Ndeke Township. NWSC public relations manager, Damaseke Chibale said the funds would go towards installation of new water pipes and meters in the township. The company sourced the funds from the Devolution Trust Fund (DTF) for the improvement [...]
