Stories about water and sanitation from South Africa
Documentation and sharing of best practises and lessons learned in order to improve implementation and sustainability of WASH service provision is one of the aims of IRC. Find here a collection of stories on water and sanitation from South Africa.
MDG 7 water and sanitation targets: lessons from South Africa
31 Jul 12
This background paper examines the factors contributing to South Africa’s considerable progress in addressing the water and sanitation targets.
Author Jean de la Harpe
MDG 7 water and sanitation targets lessons from South Africa.pdf (417.4 kB)
South African experience with intergrated development planning at local government level
31 Jul 12
This briefing note shares experiences with Intergrated Development Planning at local government level in South Africa. Integrated Development Planning is a tool which local government can use to provide vision, leadership and direction for all those that have a role to play in the development of the local area. Following decentralisation of many services to local government, there is now a responsibility for local government to ensure integration and co-ordination between the various sectors, to achieve social, economic and ecological sustainability.
Author Jean de la Harpe
Integrated development planning at local government level (J de la Harpe).pdf (418.2 kB)
Video: South Africa needs smart water solutions
14 Apr 11
South Africa needs smart water solutions that include not only infrastructure provision, but also management for sustainable operation and maintenance and involvement of consumers. This is a new passion of Fred van Zyl, Director Planning and Information, Water Services, Department of Water Affairs.
Video: Mpumalanga is the first province with dedicated capacity for water at provincial level
14 Apr 11
Amali Raschke explains that in South Africa, the responsibility for water sits traditionally at municipal level (water service provision) and at national level (regulatory function). There is no official role for the province in terms of water. Mpumalanga province, however, has taken up the initiative to be the first province in South Africa with a dedicated capacity for water at provincial level.
Video clip: Municipal Assistant brings all information in one place
14 Apr 11
The Drakenstein Local Municipality in Western Cape started in July 2010 using the Municipal Assistant management software system to get better insight in the operation and maintenance status of their six wastewater plants. It is helping Mr. Ronald Brown the Director of Waste Management in Drakenstein to generate a report for his political bosses with one push of a button.
Municipal Assistant system brings all information in one place
08 Apr 11
The Drakenstein Local Municipality in Western Cape started using the Municipal Assistant management software system in July 2010 to get better insight into the operation and maintenance status of their six wastewater treatment plants. It is helping Mr. Ronald Brown, the Engineer of Waste Management in Drakenstein, to generate reports for his political bosses with one push of a button. It assists him to better manage all the hardware, and when he has to order new spare parts. It also helps build skills of process controllers.
South Africa: 100 to 120 people trained in use of Municipal Assistant system
08 Apr 11
“We trained 100 to 120 people in the use of the Municipal Assistant system in the 38 South African municipalities where it was introduced in the last two and a half years”, Mr. Dana Grobler said in an interview in Cape Town at the global World Water Day event and South Africa Water Week, 21-27 March 2011. Mr. Grobler represents WAM Technology cc, the developer of the Municipal Assistant. He announced that the system is now also being implemented in two pilot municipalities in Malawi and Zimbabwe.
Components of the Municipal Assistant system
08 Apr 11
The main components of the Municipal Assistant™ include sofar a series of modules that are generically developed based on the needs on the ground in the water sector, as well as a set of operations management reports.
Municipal Assistant system helps operation and maintenance of assets in municipalities
08 Apr 11
The urgent need for the improvement in the management, operation and maintenance of assets, and the building of capacity of Process Controllers in Water Services Authorities (WSAs) was identified by the Water Institute of Southern Africa (WISA) as a means of improving the quality of service delivery.
Naadiya and Traci: more female engineers needed
06 Apr 11
South Africa is plagued not only by a skills shortage, but also a skills gap. Graduates entering industry face a double-edged sword in the form of ‘fast-tracking’ and poor mentorship. And the engineering industry is traditionally male dominated. If it is up to Naadiya and Traci, this is going to change. Naadiya Moosajee is the co-founder of the South African Women in Engineering, SaWomEng. This non-profit organisation is geared at motivating, celebrating and empowering women. It is trying to amend the issue of a severe shortage of female engineers in the world, and particularly in South Africa.
