SA and Switzerland sign water agreement

24 January 2006

The Governments of South Africa and Switzerland have signed a R19 million
agreement to support Local Government Capacity Building in South Africa through
knowledge sharing in the Water Sector. The agreements were exchanged today, in
Pretoria, between the Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry, Ms Buyelwa
Sonjica, and His Excellency, Mr Viktor Christen, the Ambassador of Switzerland
in South Africa.

The agreement takes the form of a grant of R9.5 million from the Swiss
government and a further R9.5 million from the Department of Water Affairs and
Forestry over the next three years to ensure that municipalities are able to
learn and access lessons on successful water services provision systems,
procedures and operational models. The funds will be utilised for the
implementation of the “Masibambane Local Government Capacity Building through
Knowledge Sharing” project. ‘Masibambane’ (which means ‘let’s work together’)
is a multi-faceted Water Services Sector Support Programme, which is a
collaborative effort between donors and the Department of Water Affairs and
Forestry, the Department of Provincial and Local Government, the South African
Local Government Association (SALGA), their provincial counterparts, as well as
municipalities and other representative structures. One of the key objectives
of the Masibambane sector approach is to ensure sufficient local government
capacity to expand water services to the entire population and to provide
effective service delivery.

The Knowledge Sharing Project, which is a joint project of the Department of
Water Affairs and Forestry, SALGA, and the Water Research Commission, through
the Water Information Network, is significant for a number of reasons.

The resources within the project will enable these partners to jointly
establish mechanisms whereby good practice, knowledge and information can be
accessed and systematically made available to municipalities to enable them to
improve the provision of sustainable water and sanitation services in South
Africa and Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries.

In addition, the project will directly contribute to the functioning of the
SALGA’s Municipal Water Services Provider Network where experienced and newly
established water services providers from metros, district and local
municipalities can come together to learn lessons and to fast track
improvements in service provision.

The project represents a new and innovative approach. Its success depends
upon a dedicated resource to establish municipal networks and share knowledge
between municipalities. The grant from the Swiss Agency for Development and
Co-operation for this project provides an opportunity to consolidate sectoral
knowledge sharing and is a contribution to establishing a much needed platform
for local government.

Enquires:
Thoko Sigwaza
Department: Water Affairs and Forestry
Tel: (012) 336 7049

Annamarie Minder
Country Director
Swiss Agency for Development and Co-operation
Tel: (012) 362 2972

Issued by: Department of Water Affairs and Forestry
24 January 2006