This Research Report, along with the Policy Report, provides the ‘first draft’ of a proposed Water and Sanitation Industry Master Plan. It puts forward a vision and associated interventions, forming the foundation of a Water and Sanitation Industry Master Plan for South Africa. The reports complement the 2018 Department of Water and Sanitation  National Water and Sanitation Master Plan, by focusing on the emergence and growth of locally designed, competitive manufactured products and services. They are also drafted to work jointly with other industrial development master plans, such as those for the plastics, steel and chemicals value chains.

Download a copy or read online: Research Report: Water and Sanitation Industry Master Plan 

Download a copy or read online: Policy Report: Water and Sanitation Industry Master Plan 

As South Africa responds to COVID-19 and aims to stimulate the economy and job creation post the lockdown through an infrastructure-led package, an opportunity should not be missed to address many of the water and sanitation challenges in the country. This is much needed and would provide multiple benefits, not only for the economy but also for the poor communities that need the infrastructure and services as well as municipalities that require strengthening of their water and wastewater infrastructure. This policy brief looks at the benefits of including water and sanitation in the country’s stimulus package and considers possible avenues to do so.

Download a copy of the Policy Brief or read online.

This policy brief is a summary of a Working Paper available here: A case for water and sanitation in South Africa's post-lockdown economic recovery stimulus package

As South Africa responds to COVID-19 as well as aims to stimulate the economy and job creation post the lockdown through an infrastructure-led package, an opportunity should not be missed to address many of the water and sanitation challenges in the country. This is much needed and would provide multiple benefits not only to the economy but also the poor communities that need the infrastructure and services, as well as municipalities that require strengthening of their water and wastewater infrastructure. This working paper looks at the benefits of including water and sanitation in the country’s stimulus package and considers possible avenues to do so.

For a summary version of the working paper see Policy Brief: A case for water and sanitation in South Africa's post-lockdown economic recovery stimulus package

Daily Maverick - 2 April 2020 by Shakespear Mudombi (TIPS Economist)

Read online at Daily Maverick

Although many issues affect the water and sanitation sector, this Working Paper focuses on the access to those services. An in-depth assessment of the progress made in providing water and sanitation services can help inform various stakeholders and decision-makers about the need for renewed effort towards universal access. Against this backdrop, the objective is to meaningfully understand the extent of access and the quality of access to water and sanitation services at the household level in South Africa. 

To avoid a one step forward, two steps backwards scenario, which would erode gains already made, the situation demands renewed effort, coordination and collaboration by various stakeholders, supported by significant resources targeted towards the unserved as well as paying attention to those already served. It is imperative to focus on both the quantity and quality of access to water and sanitation services, as neglect of one will further reinforce the overall backlog. This is particularly relevant with the increasing need to prevent the outbreak of waterborne diseases and the spread of new and less known pathogens and diseases such as coronavirus disease (COVID-19). These demand well-functioning water and sanitation systems that allow proper washing of hands as well as cleaning of contaminated items and spaces. In this regard, embracing the systems and multidimensional view on access to water and sanitation will contribute to improved, appropriate, and sustainable access to water and sanitation services for all.

A significant proportion of people still require proper sanitation services in South Africa, on the continent, and globally. Given the inadequacies in the current sanitation system, there is a huge potential market for new generation sanitation (NGS) technologies. The size of the market could be much bigger if we consider the proportion of people that do not have sanitation services, those with inadequate services, and those whose services are inappropriate (such as waterborne systems in water scarce areas). NGS has the potential to be a disruptive technology. If properly embraced, it can significantly transform the sanitation landscape and leapfrog the previously unserved and underserved communities. As a new field, there is need for the country to take front-runner advantage. Though South Africa has a strong research, development and innovation background on conventional sanitation, the country needs to be more active to capture the opportunity offered by NGS to industrialise. Efforts by various organisations to promote the development of NGS in the country are providing valuable platforms to leverage.

This policy brief highlights the opportunities and constraints for NGS in the context of industrial development in South Africa. It considers the status of NGS technologies worldwide and the possible opportunity for South Africa.

This policy brief is based on the report Forward looking approach to next generation sanitation and industrial development in South Africa. It can be accessed on the TIPS website at the following link: download main report

These three reports are part of a tri-partite initiative of the Department of Trade and Industry (the dti), the Water Research Commission and TIPS on the development and growth of the water and sanitation industry in South Africa.

Global water and sanitation market dynamics: Implications for South Africa’s industrial development

From a trade and industry perspective, water and sanitation are intertwined with technology, and industrial and economic development. Water security and access to modern water and sanitation services rely on technology and industrial development, while industrial development, and more broadly, economic development, depend on water security and modern water and sanitation services. In South Africa, the water and sanitation sector has been identified by the country’s Industrial Policy Action Plan (IPAP) as a potential driver of industrial development, notably through the emergence and growth of locally-designed and manufactured products and services. To inform the role that South African industries can play in the water and sanitation sector, this report focuses on providing a strategic outlook of global dynamics.

Links to other reports

Forward-looking approach to next generation sanitation and industrial development in South Africa

Desalination in South Africa: panacea or peril for industrial development?

These three reports are part of a tri-partite initiative of the Department of Trade and Industry (the dti), the Water Research Commission and TIPS on the development and growth of the water and sanitation industry in South Africa.

Forward-looking approach to next generation sanitation and industrial development in South Africa

Conventional sanitation technologies have not really solved the challenges in the sanitation sector. As a result non-sewered, off-grid sanitation systems, commonly referred to as NGS, which differ greatly from conventional technologies, have been proposed as potentially better. NGS can be defined as an integrated system in which the frontend collects and conveys the specific input to the backend which fully treats the waste within the non-sewered sanitation system, to allow for safe reuse or disposal of the generated solid, liquid and gaseous output. South Africa is considering positioning itself as a leading manufacturer of NGS technologies. The country’s Industrial Policy Action Plan seeks to establish an NGS Cluster Development Programme. In line with this goal, this paper assesses the opportunities and constraints for NGS in the context of industrial development in South Africa.

Link to Policy Brief 

Forward-looking approach to next generation sanitation and industrial development in South Africa - A briefing

Links to other reports

Global water and sanitation market dynamics: Implications for South Africa’s industrial development

Desalination in South Africa: panacea or peril for industrial development?

These three reports are part of a tri-partite initiative of the Department of Trade and Industry (the dti), the Water Research Commission and TIPS on the development and growth of the water and sanitation industry in South Africa.

Desalination in South Africa: panacea or peril for industrial development?

This paper examines two fundamental issues related to desalination. First, it examines whether desalination is appropriate for the South African context. This involves looking at how the technology is implemented, what the principal cost drivers are and the key trends in the technology. Then, it investigates the potential business model considerations that have to be borne in mind when thinking about adopting the technology for the country. Second, it investigates whether South Africa could play an active role in providing desalination solutions to global markets. This is congruent with supporting the local industry and identifying a role for industrial policy to play a part in advancing the industry. To see what policy measures are appropriate, both the local and foreign markets for desalination are analysed.

Links to other reports

Global water and sanitation market dynamics: Implications for South Africa’s industrial development

Forward-looking approach to next generation sanitation and industrial development in South Africa

Session 9: A regional collabroation: Different approaches

This paper reports on the results of an investigation into the contribution of cooperative management of water resources to regional integration in SADC. The study found that, while a few bilateral projects had contributed to economic development, there was little evidence of a systemic contribution to formal integration. An evaluation of the opportunities and constraints suggests that more effective intersectoral coordination at national level to make better use of resources to stimulate industrial development is the first priority. A more general conclusion is that a functional approach to integration that seeks and supports practical opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation is more likely to succeed than a focus on generic regional institution building. 

There has been a global shift in the way that water provision for urban water use is viewed. Governments are increasingly choosing to invest in environmental health. By protecting river systems, governments can reduce management costs. In this brief, examples of international case studies related to such government interventions are presented, followed by a South African case study of the Kromme River.

Authors: Alanna Rebelo, University of Stellenbosch and ASSET Research and Katie Gull, University of Cape Town and ASSET Research
 

Access to adequate water and sanitation services in South Africa still remain a pipe dream for the millions who are trapped at the bottom of the class structures in the country. The poverty stricken communities living in Townships such as Motherwell, everyday long for water services infrastructure to be built in their places of residence. The costs of accessing water services also becomes a setback for many consumers in the area, this is after the infrastructure has been installed in their areas. The high unemployment rate plays an enormous role in many consumers not affording water services. Bureaucracy between the government department of Housing and the NMMBM also impedes delivery of water services for without formal housing, water and sanitation is impossible to be accessed within the households.

The study revealed from the semi-structured interviews which were held with Mayoral Council official and Ward Councillors as well as with members of the communities NU 12 and 29 that access to adequate water services was not successful and satisfactory. The findings of the research demonstrate that the Municipality has a problem with retaining staff members in the portfolio of Infrastructure, Engineering, Electricity and Energy, which is the responsible department for providing water and sanitation services to the local inhabitants. This study was conducted from April 2009 to November 2009 and it was aimed at finding the Barriers to accessing water services in the Motherwell Township.

This paper was submitted for a Masters Degree Programme in Development Studies at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University. The paper was supervised by Dr. Deon Pretorius.

To receive a copy of this paper please send your request to sithembiso@tips.org.za

South Africa is in the grip of an electricity crisis marked by a euphemism known as load shedding. The demand for electricity has grown to the point that the supply reserve margin is often under threat, necessitating the electricity supplier to cut supply to some areas, or to shed load. This is a condition unknown to South Africa since the country enjoyed electricity security from the mid-1950s. Are we, however, heading in the same direction when considering water? Is water shedding inevitable?

We ask these questions since South Africa is a country classified has having chronic water shortages, a condition exacerbated by climate change and the rapidly increasing demand for water. Can we avert a load-shedding crisis by being pro-active? In this paper we address this issue by applying a Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model using an integrated database comprising South Africa's Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) and sectoral water use balances. We refer to ASGISA, the governments' Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative in South Africa, and conclude that business as usual will indeed dump the country into a situation where water shedding will be inevitable.

Unlike electricity, however, water security is much more serious from a livelihoods and health perspective since there are no substitutes for it. The need for pro-active measures is therefore essential.