Editing Water supply and sanitation in South Africa (section)

==Stakeholders==
The public water and sanitation sector in South Africa is organised in three different tiers:

* The national government, represented by the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), as a policy setter.
* [[Water Board (South Africa)|Water Boards]], which provide primarily bulk water, but also some retail services and operate some wastewater treatment plants, in addition to playing a role in water resources management;
* Municipalities, which provide most retail services and also own some of the bulk supply infrastructure.

Banks, the professional association WISA, the Water Research Commission and civil society also are important stakeholders in the sector.

===Policy and regulation===
The [[Department of Water Affairs]] (DWA) in the Ministry of Water and Environmental Affairs is primarily responsible for the formulation and implementation of policy governing water resources management as well as drinking water supply. Concerning sanitation, "there is a worrying absence of regulation [...] at all levels of government", according to an independent report. Around 2010 the sanitation function has been moved from DWA to the Department of Human Settlement (DHS), although some regulatory functions apparently remain with DWA, "causing institutional confusion over roles and responsibilities".<ref>{{cite web|last=Tissington|first=Kate|title=Basic Sanitation in South Africa: A Guide to Legislation, Policy and Practice|url=http://www.nwu.ac.za/webfm_send/42156|publisher=Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa (SERI)|access-date=16 December 2012|pages=69|date=July 2011}}</ref>

===Service provision===
Responsibility for service provision is shared among various entities: The country's 231 municipalities are in charge of water distribution and sanitation either directly or indirectly through municipally owned enterprises or private companies; government-owned water boards are in charge of operating bulk water supply infrastructure and some wastewater systems; and the Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority finances and develops dams and bulk water supply infrastructure.

[[File:Map of South Africa with provinces shaded and districts numbered (2011).svg|thumb|450px|Map showing the districts (numbered) of South Africa
{{legend-col|thumb size=wide
|{{legend|#8DD3C7|[[Eastern Cape]]}}
|{{legend|#BEBADA|[[Free State (South African province)|Free State]]}}
|{{legend|#FFFFB3|[[Gauteng]]}}
|{{legend|#FB8072|[[KwaZulu-Natal]]}}
|{{legend|#80B1D3|[[Limpopo]]}}
|{{legend|#FDB462|[[Mpumalanga]]}}
|{{legend|#FCCDE5|[[North West (South African province)|North West]]}}
|{{legend|#B3DE69|[[Northern Cape]]}}
|{{legend|#BC80BD|[[Western Cape]]}}
}}]]
'''Municipalities'''. According to the Constitution, the Municipal Structures Act and the Water Services Act of 1997<ref name="WSA"/> responsibility for the provision of water and sanitation services lies with water services authorities, which the Water Services Act defines as the municipalities. There are 52 district municipalities and 231 local municipalities in South Africa (see [[Municipalities of South Africa]]).<ref name="eThekwini Municipality">{{cite web|last=eThekwini Municipality|title=eThekwinie Water and Sanitation: Who we Are?|url=http://www.durban.gov.za/City_Services/water_sanitation/About_Us/Pages/default.aspx|access-date=8 September 2012|archive-date=7 August 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120807075926/http://www.durban.gov.za/City_Services/water_sanitation/About_Us/Pages/default.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In many cases, the district municipalities are the water services authorities. However, the national government can assign responsibility for service provision to local municipalities. Overall, there are 169 water services authorities in South Africa, including water boards, district municipalities, local municipalities and municipal companies. Usually municipalities provide water and sanitation services directly through a municipal unit or department. For example, eThekwini (Durban) provides these services through the eThekwini Water and Sanitation Unit.<ref name="eThekwini Municipality"/>

However, they can delegate this responsibility to a water services provider for a defined period. For example, in 2001 the city of Johannesburg created Johannesburg Water, a legally and financially independent company wholly owned by the municipality. This was done as part of a "Transformation Plan" embarked upon by the Greater Johannesburg Municipal Authority at the time. Johannesburg Water has committed itself to comply with the provisions of the [[King Report on Corporate Governance]], including affirmative action, transparency, performance evaluation, a code of ethics, professional risk management and sustainability reporting.

The 1996 constitution strengthened the autonomy of municipalities. As a consequence, the responsibility for rural water supply and sanitation has been transferred from the national government, represented by DWAF, to municipalities.
 
{{main|Water privatisation in South Africa}}
'''Private sector participation'''. Since 1994 some municipalities have involved the private sector in service provision in various forms, including contracts for specific services such as wastewater treatment, short-term management contracts and long-term concessions.

{{Main|Water Board (South Africa)}}

'''Water Boards'''. The 13 government-owned Water Boards play a key role in the South African water sector. They operate dams, bulk water supply infrastructure, some retail infrastructure and some wastewater systems. Some also provide technical assistance to municipalities.

'''Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority'''. The Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority (TCTA) is a state-owned entity with the mission to finance and implement bulk raw water infrastructure. It was created in 1986 to develop the Lesotho Highland Water Project, a joint project between Lesotho and South Africa. As of 2012, TCTA has developed or is developing six other dam and bulk water supply projects throughout the country, including the [[Berg River Dam]]. TCTA sells bulk water to the government, represented by the Department of Water as the owner of the Water Boards that treat the water and sell it on to municipalities and mines. TCTA uses these revenues mainly to repay the debt it has raised to finance its infrastructure, its operating costs and to pay royalties to the government of Lesotho.<ref>{{cite web|last=Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority|title=Home Page|url=https://www.tcta.co.za/|access-date=5 September 2012}}</ref>

===Others===
'''Research, training and knowledge'''. South Africa has a fairly strong research and training infrastructure in the water sector. The Water Research Commission (WRC) supports water research and development as well as the building of a sustainable water research capacity in South Africa. It serves as the country's water-centred knowledge 'hub'  leading the creation, dissemination and application of water-centred knowledge, focusing on water resource management, water-linked ecosystems, water use and waste management and water utilisation in agriculture.<ref>[https://www.wrc.org.za/ Water Research Commission (WRC)]</ref>

The Water Institute of Southern Africa (WISA), a professional association, keeps its members abreast of the latest developments in water technology and research through its national and international liaison, links and affiliations.<ref>Water Institute of Southern Africa:[http://www.wisa.org.za/Home/Home.htm About WISA]. Retrieved 24 October 2010</ref>

'''Financiers and promoters'''. The [[Development Bank of Southern Africa]] (DBSA) is an important player in the water and sanitation sector, both as a financier and as an advisor and project promoter. In 2005–2006 about 29% of its approved projects were for water supply (1,881 million Rand) and sanitation (165 million Rand).<ref>[http://www.dbsa.org/Research/Documents/DBSAActivitiesReport2005-2006.pdf Development Bank of Southern Africa Annual Report 2005–2006], p. 7</ref> Other financing institutions in the sector include the Infrastructure Finance Corporation Limited, which claims to be the only 100% privately owned infrastructure debt fund in the world.<ref>[https://www.inca.co.za/ Infrastructure Finance Corporation Limited INCA]</ref>

'''Civil society'''. South Africa has a vibrant civil society, comprising a large number of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) with very diverse goals, membership and methods. On the one hand, civil society includes militant so-called "new social movements" that sprang up after the end of Apartheid, such as the [[Western Cape Anti-Eviction Campaign]] formed in 2000 and the shack dweller organisation [[Abahlali baseMjondolo]] formed in 2005. They fight water cut-offs for non-payment and are engaged in "mass popular appropriation" of water services. These groups claim to represent the poorest and most oppressed people in South Africa.

On the other hand, civil society in South Africa includes the Mvula trust which has disbursed over R300 million to water services programmes and projects and has provided services to over a million South Africans who previously did not have access to either water or sanitation services. It is specialised in implementing and supporting the delivery of water services in rural and peri-urban areas through community management, the establishment of community based water services providers and supporting local authorities to create an enabling environment for sustainability.<ref>[http://www.mvula.co.za/ Mvula Trust]</ref>