Equitable Access to Water

South Africa suffers from extremely high levels of income inequality as well as inequality in access to water. Water has the potential to catalyse rural development, but access to water for poor rural communities is not without its challenges.

The project included an investigation of options under the National Water Act to allocate and re-allocate water to improve equitable access to water for rural black communities in the Inkomati-Usuthu Water Management Area (IUWMA) as well as hands on work on the ground with communities to identify their water needs and opportunities, and to interface with relevant government departments and agencies to find ways to meet those needs. It included the disbursement of small grants to these communities to assist in addressing their water needs.