Capacity Building for Operation & Maintenance for Water Supply & Sanitation Services

The project, implemented by SIPU, aimed to improve operations and maintenance of water supply and sanitation services in all municipalities within the Northern Cape province, based on already decided plans. The actual development of the water and sanitation services – not at all carried out by SIPU – were funded by the Northern Cape Department of Housing & Local Government itself, the national Department of Water and Sanitation, Francis Baard District municipality and the Development Bank of South Africa. These organisations formed the steering committee of a project for development of water and sanitation. The Sida funded component, implemented by SIPU, supported these steering mechanisms and was a catalyst in bringing national and local actors together in order to reach the overall objectives for development of water and sanitation.

Apart from actual improvements for water and sanitation in the province, the SIPU efforts were geared towards documenting the efforts for replication elsewhere in South Africa as well as to train local staff.