Networks - South African Civil Society Water Caucus

If it nothing else, the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development served as a powerful catalyst to draw South African civil society organisations together around questions of development and environmental sustainability. One such discussion, organised in March 2002 by NGOs Contact Trust and EMG, together with the WSSD Civil Society Secretariat, led to the formalisation of the South African Civil Society Water Caucus (SAWC), a network of about 20 organisations.

The Caucus was responsible for "hosting" and providing leadership to water issue debates at the WSSD parallel event. A meeting in August 2002 with the Minister of Water Affairs established the networks bona fides with government and was to be the first of many such meetings over the years.

Since then the Caucus has met regularly, and is recognised by the Department of Water Affairs & Forestry as a critical voice to engage with in policy and implementation processes. Issues and processes the SAWC has worked with include: large dams, national water resources strategy, regulation, water pricing, water quality, pre-paid metres, tricklers and cut-offs, NEPAD, and The Water Dialogues.

The SAWC is coordinated by Bryan Ashe of Earthlife-Africa eThekwini, who is supported by a Steering Committee, which includes EMG staff member Thabang Ngcozela.

Points of consensus -- June 2002

1. Water and sanitation are human rights. All people are entitled to have access to water to meet their basic human needs, and rural communities are entitled to water for productive use to sustain their livelihoods.
2. Water management must be accountable to communities at a local level.
3. We respect the integrity of ecosystems as the basis for all life – both human and nature – with an emphasis on maintaining river ecosystems and groundwater resources.
4. We reject the commodification and privatisation of water services and sanitation, and water resources.
5. Further, we reject the role of the USA, the other G8 countries and Trans-National Corporations for their role in pushing privatisation and commodification.
6. We reject the UN WSSD process and outcomes so far, as nothing more than structural adjustment of the South. We therefore resolve to work together with social movements to realise an alternative vision.
7. We reject NEPAD and the plans for water in NEPAD as not being sustainable. It is structural adjustment by Africa for Africa. In particular we reject the privatisation of water and the hydropower focus. We commit ourselves to building a mass movement for the reconstruction and sustainable development of Africa.
8. We undertake to educate and raise awareness and to mobilise communities towards the WSSD.

As a Caucus we will work on the following issues towards and beyond the WSSD:

· Free basic water
· Sanitation
· Privatisation
· Cost recovery, evictions and water cut-offs
· Dams and their social and environmental impact
· Integrity of ecosystems
· Food security
· Productive use of water
· Biotechnology and industrial agriculture
· Local governance and accountability

In order to carry out the above a Working Committee was elected to represent the South Africa Civil Society Water Caucus leading up to and beyond the WSSD. These include NGOs, rural and urban CBOs, the different issues caucuses and major groups.