Windhoek
Water and sanitation are key areas as Namibia strives for inclusive and sustainable development and poverty alleviation, while it is only fair they receive everyone’s full attention.
These views were expressed at the ninth Water and Sanitation Sector Joint Annual Review on Tuesday in Windhoek, by the head of Cooperation of the European Union Delegation to Namibia, Markus Theobald.
“While the vast majority of European citizens are clearly in favour of providing assistance to the people in developing countries for altruistic reasons, we are increasingly held to account in our own constituencies in Europe. We are asked to demonstrate that the money we spend, in Africa and elsewhere, yields measurable results and delivers value for money,” he noted.
He says that as Namibia approaches the 25th anniversary of the EU opening its delegation in Namibia, it is worth noting that EU support started even earlier.
The initial funding of the Namibian Water and Sanitation Programme was 18 million euro, which was later increased to 36 million euro, which according to today’s exchange rate is some N$600 million.
“In view of Namibia’s level of development, the increasing graduation from development aid and the regressive level of funding from development partners, Namibia must make tough choices. Government has asked the EU to focus its future support in two sectors only, namely in education and agriculture.
“Hence, our support to the water and sanitation sector is phasing out. While, on the one hand, we are sad about this, we are, on the other, convinced that the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry and all other line ministries involved in the sector have today the technical and managerial capacity to adequately tackle the challenges ahead,” he stated
In the first 10 to 15 years after independence, the EU provided significant support and funding for infrastructure improvements including in the water and sanitation sector. In towns like Karibib, Outjo, Otavi and Karasburg, waterborne sewerage schemes were built with EU funding and in Lüderitz the EU financed the construction of an industry standard waste water treatment plant that prevents untreated effluent to reach the pristine sea waters in the surroundings of this important fisheries port.
Some of these projects started well before water and sanitation became prominent in the international development debate, first with the Millennium Development Goals, and more recently, under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Over the years, the Namibian Water and Sanitation Programme has achieved very positive results, particularly in the water sector. “These achievements are commendable, especially if we consider the challenges posed by the limited availability of natural sources of fresh water in the country and the need to provide potable water to many communities in remote and very remote rural areas. The increasing trend of people migrating from rural to urban areas is an additional challenge, especially for the pressure it puts on the planning and budgeting capacity of the local authorities,” he said.
“While accomplishments are plentiful, let us not be too complacent. Increasing challenges in the area of sanitation as clearly and very frankly indicated in the Annual Review Report prepared by the Ministry of Agriculture, is – I think – a cause for concern. It has also become part of the Human Rights Agenda for Namibia, as clearly outlined in the Water and Sanitation Action Plan recently prepared by the ombudsman.”
He added: “While aware that budget constraints could somehow limit the government’s ability to address the backlog of sanitation infrastructure, we firmly believe that less expensive, non-infrastructure interventions, such as awareness and education campaigns, including hygiene, should be more actively promoted, particularly in the rural areas of the country. This is not only to improve the ability of local communities to adequately use and maintain the facilities already provided, but also to increase their capacity to provide self-help solutions to their sanitation needs.”
“The programme is in its last year of implementation. We would very much like to be soon in a position to release the fifth and last budget support payment. In view of the present water woes, not only in Windhoek, I am sure this could bring a welcome relief to the restrained finance in the sector.
“In the coming years our partnership will still continue in a different way. We are right now preparing a large capacity building programme with the National Planning Commission that aims at strengthening the government’s planning, budgeting, monitoring and evaluation systems, with focus on competencies within the National Planning Commission and key line ministries. This should support the preparation of the next National Development Plan and help with even better formulation, implementation and monitoring of sector plans,” he said.