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dam-l SA Water Conference
>SA HOSTS INTERNATIONAL WATER CONFERENCE
>SOMERSET WEST December 8 1997 Sapa
>
> The challenge of providing adequate water for the growing
> populations of cities and towns was taking on particularly ominous
> dimensions in vast tracts of Africa, delegates to an international
> conference on water supply and sanitation were told at Somerset
> West on Monday.
>
> The three-day conference, organised by the United Nations' Centre
> for Human Settlements (Habitat) and South Africa's Water Affairs
> department, is being hosted by Water Affairs Minister Kader Asmal.
>
> The executive director of Habitat, Darshan Johal, told the 200
> delegates from 90 countries that providing adequate water for
> human as well as industrial and commercial use was one of the
> biggest challenges facing governments and local authorities around
> the world.
>
> This challenge was taking on particularly ominous dimensions in
> vast tracts of Africa. In many African cities the water situation
> was precarious.
>
> "Rapid urbanisation, growing populations and development are
> overwhelming the traditional water management practices," Johal
> said.
>
> Africa was experiencing the highest rate of urban growth in the
> world, and its rapidly-expanding cities had the poorest service
> coverage of any of the world's regions.
>
> He said Habitat had taken a lead in organising the conference in
> an attempt to establish broad-based partnerships among the major
> stakeholders, governments, the private sector and the communities
> themselves.
>
> Officially called the "International Consultations on Partnerships
> in the Water Sector for Cities in Africa", the conference aims to
> identify partnerships among interested parties, encourage
> investment in Africa, improve water supplies and sanitation, and
> avert environmental disaster on the continent.
>
> The conference is set against the background of a continent
> battling to cope with its rapidly-growing population.
>
> More than 120 million people in sub-Saharan Africa are illiterate,
> more than 125 million are not expected to survive beyond the age
> of 40, and more than 200 million lack access to basic health
> services.
>
> The biggest problem of all, however, is lack of access to safe
> drinking water, which affects about half the population of the
> region - 250 million.
>
> In the opening address, Asmal said the conference would play an
> important part in putting the role of water implementation "right
> up front" in the urban and peri-urban areas of Africa.
>
> He called for action from governments in addressing the problems
> caused by rapid urbanisation, and said it was the tragedy of the
> late 20th century that poverty had not been eliminated in
> developing countries.
>
> "In the developing world the state has to intervene in a way which
> will radically transform society, which will create an expanding
> floor of social, economic and environmental rights for the
> impoverished and disadvantaged majority," he said.
>
> He said in an interview earlier that the first objective of the
> conference was to form a basis for dealing with the huge increase
> in megacities around the world, before social tensions resulted in
> large-scale public upheaval.
>
> "Secondly, we aim to work out a way to deal with competing
> interests in urban and peri-urban areas; this is particularly
> important for Africa.
>
> "Thirdly, we seek to address the inability of the existing
> institutions to provide for water and sanitation; the emphasis
> here is on partnership between government, the private sector and
> non-governmental organisations.
>
> "This will provide African solutions to problems which are
> African."
>
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Lori Pottinger, Director, Southern Africa Program,
International Rivers Network
1847 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, California 94703, USA
Tel. (510) 848 1155 Fax (510) 848 1008
http://www.irn.org
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