Memorandum submitted by Partners for Water
and Sanitation (PAWS)
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
1. Partners for Water and Sanitation (PAWS)
is providing expertise to deliver capacity building projects in
Nigeria, Ethiopia, Uganda and South Africa. PAWS has found that
in order for work in this field to be effective it needs to be:
(b) complementary to other activities
(c) demonstrate true partnership working
2. PAWS believes that the DFID White Paper
forms a good basis for tackling the challenges in the water and
sanitation sector. The work of PAWS complements the White Paper
and DFID should continue to be an active player in the partnership.
BRIEF INTRODUCTION
TO THE
SUBMITTER
3. Partners for Water and Sanitation (PAWS)
is a multi-stakeholder partnership consisting of representatives
from three key sectors—government, the private sector and
civil society. This submission outlines some of the work and experiences
of PAWS.
4. PAWS was initially established and funded
by the UK Government (Defra and Dfid) at the World Summit for
Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg 2002. The partnership
is currently funded by Defra until March 2007.
5. PAWS is demand led working with in-country
partners in Nigeria, Ethiopia, Uganda and South Africa to provide
capacity building in the form of technical support and knowledge
transfer to support their attempts to achieve the Millennium Development
Goals for Water and Sanitation. Improved water supply and sanitation
is key to delivering other Millennium Development Goals such as
those on Education and Health.
6. PAWS partners offer their expertise and
experience free of charge to deliver projects in our partner countries.
PAWS does not offer money to fund specific projects in-country.
Feedback from in-country partners, including governments, is supportive
of our approach.
7. PAWS employs Country Managers in each
country it works in to manage the programme. This provides a local
focal point for key stakeholders. These managers are key to the
success of PAWS activities in Country.
8. DFID are an active partner in PAWS. Although
they do not currently provide funding, the support provided from
the UK HQ and from in-country offices has helped PAWS to identify
and prioritise areas of activity.
FACTUAL INFORMATION
9. Involvement by Government ensures that
activities undertaken by PAWS complement UK Government policy.
In particular many PAWS projects support activities highlighted
in the recent DFID White Paper on "Eliminating World Poverty".
PAWS is all about capacity building whether at a local state or
national level, a key aspect of the White Paper. These capacity
building projects also involve encouraging good governance and
demonstrating the importance of partnership working.
10. A good example of this is one of our
flagships projects, working with WaterAid in Benue State, Nigeria,
which supports the involvement of local stakeholders in water
governance issues through the establishment of locally run water
consumer associations. Key aspects of this project have been to
develop local government capacity to manage this process and to
identify ways of ensuring stakeholders are involved in the project.
11. The involvement of in-country stakeholders
is a key principle of the partnership. Their involvement ensures
that expertise is targeted at those areas of greatest need. Our
engagement in Ethiopia, for example, was initiated at the request
of the government for support to the Ministry of Water. In Nigeria
by contrast our engagement was supported by WaterAid who asked
for our support in specific states. The involvement of in-country
governments and civil society is fundamental to our success.
12. PAWS has taken the approach that its
activities should add value to existing in-country work rather
than duplicate what has already been done. In Uganda, for example,
PAWS is supporting the established Ugandan NGO network to enhance
awareness of water and sanitation issues.
13. Partners in PAWS have very specific
skills and experience, from the private sector (including many
English water companies) to the civil society sector and the public
sector (including all three English and Welsh water regulators).
This allows PAWS to match demand to supply thus ensuring specific
projects receive the most relevant support.
14. In South Africa, for example, experts
from the partnership have supported the government in developing
an effective water catchment management programme ensuring more
effective management of water resources whilst in Uganda experts
have provided advice to the national water quality laboratory
and on the water quality strategy.
15. Our in-country partners tell us that
they want the technical support we offer to be more sustainable.
Reflecting this, PAWS partners have become involved in longer-term
twinning type relationships with in-country partners. In South
Africa, for example, an English Water Company has twinned with
a municipality providing long distance support and advice. This
approach is being replicated in Nigeria, Uganda and Ethiopia.
16. PAWS embodies the partnership principles
highlighted in the DFID White Paper working with a range of in-country
stakeholders and donors and also encouraging the involvement of
UK companies in giving their time and expertise to support in-country
activity.
17. The successes of PAWS have proven the
benefits of partnership working. PAWS has been able to support
in-country governments because it has a diverse range of expertise
at its fingertips. Partners have shown commitment to the partnership
by giving it their time and expertise. They have demonstrated
that a range of actors can come together and work to deliver tangible
improvements in water and sanitation across Africa.
18. PAWS demonstrates the importance of
environmental issues, and more broadly sustainable development
principles, in being a key aspect of international development.
Ensuring clean, accessible and sustainable water supply and sanitation
services is essential to the improvement of livelihoods and the
sustainable and economic development of African countries.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR
ACTION
19. Support to countries in meeting the
Millennium Development Goals should be demand led. It should reflect
their priorities, at national and local government level and the
priorities of communities in-country. It should add value to existing
activity.
20. We need to work in partnership both
in-country and in the UK. PAWS has demonstrated that bringing
together a diverse range of partners with diverse skills and experience
can provide an effective means of supporting countries in their
efforts to meet the Millennium Development Goals.
21. The DFID White Paper forms a good basis
for tackling the challenges in the water and sanitation sector.
In order for this to be delivered DFID should continue to work
closely with other stakeholders including PAWS and build on the
successes of this and other initiatives.
22. Often the solutions to the challenges
facing African countries can be found in other African countries.
PAWS is supporting this South-South exchange of expertise and
believes this is an increasingly effective way to deliver water
and sanitation improvements.
23. Improved and sustainable access to water
and sanitation is a key aspect of international development. Investment
in this area needs to continue if countries have any chance of
meeting the Millennium Development Goals.
October 2006
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