CONCEPT PAPER
WORLD TOILET SUMMIT
ICC DURBAN, RSA
3-6 DECEMBER 2012
1. BACKGROUND
The lack of access to basic services such as clean water and decent sanitation remains a global concern and the provision of these services is an important part of reducing poverty.
In September 2000, the United Nations General Assembly adopted eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) amongst others, to reduce poverty and improve the health and well-being of communities
In 2002, during the World Summit on Sustainable Development held in Johannesburg, sanitation was included as one of the MDG targets. During the same year South Africa hosted the first Africa Sanitation and Hygiene Conference, which sought to highlight the strategic importance and benefits of adequate provision of sanitation and to put mechanisms in place to accelerate the rate of delivery in Africa.
In much more concerted efforts to meet the sanitation MDG target and constant reminder for many other countries to fast-track efforts towards meeting their MDGs, Sanitation and Hygiene Week was introduced at the Global WASH Forum held in Dakar, Senegal from 29 November to 03 December 2004. It was during this forum that different government leaders took a declaration which is now called, the “Dakar Declaration”.
In 2008 South Africa hosted the second African Sanitation and Hygiene Conference where African Ministers responsible for Water made a political declaration known as the “The eThekwini Declaration” which committed all member states to create an enabling environment towards meeting the Sanitation MDGs. It was also aimed at assessing achievement of the acceleration of basic sanitation delivery to reach the MDGs and sharing of lessons and challenges in line with 2008 being declared as an international Year of Sanitation by the United Nations.
In 2011, the 3rd AfricaSan was held in Kigali, Rwanda to assess the progress made in terms of eThekwini Declaration in sanitation provision in Africa.
South Africa chaired the African Ministers Council on Water (AMCOW) from June 2010 to June 2012.
The increasing attention given to the provision of acceptable, safe and dignified sanitation to all residents of Africa has been a particular highlight of the years 2001 to 2011. Although the achievement of the sanitation MDG in Africa may not be possible in all nations, particularly those that have experienced a period of civil unrest, governments, NGOs and civil societies across the continent have committed themselves to the goal of achievement of universal access to hygienic sanitation facilities, the practice of safe hygiene, and the promotion of human dignity in the provision of sanitation.
2. DISCUSSION
According to the Strategic Framework for Water Services (Sep 2003), a vibrant and durable democracy needs a strong civil society. Government is committed to promoting the active involvement of civil society in the provision of sustainable and affordable water services, in research and other related activities.
South Africa is amongst many countries, particularly in Africa, faced with the global challenges related to the meeting of the MDG on sanitation and ultimately universal access to safe sanitation. In South Africa, the right of access to a basic level of sanitation service is clearly stipulated in the Constitution of South Africa (Act 108 of 1996), and the eradication of the sanitation backlog.
The White Paper on Basic Household Sanitation (September 2001) echoes this statement as it indicates that government has a responsibility to ensure that all South Africans have access to adequate sanitation.
From 1996 the South African government began investing in the provision of improved sanitation services to the poor, and has achieved significant progress in meeting its targets. South Africa set itself targets that aimed to achieve universal access by 2010, but with the financial constraints, rapid urbanization, and lack of capacity to implement programmes in some areas, this target was extended to 2014. The huge influx of the poor to the major urban areas will result in the non-achievement of this target, particularly in the urban municipalities. However the nation has fully committed itself to join the global challenge towards meeting the international commitment to halve the number of people without access to sanitation by 2015, and eradicate sanitation backlogs by 2025. Experience in South Africa over the past 15 years has been that ensuring access to basic sanitation for all is an enormous task which requires the active participation of all communities, sector stakeholders and spheres of government. Unless all stakeholders are committed to this challenge, the targets cannot be achieved.
The World Toilet Summit will be held on 3 - 6 December 2012 in Johannesburg, South Africa and was endorsed as an action-oriented programme, leading into a World Toilet Organisation (WTO) Work Plan 2015 with measurable outcomes.
2.2 SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES OF THE SUMMIT
· Increase collaboration in an attempt to achieve the universal goal of “Dignity for All” in terms of all aspects related to the provision of safe accessible sanitation for all people, by developing the Outcomes Based Strategy
· To develop a Document Of Principles that will facilitate and promote the collaboration of all relevant participants including the development of the World Toilet Workplan - 2015 to promote the achievement of agreed goals, progress monitoring and reporting with measurable outcomes
· Establishing a Working Committee, representing different fields of expertise, to mobilize action, track progress and report achievements.
· Acquire buy-in and support from key but often sidelined stakeholders and interested parties, including the media and civil society.
· Celebrate progress made on development of improved legislation towards proper regulations, monitoring and evaluation on sanitation related services.
2.3 ACHIEVEMENTS MADE IN TERMS OF SANITATION SERVICES DELIVERY
South Africa has demonstrated global leadership and technical expertise in the promotion of sanitation delivery at the highest level of government, and in setting goals that will meet not only local targets, but also contribute significantly to the achievement of regional MDGs. The social and economic situation in South Africa implies that the approach and experience gained in South Africa is often not applicable in many other African countries. It is thus essential that collaborative conferences and programmes such as the World Toilet Summit be held in order that the experience and knowledge gained in many other African states may be gleaned and shared between African countries, particularly those with a similar socio-economic make up. South Africa can also learn from the experiences of these nations. Hence the value of these conferences is immense for bringing about greater African unity, cooperation and joint programmes for addressing the most severe challenges on our continent.
In the previous year Government has been taken to court by the Human Rights Groups due malpractices relating to the sanitation services across the country. Therefore the relevance of this Conference and the timing thereof cannot be over emphasized. This event will benefit the country both internally, as it will enhance political attention to sanitation, and will place the country on the global map with regards to collaborating with Human Rights Groups and the Private Sector in scaling up the provision of sanitation for all.
To ensure that the Department is not taken to court again on the 6th September 2011, the Honourable Minister of the Department of Human Settlements (DHS) Mr Tokyo Sexwale appointed a task team (the Ministerial Sanitation Task Team) (MSTT) headed by Honourable Ms Winnie Madikizela-Mandela. The Minister’s undertaking was rooted in concern for the human dignity of communities affected by inefficiencies is sanitation provision as confirmed by media’s exposé of unacceptable realities in Makhaza, Moqhaka and Moutse communities for example.
Minister tasked the Sanitation Task Team to identify performance barriers in provisioning of sanitation, implementation gaps and improvement strategies to ensure continuous improvement in communities. Specifically, the Ministerial Sanitation Task Team was mandated to:
· Review and evaluate the National Sanitation Programme which is another key component of sustainable and integrated human settlements;
· Determine irregularities and malpractices in the implementation of the sanitation programme;
· Assess progress, prevalence and severity of maladministration, as well as lack of compliance with norms and standards for sanitation implementation in all nine Provinces
· Outline recommendations to accelerate delivery and ensure continuous improvement
· Propose an Action Plan to strengthen policy gaps and sanitation implementation capacity
This Commission has since released its report with its findings and recommendations. The sanitation unit has embarked on an assessment of the hotspots areas identified by the MSTT as a means to address the sanitation service delivery problem.
South Africa has made strides in providing sanitation services to communities. The Summit will serve as a platform to showcase progress made in terms of ensuring access to sanitation services.
Table 1. Illustration of sanitation service delivery progress on sanitation backlog from 1994- April 2012
-Province / -finyearID / -SAId / -1994 / -2001 / -2009 / -2010 / -2011 / -2012Eastern Cape - EC / 27 / 5 / 1025480 / 921311 / 449958 / 345868 / 295303 / 248196
Free State - FS / 27 / 5 / 408907 / 356397 / 257784 / 251365 / 242042 / 241819
Gauteng - GT / 27 / 5 / 635504 / 534681 / 419752 / 449771 / 415338 / 425347
KwaZulu-Natal - KZ / 27 / 5 / 961844 / 1088437 / 538484 / 451490 / 356845 / 317595
Limpopo - LP / 27 / 5 / 819997 / 860823 / 618377 / 513703 / 475634 / 442026
Mpumalanga - MP / 27 / 5 / 431662 / 444524 / 343322 / 316910 / 303172 / 294623
Northern Cape - NC / 27 / 5 / 146398 / 87509 / 55761 / 52023 / 48997 / 36429
North West - NW / 27 / 5 / 376730 / 421234 / 300679 / 260280 / 242007 / 191215
Western Cape - WC / 27 / 5 / 397617 / 156724 / 88761 / 87406 / 82591 / 80962
South Africa - SA / 27 / 5 / 5204139 / 4871640 / 3072878 / 2728816 / 2461929 / 2278212
In terms of both improved water and adequate sanitation, South Africa made progress. Statistical evidence indicates that 69% accounts for sanitation and 91% for water. This implies that South Africa has met the MDG benchmark
There has been a reduction in the number of households with no sanitation services at all. The backlog was reduced from 5, 204 139 million in 1994 to 2 278 212 households without access to sanitation by April 2012.
2.4 PURPOSE OF PARTICIPATION
The main objective of participating in the Summit is to enhance collaboration with all the role players in the field of sanitation ie. political leadership, private sector, non-governmental organizations and government. Government alone will not be able to achieve the sanitation targets. There is a need for commitment at all levels to scale up activities towards achieving universal access and dignity for all. Furthermore, there is a need to highlight the work that the Department is doing to ensure that all South Africans have access to sanitation services. Most importantly, the Department should also provide leadership in terms of policies governing the delivery of sanitation.
3. ROLE OF THE SANITATION PROGRAMME IN THE SUMMIT
MAIN THEME OF THE SUMMIT
Worldwide, lack of sanitation is a pressing challenge and more than 40% of world’s population (that is approximately 2,4 billion people) still have no access to basic sanitation This influenced the theme of the summit: “ African Sanitation: Scaling up Dignity for All?”
Beside the main theme which is “African Sanitation: Scaling up Dignity for All” there are sub-themes. Since these sub-themes will influence the main discussions and breakaway sessions at the Summit, it is important that the progress made and challenges of these areas/ or subthemes be highlighted.
3.1. Sub-theme 1: UN 2010 Declaration of Water and Sanitation as a Human Right.
South Africa has made strides in this area.
In South Africa, the right of access to a basic level of sanitation service is clearly stipulated in the Constitution of South Africa (Act 108 of 1996). The policies and legislation governing the provision of both water and sanitation echoes this right and has rested the responsibility to of providing these services to local government with support and regulation by the relevant sector department.
Secondly the Strategic Framework for Water Services (Sep 2003), a vibrant and durable democracy needs a strong civil society. Government is committed to promoting the active involvement of civil society in the provision of sustainable and affordable water services, in research and other related activities.
A number of challenges are faced by all spheres of government in the involvement of Civil Society groups in sanitation. The sector has contributed tremendously in its attempt to resolve these challenges; however the groups remain fragmented, and have different and conflicting views on the role of civil society.
The recent AfricaSan+5 Conference has created a platform for Civil Society debates etc. Most importantly these groups have voiced their frustration in the insufficient use of them in government programmes. The debate will build on exiting efforts made by the sector in using civil society service providers, and aim to formulate action plans for the more effective use of this group in service delivery