[South Africa] A Call On Women to Help Fight Poverty

from All Africa

BuaNews (Tshwane)

Themba Gadebe

Water Affairs Minister Lindiwe Hendricks says women must have access to resources such as water so they can be empowered to fight poverty.

She was speaking on Friday at the Women in Water, Sanitation and Forestry Awards ceremony.

Established five years ago, the awards honour women who are making a difference through their activism in management and policy, research, education and awareness; and community development.

"Water is a critical resource for rural households and small scale farmers. Female farmers are as productive as their male counterparts, but a higher proportion of female income is spent on the family's well being," she said.

Ms Hendricks said that the United Nations (UN) had shown that poverty eradication and gender equality were closely entwined.

"In South Africa through the National Water Act we require that suitable institutions be formed which must incorporate an appropriate community, racial and gender representation.

"To achieve this institutional reform, my department is overseeing an establishment of Catchment Management Agencies, and Water User Associations; as well as job creation projects in water and sanitation services," she said.

Five agencies have already been launched - namely the Inkomati, the Breede, the Mvoti to uMzimkulu, and the Crocodile West and Marico Catchment Management Agencies.

However, the Minister highlighted the need to align the institutional reform with the Water Allocation Reform programme (WAR).

This, she said would allow women not only to have water but also the representation on the relevant water structures and institutions.

The WAR programme aims to redistribute raw water to overcome historical legacy of apartheid water allocations and attain equitable access to water for productive purposes.

"In this programme we are engaging with women across the country to address issues such as land tenure, water rights and access to resources," she said.

Regarding sanitation, Minister Hendricks said access to basic sanitation, especially among the rural poor remained a major challenge.

"We cannot ignore the appalling negative impact that lack of access to these basic services has on human life, particularly on the vulnerable, such as children, the elderly, the sick, the disabled, and those living with HIV and Aids."

"An urgent need to speed up delivery is high on agenda so that we are geared up to ensuring accelerated sanitation delivery," she said.