The head of state-owned water utility Epsas, Victor Rico, has resigned after employees went on strike, accusing him of alleged irregularities and mismanagement. Rico submitted his resignation to the environment and water ministry (MMAyA), which now plans to restructure Epsas.
Source: BNamericas.com [subscription site], 05 Aug 2011
Posted in Latin America & Caribbean, Transparency, Water supply
Tagged Bolivia, corruption, Epsas, water utilities
Eden Springs, a provider of office water coolers, is partnering with the NGO People help People – One World to support three drinking water projects in Tanzania.
The company, with its headquarters in Switzerland, has pledged to donate at least €30,000 each year to the projects for an initial period of three years.
Funding from Eden Springs will secure the provision of drinking water supply systems in three secondary schools in the Uru district of Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, serving about 1,000 school children and a further 7,500 residents in the surrounding communities.
People help People – One World was founded by former Member of the German Parliament and has been working in Tanzania since 1985.
Web sites:
Source: PRWeb, 08 Aug 2011
Posted in Africa, School sanitation, Water supply
Tagged Eden Springs, People help People - One World, Tanzania
The Centre Régional pour l’Eau Potable et l’Assainissement à faible coût (CREPA) has established a local chapter in Rwanda.
The Rwandan Minister of State for Energy and Water, Eng Collette Ruhamya, who is also the vice chair of the CREPA Ministerial Council, launched CREPA-Rwanda at an event in Kigali.
CREPA’s CEO Idrissa Doucoure said his organisation, which has its headquarters in Burkina Faso, plans to have a presence in all 54 African countries.
“Our plan for Rwanda is to focus on technology, researching for the key sector blockages and providing innovative and sustainable solutions to problems in the sanitation sector,” Doucoure said.
He added that he plans to provide training and capacity building for key stakeholders like NGOs, civil society, government officials, and local government authorities who provide sanitation services under the decentralised process.
Source: Edwin Musoni, New Times / allAfrica.com, 18 Jul 2011
Posted in Africa, Capacity building, Sanitation, Technology
Tagged CREPA, Rwanda, S1104-Names
Photo: WaterAid
Chief Executive Barbara Frost has been awarded a Doctor of Law by the University of Exeter in recognition of her work with WaterAid and other international development organisations including ActionAid, Save the Children and Action on Disability and Development.
Frost said:
This honour reflects the achievements of WaterAid as we work alongside some of the poorest communities in the world helping them to access safe water to drink, improved hygiene and decent sanitation as a first step out of poverty.
Ms Frost was also recently awarded an Honorary Doctor of Science from Cranfield University in recognition of her outstanding achievements in the field of international development.
Source: WaterAid, 05 Aug 2011
Thulisile Christina Manqele.
One of the first community water activists to take her struggle against water disconnections to the South African courts died in June 2011 at the age of 46.
In a combined obituary, Director of the Centre for Civil Society Patrick Bond looks at the legacy of Thulisile Christina Manqele and compares it with that of former water minister Kader Asmal who died at the same time.
In 2002, Thulisile Christina Manqele, an unemployed mother of seven children (of which three were adopted), took her case to the Durban High Court.
Manqele sought a declaratory order that the discontinuation of the water supply was unlawful and invalid, under the terms of the Water Services Act of 1997, as the disconnection had resulted in the applicant and her dependants being denied access to basic water services when she was unable to pay for the services.
Manqele, a domestic worker, was already a member of activist group the Durban Social Forum, when she became ill, lost her job and saw her debt to the municipality rise to US$ 1,300. Then her water was cut off. Her fellow activists helped Manqele illegally reconnect the pipes.
In March 2000, Manqele’s lawyers won an injunction against the city of Durban but in the end the high court rejected her claim. Nevertheless, faced with mass protests against thousands of water disconnections which were linked to a cholera outbreak, Durban stopped outright disconnections and introduced ‘flow limiters’ instead.
Mangele’s actions inspired protests in other parts of South Africa culminating in the case of 5 poor residents of Phiri township against the city of Johannesburg, which attracted international attention and went all the way up to constitutional court.
Source: Patrick Bond, South Africa: Two warriors die, alongside the right to water, Links International Journal of Socialist Renewal, 03 Jul 2011
Fifteen German aid and relief organisations have formed a new network for water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH). One of the networks first activities will be to make a contribution at the “Bonn2011 conference” on water, energy and food security.
Founding members of the network are:
ADRA, Arche Nova, Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund, AT-Verband, BORDA, German Toilet Organization, Ingenieure ohne Grenzen, Johanniter Auslandshilfe, Malteser International, Noah Foundation, Solidaritätsdienst International, WECF, Welthungerhilfe and World Vision Deutschland.
The WASH Network is currently being hosted by the German Toilet Organization.
Web site: German WASH Network
Source: German Toilet Organization, 24 Jun 2011
MMyA minister Mabel Monje Villa (left) and Ing Julia Collado (right)
Bolivia’s water and environment ministry (MMAyA) has named Ing. Julia Verónica Collado Alarcón as executive director of the water authority Emagua (Empresa Multisectorial del Agua), replacing David Ramiro Chiri.
Web site: Emagua
Source: MMAyA [in Spanish], 04 Jul 2011
Posted in Latin America & Caribbean
Tagged Bolivia, Emagua, Julia Collado, water authorities
Leo Otakpu
The African Civil Society Network for Water and Sanitation (ANEW), has appointed a new set of officers with Nigerian Leo Atakpu emerging as the Chairman of the Board of Directors
He succeeds Professor Edward Kairu of the Kenyan NGO Maji na Ufanisi, who served as Chair for the past six years. Prof. Kairu will continue serving in the ANEW Board as a member.
Maj na Ufanisi currently hosts the ANEW Secretariat but Atakpu wants to establish an independent secretariat.
The elections took place on 20 July 2011 in Kigali, Rwanda, during AfricaSan 3, the Third Africa Conference on Sanitation and Hygiene.
Other officers of the Board are: Eng. Musinguzi Francis – Uganda, Mrs. Catherine Mwango – Kenya – Vice Chair, Dr Chaima George – Malawi; Mr Ousseni Diallo – Burkina Faso, Mirelle Ngoma – DRC, Alhadj Dauoda Adam – Chad, and Zerouati Fatma Zohra – Algeria.
ANEW has 24 country networks and is one of five consortium members of the Freshwater Action Network (FAN).
Warning: the ANEW web site has been hacked [14 September 2011], so for the time being you will need to revert to the FAN website for more information.
Source: Babatope Babalobi, eWASH, 22 July 2011 ; Message from ANEW’s new Chairman, FAN ; Maji na Ufalasi, 25 Aug 2011
Phakamani Buthelezi. Photo: Mvula Trust
Phakamani Buthelezi joined The Mvula Trust as CEO in February 2011. The Mvula Trust is South Africa’s largest water and sanitation NGO.
Prior to taking up the CEO position at Mvula, Phakamani was the founding Chief Executive Officer for the Breede-Overberg Catchment Management Agency (CMA), the first CMA in the Western Cape Province and second in the country. Prior to this he headed up the South African Heritage Resources Agency, which is a 3A Public Entity, responsible for the management of heritage resources in the country. Before moving to SAHRA he was Chief Director for Marine Resources Management in the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, which was a portfolio that included both the fisheries and coastal resources at the time.
Phakamani has been actively involved in a number of international bodies and activities such as the World Summit on Sustainable Development, the World Heritage Body, the Blue Flag Beach project and a variety of fisheries organizations and has presented papers at numerous platforms.
Phakamani is a University of Cape Town graduate and has among his qualifications a MSC degree in Project Management and a Masters Degree in City and Regional Planning.
Source: Mvula Trust, 13 May 2011
Posted in Africa, Sanitation, Water supply
Tagged Mvula Trust, Phakamani Buthelezi, S1104-Names, South Africa
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