Thesis (MDF)--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / The Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) Treaty aims at achieving regional
integration, poverty alleviation and economic growth. Water is a catalyst to these aims, thus
making it key for the region to manage and develop water resources. Water in the SADC region is
a shared resource among the countries, making joint development of the resource important for
peace and prosperity. SADC has been promoting transboundary water resources management
among its member states. The region has done a lot of work in establishing an enabling
environment for the management of water resources.
The SADC Protocol for Shared Watercourses (the “Watercourses Protocol”), the Regional Water
Policy (the “Water Policy”) and the Regional Water Strategy (the “Water Strategy”) are all
instruments that have been developed to support the management of water resources. However,
the region remains heavily under-developed in terms of water infrastructure and in order for the
region to develop its water resources, the SADC secretariat has developed a Regional Strategic
Water Infrastructure Development Programme (referred to as the “SADC Programme for water
infrastructure development” in this study). The Programme is aimed at responding to the lack of
infrastructural development in the region and identifies regional water projects to be implemented.
Water is a sector that struggles in attracting private sector funding and involvement. This study
aims to look into ways that the private sector can been attracted to participate in the Programme
for water infrastructure development and also proposes ways they can be engaged. Private-sector
involvement varies from project identification to project implementation and funding.
To attract the private sector to participate in the SADC Programme for water infrastructure
development, SADC and the member states have to build on the enabling environment established
in the region and also on relationships based on existing institutions. The private sector needs to
be assured of good market potential and sound financial returns. This can be achieved if the
region better co-ordinates the prioritization of regional projects through integrated planning.
NEPAD and SADC working closely together, to issue that a consistent development agenda is
communicated to potential investors, could add value and avoid duplication. It is also important to
link to national development priorities in order to ensure that local issues are addressed.
Capacity of the public sector to support regional projects is also important – capacity to develop
bankable projects, develop financing mechanisms and to implement the projects is required at all
levels. The SADC region lacks capacity to participate in complex infrastructure projects and this
has to be addressed through establishing a Private Public Partnership Unit at the SADC
Secretariat. Capacity to also manage and regulate water services is lacking in a number of
countries in the region. These are important issues to ensure fair pricing and to give the private
sector confidence on issues of tariff setting.
To attract private funding into the water sector the region needs to develop innovative financing
mechanisms in order to leverage market-based repayable finance. In the implementation of the
SADC Programme for water infrastructure development there is a need to evaluate various types
of innovative financial instruments and assess their potential use for regional water projects. Local
capital markets in a number of the countries are weak, therefore the implementation of the SADC
Protocol on Finance and Investment (the “Finance Protocol”) is important in strengthening these
markets. Political will and good governance within member states are also important in attracting
investors. SADC as the promoter of infrastructure policies in the region should play a proactive role
in encouraging its member states to observe the rule of law and also to use existing treaties within
SADC to ensure countries do so. Poor governance and unstable economies are a disincentive for
private sector involvement.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:sun/oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/8505 |
| Date | 12 1900 |
| Creators | Takawira, Andrew |
| Contributors | Tinsley, Richard, University of Stellenbosch. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. Graduate School of Business. |
| Publisher | Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | en_ZA |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Rights | University of Stellenbosch |
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