The Royal Bafokeng Nation is a rural community of 150 000 people within the Rustenburg Local Municipality in the North West Province. Based on data from the 2011 census, 50% of the population only have access to unimproved sanitation (47% pit latrines and 3% no sanitation). The Royal Bafokeng Nation is committed to facilitating the improvement of sanitation in its area, in collaboration with government and other actors. This study aims to identify potential technical options for sanitation provision to the area, including an assessment of their relative merits for the specific geographic, environmental and social conditions present in the RBN. An agency will be appointed that will be requested to provide this advice for free.

The RBN’s population is spread out across 29 villages on 1200 km² of land, including some denser peri-urban settlements and some more dispersed and isolated settlements. The area is semi-arid with significant bulk water constraints (although new infrastructure is in the process of being built). In addition to facilitating basic dignity and health for its population, and seeking to protect the local environment from contamination by unimproved sanitation, the RBN aims to diversify the local economy by enabling local SMMEs, supporting agriculture and contributing to the green economy. Sanitation options that can be manufactured, assembled and/or maintained by small local companies, that can be integrated into the agricultural value chain, and that can potentially generate energy for local use or other similar economic linkages are therefore of particular interest.

Scope

The desktop study report is to include the following elements:

1. Summary of current legal frameworks, government policies and applicable national and international standards relating to the availability and quality of sanitation generally and in rural areas specifically. This review should also note which actors are responsible for ensuring that sanitation-related rights are guaranteed and implemented.
2. Description of sanitation provision and management options available within South Africa and globally, in each case assessing implications in terms of:

• Water use
• Environmental pollution
• Potential for localised (small business) manufacture, assembly, installation, maintenance and repair of infrastructure
• Extent of linkages with other sectors (agriculture, energy, etc.)
• Potential for use in both formal/permanent housing and in informal housing (including backyard informal housing and dense informal settlements)
• Rough costing in terms of initial installation for current population, expansion and running maintenance

1. Provision of concrete policy recommendations and intervention options for consideration by RBA actors.
2. Facilitation of study visit by RBN and partner decision-makers to visit sites in South Africa where proposed sanitation options have been implemented.

Approved scope change:

Originally, this project foresaw the need to hire a consultant to compile information on sanitation options for the RBN. When looking for potential consultants, however, we discovered that the Water Research Commission (a government-funded agency) has the mandate to advise municipalities and similar agencies on water-related issues, including sanitation, at no cost. The project scope has therefore changed from a consulting contract to a relationship-building project, where the WRC will provide the required information and advice for free. 

The outcome of the project is therefore no longer a specific report for the RBN, but a presentation of existing expertise and sanitation options to the RBN by the WRC.