New Water Policy and Practice Volume 1, Number 1 - Fall 2014 | Page 29

New Water Policy and Practice

Water in Angola

es. This is happening through both greater
diversification of economies and greater demand of society over their governments.

In Africa, the water issues are still
associated with sociological, cultural, and
historical aspects that interconnect with
other facts, such as the low development of
rural populations and, in particular, the precarious living conditions of women. On the
other hand, there are major environmental
conflicts coming from both the development of dams along rivers and disputes over
arable land and access to the river banks.

Angolan scientists are increasingly called upon to provide more accurate
knowledge regarding surface and underground water resources. Overall, 77 drainage basins were defined, of which 70 are
fully within the borders of Angola.

The Constitution of the Republic of
Angola safeguards water as a public good
and belonging to the State. The regulation
of the water sector, Water Law, Act No, 6
"/02 of June 21, provides guidance through
Article 5: the waters while natural resources
are owned by the State and are part of the
public water domain. This is reinforced in
Article 20 where the uses are classified into
common and private. Note that for private
uses the law allows a permit or concession,
but always preventing that the private interests overlap the needs of water supply to the
population.

The present Government developed
a strategic plan for the water sector expected to be in force in the period 2004–2016,
and adjusted after the elections of 2012,
with specific objectives for the rapid structuring of services to the population. This
strategic plan is integrated with the National Development Strategy 2012–2025 and in
the National Development Plan 2012–2025.
Public policies defined by the Angolan authorities for the water sector provide clear
priority guidance: water supply for all.

T

he policies on water have evolved
greatly over the decades and Angola
is no exception. At the national and
regional context, there is a greater concern
with providing the population with services that allow their increasing well-being.
Nowadays in Africa, and in Angola, there
is a growing concern for the environment
because of greater awareness and ability to
execute the Government policy. The Angola
Government performs various framework
programs aimed at combating poverty, with
particular focus on access to water. These
objectives align with food security, guarantee of access to school, literacy, and access
to health and the professionalization of the
youth to obtain their first job.

These guarantees were stablished in
the Angolan Constitution and are regulated
by sectoral laws that ensure, in general, the
implementation of the national and provincial development plans that guide the process of structural changes. In the regional
context, Angola integrates into the economic region corresponding to the Southern African Development Community (SADC),
whose programs and projects on water have
been of paramount importance. Recognition of the strategic importance of water for
the regional economic integration and the
management of shared water resources is
also an objective of the SADC.

Water is, to all living beings, a priority need and access to it can constitute a
major difficulty leading to energy consumption, expenditure of time and money for the
general population. Government policies
are often based on the existing natural water availability in the country, with higher
incidence of surface waters but often underutilized groundwater resources. Africa
is starting to promote and adopt policies for
a be