PM Africa Magazine Issue 01 | Page 39

Infrastructure which includes water policies and strategies, bulk water planning, water technologies (potable and wastewater treatment), capacity building and training, water conservation and water demand management and water use audits and authorisations. What is the Royal HaskoningDHV policy regarding the millennium development goal (MDG) for access to safe water and sanitation in Africa. The policy is primarily to support programmes leading to safe water and sanitation and secondly to establish partnerships with development agencies, governments and private sector organisations which share our business ethos. The company also tracks international and continental MDG initiatives, given the high economic development focus on Africa, which ultimately translates into higher demands for safe water and sanitation demands – greater urbanization, improved economic status and living standards. Proposed goals and targets for sustainable development (SD) for the post 2015 Agenda On a commercial level our business tracks and supports the international and various governmental commitments in different countries to the sustainable development programmes of action. Internally, the company ethos embraces the sustainable development agenda and this approach permeates all our business lines into individual projects. The goals and targets post-2015 continue the trend of tracking and supporting the international SD agenda; and to ensure that we have an internal capability to exceed project SD requirements using creative and innovative approaches What is needed to improve sanitation for the long term in South Africa and in Africa? The three primary needs are: • Innovative thinking – thinking differently and doing things differently. • The will to want to effect “real change” - political will is not enough - so strategic systems thinking, whole spectrum role-player education/ awareness and involvement, integrated planning, financial support and corruption-free administrations are required. • Conventional approaches (technical, financial, administrative) have not been able to adequately respond to the sanitation challenges in the diverse environments and dynamics that prevail in parts of SA and Africa Some of the projects, several which are award winning, demonstrate our innovative approach on water, wastewater and sanitation issues, locally and globally: • Planning study to assess bulk water supply scheme for the Southern Ndwedwe area, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa Life beyond our Rivers – Desalination and water reuse projects during the emergency drought period in the Southern Cape, South Africa. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Ghana for Climate Resilience through Early Warning in Ghana The World