Robyn Tompkins, a Water, Sanitation and Health (WASH) development expert, led the JG
Afrika team that was appointed by Initiatives to assist in the design and development of
this first-of-a-kind water-supply project.
www.waterafrica.co.za
Water Sewage & Effluent May/June 2019
19
innovations
The unit costs associated with operating
and maintaining water schemes in these
extremely remote locations is high.
Before JG Afrika completed the
water scheme, members of the Habu
community did not have a reliable supply
of water for up to three years.
A cornerstone of the success of the
water scheme in Habu is the significant
attention that was given to the social
aspects, which actually took the lead on
this project and ensured the necessary
community buy-in.
In addition to involving the community
in the project right from the outset, JG
Afrika developed a robust governance
framework for the scheme and a toolkit
to train representatives of the dedicated
water-user committee, comprising two
caretakers and five water monitors.
These members of the community also
Community buy-in
Meanwhile, Franklin Electric was
contracted by JG Afrika to install the
borehole pumps and Franklin Wells for
the World Foundation donated borehole
infrastructure, in addition to that supplied
by the Paul G Allen Family Foundation,
which allowed the project team to install
two boreholes. The two boreholes provide
more than ample water supply to this large
community comprising about 1 500 people.
In her address, Ms Bogadi
Mathangwane said, “When Robyn initially
presented this concept to me in 2015, I
wondered if it could be done, because we
had tried this model in other communities,
and it hadn’t worked. However, she
presented a clear roadmap of how they
could work; and today, I see it has.”
T
he Botswana Ministry of Land
Management,
Water
and
Sanitation Services hosted
an event at the end of March
to celebrate the formal handover of
the Habu Community Water Supply
infrastructure to the Government of
Botswana. The scheme, which has been
successfully managed by the community
for two years, has provided a reference
for the roll-out of more water-security
measures in other areas of Botswana.
Ms Bogadi Mathangwane, director of
the Department of Water Affairs, said that
the stellar performance of the scheme
since its completion in 2016 provides
the Botswana authorities with ample
evidence that they now have a potential
blueprint for community-managed water
supply schemes in rural areas.
Held at a Kogtla in Habu village, the
event was also attended by Dr Obolokile
Obakeng, permanent secretary of the
Ministry of Land Management, Water and
Sanitation Services and representatives
of the Water Utilities Corporation (WUC).
Ruth Stewart, managing director of
Initiatives; Robyn Tompkins, an executive
associate at JG Afrika Botswana; and
Attie Jonker, managing director of
Franklin Electric and executive director
of the Franklin Wells for the World
Foundation, were also in attendance.
Tompkins, a Water, Sanitation and
Health (WASH) development expert, led
the JG Afrika team that was appointed
by Initiatives to assist in the design
and development of this first-of-a-kind
water-supply project for the larger
Habu community on behalf of the Paul G
Allen Family Foundation’s Philanthropy
programme.