Paper short abstract:

This paper addresses the challenge of decolonizing the conceptual framework in research-policy debates on water science and technology in Africa, and the need to articulate new forms of communication on agriculture and food.

Paper long abstract:

This paper addresses the challenge of decolonizing the conceptual framework in research-policy debates on water science and technology in Africa, and the need to articulate new forms of communication on agriculture and food. Research shows that African households in rural, and especially peri-urban areas, are driving the establishment, improvement and expansion of irrigated agriculture in an unprecedented manner, a process referred to by Western academic researchers in agriculture and irrigation as African farmer-led irrigation development (Beekman et al., 2014; Woodhouse et al., 2017). This 'African' development has the characteristics of what is today discussed as food sovereignty (Patel, 2009). It potentially embodies new, 'de-colonial' social relations 'in the making', in a relatively bottom-up way, and in circumstances that are potentially less oppressive and more equal between men and women, social classes and generations, than globally promoted models of corporate trade and food regimes. Therefore, it deserves our attention as a place to challenge the colonial mind-set in agriculture and urban planning which tends to undermine farmer-led innovations and use of water, and explore new ways of discursive framing of promising small-scale bottom up innovations in the agricultural and food sector.

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Paper long abstract:

Water operator partnerships (WOPs) have emerged as an important mechanism to transfer knowledge and improve the delivery of water services in the global South. While water operators from Europe still play an important role as "mentors" in WOPs, operators from Africa are increasingly forming their own partnerships to tackle challenges in service provision. This paper examines one such partnership in-depth: a WOP between the National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) of Uganda and the Lilongwe Water Board (LWB) of Malawi. The partnership took place in 2017/18 and was focused on reducing non-revenue water in Lilongwe. Drawing on interviews and fieldwork in Malawi, the case study underscores the benefits of South-South WOPs in Africa, including greater operator compatibility and ease of knowledge transfer due to shared backgrounds and experiences. Yet evidence from Malawi also indicates that some elements of hierarchy and regional rivalry play out in WOPs between African water operators, which can inhibit the formation of partnerships and the exchange of knowledge. NWSC, for instance, insists on being the "mentor" in WOPs with other utilities in Africa, even in cases where its performance would justify a more equal (peer-to-peer) footing. Moreover, the knowledge transmitted through the NWSC-LWB partnership seems to be working to the disadvantage of Lilongwe's low-income areas, which have become the site of police raids against "illegal" connections. Taken together, this paper argues that South-South WOPs in Africa have a number of important advantages. At the same time, the paper warns against uncritically promoting intra-African partnerships due to the power hierarchies present on the continent and the possibility for WOPs to serve as "conduits" or "transmitting devices" for neoliberal policies. Such policies are normally associated with Northern water companies and donor agencies, but the NWSC-LWB case suggests that they have become equally entrenched within the water sector in Africa, with African operators acting as the agents of transmission.

Paper long abstract:

We are an Ethio-Italian team of researcher that would like to contribute to the debate on decolonising water knwoledge in Africa by looking at the presence of the Italian construction company Salini in Ethiopia. Informed by political economy and political ecology approaches, our research analyses three infrastructural projects implemented by Salini in Ethiopia under three different political regimes: Legadadi dam (1967-71, under Imperial Ethiopia, commissioned by the municipality of Addis as part of its water supply scheme); Tana-Beles project (under the Derg, little Beles dam and other infrastructure works as part of a big resettlement and rural development scheme, 1986-1992); Gilgel Gibe III (under EPRD, currently).

Against the Salini's historical and dominant roles in the major Ethiopian dam construction projects , in order to highlight transformation and continuities throughout time and places, we will address the following questions:

 How have dam's decision-making practices, funding schemes and implementation (construction works) been conducted in Ethiopia?

 How have the Salini Impregilo been an important actor in shaping Ethiopia's dam decision-making, funding schemes and implementation?

 What are the linkages between this company which designed and constructed dams and those assessing impacts and standards?

 To what extent has the company adopted new transnational ideas regarding improved decision making, funding schemes and implementation on dams? If any, what freedom did it have to implement these ideas?

 How sub-national actors from a particular dam-affected area respond to the dam project and with what effects? [for example: to what extent that regional and ethnic elites from the affected areas were able to influence the central government's project plan and/or to ensure that the region benefits from the dam?

 How physical (environment) and technical (knowledge and expertise) issues have shaped Salini's presence and projects in Ethiopia?

Paper long abstract:

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of water insecurity on the girl child in Zimbabwe. Water insecurity refers to the unavailability of a reliable source of water, of appropriate quality and quantity to meet the needs of the local human population and environment. The study was carried out in Gimboki, a semi urban settlement in Mutare, Zimbabwe, following preliminary observations of serious shortages of water. To answer the question, what are the effects of water insecurity on the girl child in Gimboki? , the study employed a mixed methods approach using both qualitative and quantitative research methods. Questionnaires and semi structured interviews were administered to girls aged between 15 and 18, who are residents of Gimboki and enrolled at Nyamauru High School in Dangamvura, Mutare. Consent was sought from the Head of Nyamauru High school before the interviews and questionnaires were carried out. The study was also carried out using key informant interviews with representatives from organizations working in the area to find out how stakeholders were responding to the problem of water insecurity in Gimboki. The findings from the study indicated that there are serious water shortages which affect the human security and human rights of the girl child in Gimboki. Data collected was categorized into themes including menstrual, education, health and gender insecurities. Recommendations included; construction of more boreholes near houses to reduce the distance walked by girls in search of water, financing of sustainable solar powered water projects to deliver clean and safe water closer to homes and empowering girls to demand for their rights to water and sanitation.

Paper long abstract:

In Kenya, where 80% of the land is arid and semi-arid, access to water is an everyday challenge for majority of the people. Methods used to improve access to water in Kenya results to different, and sometimes unexpected outcomes. The water resources assessed have come about through interventions by various agents, majority donor funded. These agents use various models resulting to different outcomes. We assessed technologies used to improve access to water in the Asals of Kitui County, Kenya. The technologies were classified into four; individual, private, community and government owned. Those assessed were tanks, boreholes and hand dug wells, sand dams and pipelines for individual, private, community and government owned respectively. Private and individual resources outperformed others in terms of management with donor aided community owned being the least sustainable. Government owned water facilities reached relatively more people and although unreliable were the most trusted source to those covered by the infrastructure. Individual owned water resources offered water in small quantities, the main benefit being owners were able to manage with ease through rationing to stretch availability for a long time. Donor funded community owned resources suffered vague ownership models making their management and maintenance impossible. Privately owned resources offered the best solution as water was sold and the resulting money become income for the owners as well as providing resources for maintenance. The resulting income offered incentives for further investment which further improved access. The tragedy with privately owned water resources was that the poor paid too much for water while the rich continued to accumulate massive wealth. To ensure adequate access to water especially in remote places, privately owned and operated systems should be encouraged and supported but with government sponsored regulations to ensure the poor are not exploited.

Key words: Water resources, water resources ownership, donor aid.

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