White Paper on Basic Household Sanitation.

This Policy document seeks to improve conditions of sanitation in South Africa, and to provide basic sanitation facilities to the poor. It focuses specifically on the provision of a basic level of household sanitation to mainly rural communities and informal settlements. Its basis can be found in the White Paper on Water Supply and Sanitation Policy of 1994, which highlighted the importance of establishing a national sanitation policy. The Government has a constitutional responsibility to ensure that all South Africans have access to adequate sanitation. The publication of this national sanitation policy is an important step in the process of meeting this responsibility and in addressing the problems of inadequate sanitation. The purpose of this policy document is to: highlight the impact of poor sanitation on health, living conditions and the environment; articulate government policies on sanitation; provide a basis for the formulation of local, provincial and national sanitation improvement strategies aimed at addressing the backlog; provide a framework for municipality driven implementation programmes; promote greater coherence and co-ordination amongst the different spheres of government and amongst other role players in addressing the sanitation problem; ensure that sanitation improvement programmes are adequately funded and; put in place mechanisms to monitor the implementation of this policy and sanitation improvement programmes so that corrective action can be taken when necessary.
The Policy defines "sanitation" and the minimum acceptable basic level of sanitation. It outlines the principles that will guide this policy and the intervention strategies that will be undertaken to address the sanitation problem. These principles include, among others, community participation, integrated planning and development (especially with water supply), basic sanitation is a human right, sanitation is a is a process of sustained environment and health improvement, polluter pays principle, and environmental integrity. Strategic interventions proposed by this Policy include: facilitating the participation of communities; promoting health and hygiene awareness and practices; development and use of local resources; upgrading of existing facilities; adopting an integrated environmental management approach; developing a common approach to implementation and; undertaking specific programmes to clear the backlog. To minimise the environmental risk inherent in developing new sanitation systems and to ensure the continued protection of the environment throughout the operations phase, an integrated environmental management (IEM) approach will be adopted for the location, selection, design, construction and operations of all sanitation works with special attention to be given to sewerage treatment plants and solid waste disposal sites. The specific actions to clear the backlog include, among others, develop plans to address the sanitation problem in underdeveloped communities by a specified set target date, harmonize and reinforce institutional arrangements, prioritise the communities with the greatest need; fund the Integrated Development Plan (IDP), of which the Water Services Development Plan is a component, and monitor the implementation of the Plan.
The Policy defines the roles and responsibilities of National Government, the Departments of Water Affairs and Forestry, of Health and of other Departments, the private sector and non-governmental organisations, and defines co-ordination mechanisms at district or Metropolitan level, provincial level and national level. Finally, it deals with sources of funding for sanitation improvement and monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of the Policy.