Assessment of the capacity of Masibambane donor funded non-governmental organizations (NGO's) to provide water services in the Limpopo Province

Abstract

This study was undertaken in the Limpopo province, South Africa. Its aim was to assess the capacity of the NGOs that benefitted from Masibambane which is a donor funded programme and to examine the contributions that they are making towards addressing the water and sanitation challenges. This programme made funding available to capacitate the NGOs with the hope that they will assist the sector. Five NGOs which are operating in various districts in the province were included in the study. This was a qualitative study. Purposive sampling was used to select participants from NGOs, municipalities, Department of Water Affairs and communities. Primary data were collected through interviews, focused groups and observations in the field while secondary data were obtained from NGO and Water Affairs documents. The findings of this study revealed that The Mvula Trust and Tsogang Water and Sanitation NGOs have the capacity to implement both water and sanitation infrastructure projects at a village level. Operation Hunger‟s expertise regarding water infrastructure projects is on digging boreholes and installing hand pipes even though it diversified to include water conservation. Akanani Rural Development Association has the expertise of building sanitation facilities while Thlavhama Training Initiative is still learning. It was also discovered that NGOs are good at mobilizing communities and also have the capacity to impart skills to the communities. Participants from NGOs confirmed that learning occurred through Masibambane programme even though some felt that the needs of the NGOs were not adequately addressed.