Regional Fund for Water and Basic Sanitation III

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The aim of the SADC Water Fund is to finance regional water infrastructure projects prioritized by the Southern African Development Community (SADC). The focus here is on strengthening the coordination function of the SADC and the long-term bundling of various partners. These steps are necessary because the water supply in southern Africa is unevenly distributed. 70% of water resources are shared between two or more states. Equal access is a crucial factor for the sustainable and peaceful development of the region. In order to ensure a sufficient and safe water supply for the poor population in the long term and to enable necessary adaptations to the changing climate, regional coordination and planning mechanisms must be established and strengthened. To meet these challenges, KfW Development Bank, on behalf of the German Federal Government (BMZ), is providing grants to finance regional priority investments to expand regional water and wastewater infrastructure. Overall, the project is expected to benefit around 100,000 people by 2028. To date, the Fund has supported three projects (1) the water usability of a contaminated transboundary aquifer in Ramotswa on the Botswana-South Africa border (2) a water supply project in Lomahasha and Namaacha on the Mozambique-Eswatini border (3) another water supply project in Kasungula on the quadrilateral border of Zambia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Namibia, connected by the Zambezi River. The Fund's pipeline contains a list of investment-ready infrastructure projects. These are (4) a cross-border water supply project in Chirundu (5) a Livingstone water supply project (6) a Lesotho-Botswana water transfer project (7) a regional hydrological measurement and early warning system (HYCOS).