This paper, a review of the South African Free Basic Water policy, is one of a series written
for the Children’s Institute’s Means to Live Project. The project’s aim is to evaluate the
government’s targeting mechanisms used to ensure the realisation of the socio-economic
rights of poor children and their families. Put more simply, it seeks to establish whether
current poverty alleviation initiatives are adequately designed and implemented to reach the
poor, including children. By focusing on a number of elements of poverty alleviation with
significant consequences for children, it will provide answers to the question of whether the
poor are able to realise their socio-economic rights through access to these programmes.
The research will be used to advocate for the necessary development or changes to
government policies and programmes to ensure the realisation of these socio-economic
rights.
Other poverty alleviation policies covered in this series include the:
• School Fee Exemption policy (the right to education)
• National School Nutrition Programme (the right to basic nutrition)
• Free Primary Health Care (the right to health care services)
• Housing Subsidy Scheme (the right to basic shelter and housing)
• Child Support Grant (the right to social security)
The Means to Live is a multi-stage, two-year project. The first phase comprised this series
of policy reviews on selected poverty alleviation programmes and their targeting. The
second phase will be primary research conducted during the second half of 2005. The final
research report will be released early in 2006.
This paper looks specifically at the Free Basic Water policy as part of the governmentprovided
package of free basic services, and how effective targeting mechanisms are in
delivering free water to poor children and their families. It reflects briefly on children’s
right to water and the importance of access to safe water for children. It provides a brief
overview of policy, legislation and regulation guiding water, as well as targeting options in
getting free basic water to households. Funding and data sources for monitoring the
performance of the programme is discussed before moving on to an analysis of the targeting
of basic free water in the context of the policy goals and, where possible, the efficacy of the
targeting rationale.