Description of the Ministry of Water Resources & irrigation (MWRI) Presented at

1. Description of the Ministry of Water Resources & irrigation (MWRI) Presented at BSF Workshop for Drilling Supervision and Contract Management BSF Grant Recipients for the Drilling of Boreholes in 2010/2011, Paradise Hotel Juba, 2nd-3rd November 2010 By: Manhiem Bol Malek Director of Rural Water Supply Development MWRI-GoSS-Juba

2. Mandate, Vision and Mission • Goals and Objectives • Organizational Structure • Major Policies and Strategies • Activities, Projects and Programs • Geographical Areas and Targets • Challenges • Opportunities

3. The ministry is mandated to carry out and supervise irrigation and hydropower development, water storage, provision of access to sufficient water supplies of acceptable quality, ecosystem balancing, flood control, and safeguarding against physical obstruction & pollutants.

4. Effective management, development and sustainable utilization of water resources; to improve welfare and productivity of the people of Southern Sudan Slogan: water is life’ and is essential for all forms of social welfare and economic development. Therefore, “it must be a lever for peace and not a source of conflict”.

5. Drawing up of policies, guidelines and plans for water resources development, utilization, conservation and management in southern Sudan

6. Mapping and quantification of water resources; through conducting of fundamental and applied researches pertaining to hydrological studies of rivers and groundwater aquifers. • Feasibility studies for future projects and training of technical cadre. • Coordination of hydrological studies of trans-boundary rivers

7. Coordination and Development of policies, strategies and Regulations. • To establish and manage warning systems, pertaining to water occurrence, leading to reduction of flood risks and mitigation of droughts. • Ensuring and overseeing efficient and effective provision of water supply and sanitation in rural and urban areas.

8. Design, implementation, supervision, operation and maintenance of water works, including: • Canals for Irrigating and Draining Agricultural Fields; • Embankment of Dykes and Levees for Flood Control; • excavation of hafiirs for harvesting water; • Dams for storing water and generating electricity; • establishment of benchmarks and gauges for measuring water levels, discharges, extraction and Recharge; • River training and remodeling measures e.g. Dredging and Control of Deposits, Clearance and Control of Debris, and Removal and Control of Wild/Aquatic weeds/vegetation

9. Undersecretary Directorate of Administration and Finance Directorate of Water Resources Management and Coordination Directorate of Hydrology and Survey Directorate of Planning and projects Directorate of Irrigation and Drainage Directorate of Rural Water Supply and Sanitation States’ Directorates of Water and Sanitation

10. The Ministry has concluded process and development of the approved Southern Sudan Water Policy whose overall goal: Is to support social development and economic growth by promoting efficient, equitable and sustainable development and use of available water resources, and effective delivery of water and sanitation services in Southern Sudan.

11. The Purpose being to outline Government of Southern Sudan’s vision for water sector, and to establish basic principles and objectives to guide future water sector development, in prioritizing user needs, such as: • Water for domestic use • Water for livestock and Fisheries • Water for Agriculture and Forestry • Water for Industries and other productive uses • Water for Navigation • Water for Hydropower • Water for Environmental Conservation

12. Water is an important natural resource which is commonly owned by all the people of Southern Sudan. • The Government of South Sudan has a duty to ensure effective development and use of water resources for the benefit of all, including poor and vulnerable groups. • Water is both an economic and social good. • Optimal allocation of available resources shall be determined on the basis of social equity, economic efficiency, system reliability and environmental sustainability.

13. Effective water resources management requires an integrated approach which takes account of hydrological processes and boundaries and recognises linkages with other sectors. • Water resources planning and development affects everyone and shall be undertaken at the lowest appropriate administrative level with active participation of water users and stakeholders from different sectors in all relevant aspects

14. Water sector institutional arrangements shall be streamlined with clear separation of functions relating to resource management and services delivery, and efficient allocation of roles and responsibilities between government and non-government agencies.

15. Ministry activities covered all Southern Sudan, involving: • Water management and supply for crops, fisheries, livestock, wildlife and humans • hydropower generation; • Navigation enhancement; • Protection of water sources and water bodies from pollution; • Watershed management (including water, soil vegetation conservation)

16. Sustainability of water infrastructure: Much of the existing infrastructure is no longer functional and systems of operation and maintenance are extremely weak or absent altogether • Growing environmental concerns: These include increased degradation and pollution of surface and groundwater resources and environmental problems associated with water resource development. • Management and mitigation of water related disasters: Frequent flood and drought events impact negatively on food security, agricultural productivity and economic growth. • Water use conflicts: There is a need to strengthen mechanisms for solving disputes over access to water which is often a source of conflict, especially at local level. • Management of trans-boundary waters: The transboundary nature of the Nile waters necessitates the development of effective measures for regional and international cooperation. • Limited human resources and weak organisational capacity: Protracted conflict has resulted in the breakdown of organisational structures and a shortage of core technical and administrative skills. • Lack of a clear financing strategy: In order to attract investment required for effective management of water resources and delivery of sustainable water supply and sanitation services.

17. The water policy set out key issues and priorities for water sector development; in addition to linkages to other sectors, and provides a basic framework to guide future development of sector institutions (e. g. Water Council) and detailed specific implementation strategies. • MWRI embarked on an extensive training program for water technicians and professionals. • MWRI formulated a number of relevant projects to start up water sector development; and besides government budget, a number of development partners and other governments pledged to fund them.

18. After the historic signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in January 2005, which culminated the establishment of an autonomous Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS) including the Ministry of Water resources and Irrigation (MWRI). MWRI indeed guided processing of the Southern Sudan Water Policy within the framework of the 2005 Interim Constitution of Southern Sudan (ICSS) and the Interim National Constitution (INC).

19. The Southern Sudan Legislative Assembly (SSLA) of GOSS approved the Water Policy of Southern Sudan in November 2007. Indeed this Water Policy will guide the sector in planning, monitoring and enforcing during implementation. Some of the issues that the Water Policy addresses are Rural Water Supply and Sanitation (RWSS) and Urban Water Supply and Sanitation (UWSS). The CPA has enabled the GOSS to focus on the rehabilitation and development of the basic services.

20. The importance of developing effective water supply and sanitation services is universally recognized as a basis for improving the overall health and productivity of the population, and is particularly important for the welfare of women and children under five. • The low coverage of safe drinking water supply and inadequate coverage of basic sanitation facilities and the anticipation of huge demand for these services created by the protracted civil war in the country during the last five decades have put enormous challenges ahead of us

21. Unrecorded number of IDPs and Refugee returnees that have resettled to their traditional homestead and emerging of new towns in all the ten states have demanded implicit policies, strategies, guidelines and manuals to ensure sustainable supply of quality and accessible water and sanitation services.

22. The GoSS at Juba and state levels is giving high priority to expansion and sustainability of water and sanitation services in urban and rural areas throughout the country. As a result, the water and sanitation coverage are steadily increasing every year. In the past years, many non-governmental partners and the private sector have been supporting government departments at GoSS and state levels in the implementation of water and sanitation projects.

23. The timely preparation of the WASH Technical Guidelines and manuals at this stage, however, enables us to further develop our strategies and prepare action plans as part of the implementation of the Water Policy. It will also allow us to strengthen existing best practices as well as to test new experiences that will create room for future development.

24. During the development and finalization of these technical guidelines and manuals for water supply and sanitation facilities, we have consulted our sector partners at GOSS and States levels and non-government agencies through successive consultative meetings at different times. We are thankful to all for the contribution. We recognize further that these technical guidelines and manuals are the result of their inputs

25. We call upon our WASH sector partners to give us their continuous feedbacks from the field for the improvement of the guidelines and manuals and to our common successful implementation in the WASH sector. We believe that successful implementation will depend on effective coordination among different partners of government, non-government partners and beneficiary communities, and active involvement and close collaboration between them that will guarantee future sustainable service provisions.

26. Based on field observations, experience and request from sector partner agencies, the MWRI/MIWR felt the need to harmonize the various water and sanitation activities being implemented. A key step towards achieving this was the development of technical guidelines and manuals for 14 water supply and sanitation facilities that are being implemented in the country that includes:-

27. 1. Boreholes with hand pump 2. Water Distribution network 3. Water Yard with high capacity of Motorized pump 4. Slow sand filtration system 5. Protection of Spring and roof catchments 6. Hand dug well with motorized pump 7. Hand dug well with hand pump 8.Improve Haffirs 9. Small Dams 10. Households latrine

28. 11.School latrine 12. Latrine for rural health centre 13. Water Quality 14. SAN

29. These technical guidelines and manuals will no doubt serve all sector implementing partners to a great extent. The technical guidelines have been prepared in a very systematic manner so as to give proper guidance in the implementation of different water supply and sanitation facilities. UNICEF supported the preparation of these technical guidelines and manuals, both financially and technically.

30. I hope these technical guidelines and manuals will help improve the WASH sector programme and scale up implementation of activities in order for Southern Sudan to achieve MDGs related to water supply and sanitation.