‘Irrigation by night’ in the Eastern Cape, South Africa

Abstract

This paper addresses water-related issues in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Irrigation development and providing water for human consumption have been key factors in the country’s rural development planning, notably during the postapartheid era when the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) and Water Services Act and Free Basic Water of 1997 became effective. By exploring the use of water in rural villages in the central Eastern Cape, the paper addresses the conceptual and practical limitations of the provisioning of water for human consumption and irrigation, in particular, and how this is being handled by various implementing agencies. The paper draws attention to the importance of ‘irrigation by night’ which refers to unplanned and ‘unlawful’ water-use practices. People in villages ‘unlawfully’ re-appropriate piped water for irrigation purposes to produce food and generate some income.

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