Good practices for water use authorisation systems - Lessons from five countries

Abstract

Water governance Good practices for water use authorisation systems – Lessons from five countries Across most of Africa, integrated water resources management (IWRM) has been introduced as the gold standard for managing water resources. A key tool in the IWRM toolbox is the use of permits or licences to authorise water use. These permit systems, however, derive, for the most part, from a long colonial history, and despite the changed intentions of post-colonial African governments, they have carried some of the negative colonial intentions with them into the present day. A study in five countries (Malawi, Kenya, South Africa, Uganqada and Zimbabwe) shows that permit systems were introduced in these countries as far back as 1929 in Kenya, under the Water Ordinance, or 1927 under the Water Act in Zimbabwe. National water legislation and water permit systems were introduced by the colonial governments to claim ownership of water resources, and to harness them in the interests of the white, colonial minority.

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