Plan for safe water in 12 Zambian border towns
Inadequate levels of water access and sanitation facilities can lead to the transmission of water-borne diseases across borders. This, in turn, stifles trade and other commercial and social activities within a sub-region and, at in extreme cases, can trigger cross-border conflict.
The 12 Towns Project is an initiative aimed at providing a sustainable and equitable supply of safe water and appropriate sanitation to 12 border towns in Zambia, a country strategically and centrally located in the SADC region.
Genesis was retained as the project economists for this suite of projects and carried out financial and economic appraisals for Kazungula, Chanida, Mwami, Chirundu and Siavonga border towns. Genesis provided recommendations of the appropriate allocation of the client's resources for the implementation for these projects.
By carrying out our project appraisal process, both the financial and economic justification of the separate projects was investigated. The particular focus of this project appraisal was in the project’s ability to provide climate-resilient infrastructure for the most vulnerable members of the border towns – with a particular focus on women and children.
It also emphasised the project's ability to prevent transboundary conflict through better provisioning of infrastructure services. Input from our team resulted in the redesign of some of the projects to optimise their value for money and social impact in these strategic transboundary towns.
TOP PHOTOGRAPH: Small traders at the Chirundu One-Stop Border Post. ABOVE: Trucks line up at the Chirundu One-Stop Border Post between Zambia and Zimbabwe