Water is a basic need and equitable and sustainable access to water for drinking and domestic requirements should be guaranteed in the allocation of water resources above any other competing water uses. This has implications even for transboundary water resources, and SADC Member States shall cooperate and support priority allocation of water resources from shared watercourse systems to meet basic human needs. 4.2.3. Policy: Member States will seek to provide, in addition to clean water for domestic use, water for productive activities to poor and marginalised communities in rural and peri-urban areas in order to alleviate poverty and to correct imbalances in development. Poverty reduction is not possible without improving access to water for domestic use for the people of the SADC region. The definition of “domestic use” varies from country to country within the SADC region. The definition adopted here is that provided by the SADC Protocol as “water for drinking, washing, cooking, bathing and stock watering purposes”. The poor in urban as well as rural areas have been deprived of access to social services, including water supply and sanitation. This tends to perpetuate poverty and requires well targeted measures to address the problem. In most SADC countries rural and peri-urban populations constitute the majority of the people in the country. It is therefore imperative that their requirements in terms of water supply should form the basis of deliberate policy interventions, even in the climate of commercialisation of water supply and sanitation services. 4.2.4. Policy: To ensure sustainability of water supply services to all areas, cost recovery will underpin all infrastructural developments and operations, i.e. beneficiaries will pay an appropriate amount towards the cost of providing services, taking into account Member States’ social responsibilities to the poor. Provision of water supply will not have any impact on poverty reduction and on public health unless the facilities continue to function and provide the required amounts and quality of water. The key issue is sustainable access, not one-off investment. Cost recovery does not negate the provision of grants or subsidies to poorer segments of society. Without government support, the poor may not be able to afford basic services. For poorer communities, governments will decide on levels and means of administering subsidies to support the poor, disadvantaged and vulnerable in society. The challenge is to design effective measures to ensure all users contribute a share they can afford to ensure sustainable services. 4.2.5. Policy: Member States will facilitate the provision of sustainable access to adequate sanitation for all rural, peri-urban and urban households. - 24 -