Government-NGO co-operation in service delivery support

The Mvula Trust operates in South Africa as an independent social investment fund dedicated to improving water and sanitation services to disadvantaged, poor and marginalised rural communities. The Trust began operating in mid-1993 and provides demand-driven finance to support community owned and managed, cost-effective and sustainable projects. At conception the Trust was perceived as a rapid delivery vehicle for the transitional phase in South Africa with an initial capital base of R150m (US$ 26m). It has approved finance to over 300 projects and has fully committed it’s initial capital. The new government has instituted a Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) to redress the imbalances of the past. As part of this programme it is giving priority to the improvement of basic water and sanitation for poor and rural communities. This emphasis together with the success achieved by the Trust, has led to a formal agreement with the government’s Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF) to provide funding to the Trust from the national budget. The Trust also works closely with DWAF on policy formulation. The purpose of this paper is to provide a brief overview of the innovative aspects of this agreement.