Conclusions

I'm finding it hard to come up with a summary for this blog; although I've learned and researched a lot, I'm leaving with far more questions than that I've answered. I'd like to conclude with some of the most important things I've learned regarding water, race and power in South Africa:

1. There are extreme inequalities in how water gets provisioned in South Africa, and many of these inequalities fall along racial/class divides
2. These issues are systemic, and current policies are not adequate in solving them.
3. Issues are highly complex and regionalized, and a solution that works for one community might not work for another.
4. Colonial power structures are the root cause of this extreme water inequality, in particular policies established by the British government prior to independence.
5. There is no easy, equitable solution to grant free flowing water to everyone. Any close solution will require immense amounts of time, funding and political will.
6. These barriers should not stop governments from trying.
7. A lack of accessible water does not equate to an ecological lack of water, although with climate change, water supplies are becoming increasingly more variable, which will exacerbate existing stress on infrastructures.
8. While I focused on South Africa, water is a basic need that is not met for many Africans in a diversity of nations. These are not novel issues, but that does not make them any less demanding of our attention.

While the scope of this blog has concluded for the purposes of this class, these issues are enduring. I could write 100 more blog posts, and not even come close to encompassing the full scope of how water and power relate in Africa. I don't want to end with some white savior message of how Westerners need to come in and save the day. A mission trip won't solve these issues. What will is governments, both foreign and national, acknowledging water inequalities and taking action to address them while respecting the agency of local people.