The SEAWUN delegation, the DWAF project manager (J Lapisi), members of the PSC and the Project leader (PSP) participated in a workshop and discussions on the Twinning project and possible areas for mutual collaboration and partnerships. All the discussions have shown that there are clear synergies between the South Africa Twinning project and SEAWUN projects and twinning initiatives. The following key focus areas for knowledge transfer and capacity building through possible twinning partnerships were identified during the discussions:

·         Sanitation services

·         Non revenue water management

·         Urban and rural service delivery challenges/solutions

·         Water quality management

·         Customer management.

·         Cost recovery and utility sustainability

·         Business systems and processes.

·         Enhancing/Utilisation of technologies and materials.

·         Exploring institutional governance, regulatory reporting and structural arrangements.

·         Enhancing international cooperation and collaboration

SEAWUN delegates visited Johannesburg Water and Midvaal Water and met with the leadership of these two companies. The visits to the water utilities were most useful and successful and enabled the SEAWUN delegation to gain a better understanding of water services in South Africa from a policy, legislative and structural context. It also enabled them to better understand the organizational, operational and service delivery challenges and identify specific areas for focused capacity building and knowledge transfer.

Ms Joyce Lapisi, DWAF Twinning Project Manager and Mr. Vu Kim Quyen, SEAWUN Executive Director have indicated their full commitments to the following:

• Building a solid partnership to ensure that South African and South East Asian water utilities were encouraged and supported in the establishment of mutually beneficial Twinning relationships.

• Facilitating capacity building initiative between South African and South East Asian water utilities member utilities through participation in the DWAF International Twinning project.

• Providing support to utilities in South Africa and South East Asia that expressed an interest in/or established Twinning partnerships.
• A SEAWUN representative would be invited to attend the DWAF Twinning project workshop due to be held in South Africa on 29 and 30 October 2008.
• Promoting the partnership between SEAWUN and South Africa through interactions, meetings, conferences...

·         Arrange delegation/visits of South African utilities to SEAWUN countries and vice versa

• Jointly organizing a workshop on partnership between South African and Southeast Asian water utilities in the first half of 2009 and technical visits
• Cooperating in the aspects of water safety plan and water quality
• Sanitation services in low income areas
• Sharing information on activities of water utilities through exchange of their publications, website, annual reports…

The visit to South Africa and the interactions and discussions between SEAWUN, the project leadership and South African utilities were most useful, successful and encouraging and served to confirm that there are clear synergies and areas of mutual interest between SEAWUN and the DWAF International Twinning project.