Research On: An Evaluation Of Issues Affecting Equitable Access To Domestic Water

This paper is a comparative study of issues affecting equitable access to domestic water in Chinese and Namibian urban areas. It evaluates the extent to which the fundamental human need to water is attained by delving into policy and management processes that govern water access and supply as well as the social function water plays in the lives of Chinese and Namibian citizens. Post 1990 China and Namibia's governmental objective to attain provision of basic water to all citizenry become challenged due to the shift in economic policy objectives.This paper is a product of scientific findings from both primary and secondary methodological sources. The primary method employed the use of a questionnaire technique based on judgmental sampling of household owners, the secondary method on the other hand relied on literature resources from library collections such as journals, text books, periodicals, reports, articles and others.Findings show that China and Namibia's basic policy objectives show similarities in a number of ways. Both aim to provide equitable and adequate quality water to all urban citizens, as a basic fundamental human need. Also, both nations seek to redress the legacy of free and abundant domestic water provision, through the instrumentation of capitalistic oriented western adopted policy reformations. The situation in both countries does not reflect equitable fundamental effectiveness as water access regulations remain hung-up in the balance between the government's commitment to providing water as a basic human need and water as an article of trade, thus creating un-equalised access opportunities to the detriment of poor members of society. Management of water in both countries is by multi layered institutions made up of relevant ministries and local authorities; their combination results in overlapped responsibilities and conflicted communication based on institutional concerns of; financial input and output, service quality and development.Virtual policy and management institutions however function differently for each country. This research establishes that, China has well defined, and concise policy strategies, its lack of policy efficacy is, above all else due to lack of uniformed policy enforcement. Namibia on the other hand is governed by very basic legislature devoid of clear strategies especially in the area of water pricing and pollution and lacking in consumer involvement.This research finds that the current social role of water contributes to feeding the cycle of poverty,50% percentage of the sampled population in both countries earn an income of less than $300 per month. Discrimination of un-equalised opportunities is dire especially for Namibian citizenry given that the standard of living in Namibia is more expensive compared to China.About 80% of Chinese citizens comfortably afford to pay for water services while almost 50% of Namibians expressed dis-contentment to water prices. The consumer's involvement in water decision making is not highly evident in both countries as is knowledge of how water pricing is done and what goes into pricing. Information sharing and communication platforms between consumers and water utilities are poorly reflected in China, and in the case of Namibia non-existent.