The Standing Committee on Appropriations was briefed yesterday by the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) on service delivery implications for the proposed R59.6 billion allocations over the 2022 medium-term economic framework. Some of the challenges the department highlighted were that its procurement and supply chain management processes are inefficient. Improving this aspect will be a priority for the year ahead.

In 2018, the National Water and Sanitation Master Plan indicated that 5.3 million households did not have reliable access to drinking water, while about 14.1 million people do not have access to safe sanitation. These problems were attributed to governance weaknesses, weak billing systems and revenue collection and poor operations management. The department said it is in the process of implementing a range of major projects to augment the national bulk water sources.

The committee commended the Department of Water and Sanitation for its water management work, but said the department must keep a tight leash on underspending. The Minister for Water and Sanitation, Mr Senzo Mchunu, mentioned that many communities have complained that they don’t have access to water, including Jozini residents in KwaZulu-Natal, who complained about the Jozini dam. Giyani also has water infrastructure-related problems that have been exacerbated by drought. The construction of a pipeline from Nandoni dam to Nsami dam is underway in Giyani.

Mr Mchunu continued to say about 6 000 households around Mhlabuyalingana and other areas of Jozini will be provided with water as part of water roll-out programs. National water resources are, on the whole, better than municipal water and sanitation infrastructure.

Responding to a question about how the floods in KwaZulu-Natal have affected the Water and Sanitation department, the Deputy Minister, Mr David Mahlobo commended the private sector, which has helped significantly to provide water and technical expertise to areas affected by the floods.

 The department’s Director-General, Dr Sean Phillips, noted that the bucket toilet eradication programme is targeting eradicating these in informal areas in the Northern Cape and Free State by March 2023 with a budget allocation of R504 million. The department has committed to eradicate the 10 300 buckets in the Free State by the end of the current financial year. However, some municipalities are still issuing buckets to residents in informal settlements, which the department says is unacceptable.

Jabulani Majozi
25 May 2022