President Ramaphosa likened South Africa’s water challenges to its problems with crime. Water is now the single most important issue for many people, from large cities like Johannesburg to smaller towns like Knysna and rural areas like Giyani, he explained.
“We have all seen the pain that our people have been expressing through demonstrations in various parts of Gauteng. These protests have been fuelled by frustrations over inadequate and unreliable access to basic services such as water,” the President said.
To address the immediate problem, he has directed the Minister of Water and Sanitation and her deputies, as well as the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, to attend to the water shortage problem and engage with communities. Those ministers were attending to the issue while the President was delivering his State of the Nation Address.
The ministers used the opportunity to the people precisely how the government intends to deal with the challenges they are experiencing. These ministers have said that the damages pipes are being repaired and the reservoirs are filling up again. The President noted that poor planning and inadequate municipal maintenance of water systems in many areas are the main cause of the problems.
To ensure water security in the long term, President Ramaphosa said the government is building new dams and upgrading existing infrastructure. “We have committed more than R156 billion in public funding for water and sanitation infrastructure over the next three years.
“The construction of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project and other large-scale projects such as the Ntabelanga Dam, part of the Mzimvubu Water Project in the Eastern Cape, is advancing, and we are in the final stages of establishing a National Water Resource Infrastructure Agency to effectively manage and mobilise funding for the country’s water infrastructure,” President Ramaphosa said.
In addition, the Water Services Bill will enable the government to hold water service providers accountable for their performance and to withdraw their licences if they fail to deliver.
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