Water and Sanitation minister Senzo Mchunu says that while South Africa is not facing an immediate water crisis, it doesn\u2019t mean that water can be used recklessly.<\/p>\n
The minister was speaking at the Water Institute of Southern Africa (WISA) Biennial Conference & Exhibition on Wednesday, 28 September.<\/p>\n
His comments come amid numerous warnings about the dire water situation, most notably in the Eastern Cape, which has water restrictions in place amid critically low dam levels, while Nelson Mandela Bay metro desperately attempts to stave off a water ‘Day Zero’.<\/p>\n
Drought, vandalism, technical failures, and an inability to maintain existing and ageing infrastructure continue to plague the industry countrywide.<\/p>\n
Lunga Patso, a process engineer from the WISA, has warned that the country is only a few years away from having to implement \u201cwater-shedding\u201d, much like Eskom’s power load shedding.<\/p>\n
Minister Mchunu said that the focus of the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) has so far been exclusively on bulk water resources management, leaving it dependent on the declining capacity in municipalities to deliver water to consumers.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will now shift our focus and balance our attention across the entire water value chain.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAs the department, we can\u2019t just point fingers at municipalities – because consumers don\u2019t know about and aren\u2019t interested in what the different spheres of government are responsible for; they just want water. So where there is no water, the department will assist without disrupting the powers delegated to the municipality,\u201d said the minister.<\/p>\n
Dr Lester Goldman, CEO of WISA, reiterated this sentiment. \u201cThe time for pointing fingers is over, and we can no longer wait for someone else to come up with a workable plan. We have to do work ourselves and do so collaboratively.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is up to each and every individual role player in the water sector to take responsibility for changing the current course and navigate towards reaching Sustainable Development Goal 6: providing clean water and sanitation services for all,\u201d said Dr Goldman.<\/p>\n
Municipal role<\/strong><\/p>\n Mchunu said: \u201cThere needs to be a change of culture in municipalities so that failure to deliver must be seen as an anomaly, not as the norm. In addition, transformation in terms of water rights is still an imperative to ensure that no one is left behind.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe, however, can\u2019t do this alone; we don\u2019t have the necessary finances, knowledge and skills to do it alone. We, therefore, welcome the private sector to partner with us,\u201d said minister Mchunu.<\/p>\n The chairperson of Rand Water, Ramateu Monyokolo, warned that as human demand for resources increases, the environmental crisis will worsen even more.<\/p>\n “We are called to action to preserve this precious commodity. Innovation requires that water experts continue to challenge themselves to do things better than they did them yesterday. The conference will help us to come up with innovative ideas to alleviate the current situation,\u201d Monyokolo said.<\/p>\n
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