Government is intensifying efforts to address South Africa’s water and sanitation challenges, with the Department of Water and Sanitation allocating R12.3 billion in infrastructure grants to municipalities during the current financial year.
Delivering her budget vote speech in the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) on Wednesday, Water and Sanitation Minister Pemmy Majodina said government was implementing decisive interventions to improve water security, rehabilitate ageing infrastructure and expand access to reliable services across all nine provinces.
Majodina acknowledged that many communities continue to face water interruptions, sewage spillages, deteriorating wastewater treatment systems and high levels of water losses.
These challenges had prompted President Cyril Ramaphosa to establish the National Water Crisis Committee and direct the implementation of the National Water Action Plan.
“The message we bring to this House is clear: Government is intervening decisively, projects are being accelerated, and partnerships are being strengthened to ensure that communities receive reliable water and sanitation services,” she said.
The Minister said the department’s priorities include completing delayed infrastructure projects, rehabilitating failing water treatment and wastewater works, expanding water supply to underserved communities, developing groundwater resources, and investing in water reuse and desalination initiatives.
Among the major projects highlighted were the R2.6 billion bulk water supply programme serving Mthatha, Libode, Ngqeleni and Mqanduli in the Eastern Cape; the R4 billion water and sanitation intervention in Maluti-a-Phofung in the Free State; the R1.3 billion Giyani water project in Limpopo, which has already connected 24 villages; and the R4.9 billion Mandlakazi Regional Bulk Water Supply Scheme in KwaZulu-Natal.
In Gauteng, the Hammanskraal water intervention is nearing completion, with a new 50-megalitre-per-day water package plant expected to improve access to clean water for approximately 47 000 households.
Majodina also outlined progress in Mpumalanga, the North West, Northern Cape and Western Cape, where several large-scale projects are under construction or nearing completion to improve water reliability and reduce service backlogs.
The department is increasingly using water boards as implementing agents to support struggling municipalities and is working with the Departments of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs and National Treasury to improve governance and financial sustainability in the sector.
The Minister announced the rollout of a nationwide Rural Water Access Programme aimed at improving water security in unserved communities through borehole drilling, spring protection, rainwater harvesting and rehabilitation of non-functional systems.
More than 2 600 settlements have already been identified under the programme, with over R200 million allocated for the first phase in KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng and the Eastern Cape.
Implementation is scheduled to begin in July and conclude in September this year.
Majodina said government was also strengthening anti-corruption measures through the Water Sector Anti-Corruption Forum, established in partnership with the Special Investigating Unit.
She urged all spheres of government, communities and the private sector to work together to secure the country’s water future. – SAnews.gov.za
