Minister Mchunu allays fears of water outage in the country and calls for prudent water use
Minister of Water and Sanitation, Mr Senzo Mchunu has allayed fears of water outages in the country and reiterated that his department is working towards ensuring water security in the country. He was speaking during the Water Institute of Southern Africa (WISA) Biennial Conference & Exhibition on Wednesday, 28 September 2022 at the Sandton Convention Centre.
Minister Mchunu reiterated his call for prudent water use by all water users, saying South Africa remains a water scarce country.
Highlighting some of the inventions being carried undertaken in water strained communities such as the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro, Minister Mchunu said private partnerships were needed to strengthen efforts of a water secured country.
“There is a need to increase participation of private sector partnerships through finance and skills enrichment in the water sector. Besides this, we are strengthening our role in regulating, supporting, and intervening in municipalities where municipal water and sanitation services are deteriorating, linked to the reinstatement of blue, green and no drop regulatory monitoring tools,” he said.
He also spoke sternly on the status of water in the country, while allaying fears of the country facing a possible severe water outage. Minister Mchunu said that there was no need for citizens to be alarmed, saying the country would not run of water.
He admitted that there are water scarcity concerns in different parts of the country but maintained that total water outage would not happen in the near future.
“I can state, categorically, that we do not have an immediate threat of water outage. However, this does not mean we are not a water scarce country, and that people should not use water sparingly. We do not have an immediate water crisis so to say, but we should not lower our guard,” Minister Mchunu sternly said.
Addressing matters related to maladministration in the Department, Minister Mchunu said the ministry is prioritising hands-on monitoring of progress with all major projects which have been historically delayed, including the Giyani water project, the Vaal River intervention project, Hammanskraal water quality concerns as well as the Umzimvubu and uMkhomazi water projects, amongst others.
“The Department is ensuring planning of projects in financial years before they are to be implemented, so that they are ready for implementation when the financial year starts. We have also developed an Infrastructure Procurement Strategy in line with the National Treasury Framework for Infrastructure Delivery and Procurement Management. This is done to enable smarter, quicker and more effective infrastructure procurement and will be implementing the strategy over the coming months,” he said.
Minister Mchunu joined WISA CEO, Dr Lester Goldman along with a number of water experts from across the country and overseas to discuss ways to improve and enhance efforts to ensure water security on the globe.
The WISA Biennial Conference and Exhibition is a flagship event of the Southern African water sector, bringing together regional and international water professionals, companies, regulators and stakeholders under one roof annually.
Source: Government of South Africa