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South Africa facing R33bn water-security funding gap

10th July 2020

By: Schalk Burger

Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

     

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South Africa's water security is threatened. About 56% of the more than 1 150 municipal wastewater treatment works and about 44% of the 962 water treatment works are in a poor or critical condition and need urgent rehabilitation and skilled operators, while about 11% of this infrastructure is dysfunctional, according to the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) National Water and Sanitation Master Plan (NWSMP).

These problems are exacerbated by water being severely underpriced, with cost recovery not being achieved. For South Africa to achieve water security, a funding gap of about R33-billion a year for ten years must be closed.

The failure of water supply in many areas prompted the introduction of emergency water supply programmes using tankers, says South Africa Academy of Engineering (SAAE) president and engineering multinational Hatch Africa chairperson Dr Trueman Goba.

Inadequate Supply

However, these programmes provide inadequate supply and are expensive. The SAAE believes that there is a need for drastic reform to avoid a widespread collapse in service provision in poorer communities.

The NWSMP states that the crisis in water supply and sanitation threatens the health and wellbeing of particularly poor South Africans while impacting negatively on economic growth and environmental sustainability.

The droughts in South Africa and the Covid-19 pandemic have shown that water governance has not been implemented adequately, says Water Research Commission water use and waste management executive manager Jay Bhagwan.

Many of the challenges South Africa faces are part of the systemic issues of providing water, which manifests in greater attention to revenue rather than the requirement for reliable and sustainable water, he says.

For example, municipalities focus on using water and electricity to generate revenues, but the lack of capital investment in infrastructure and inadequate provision made by most municipalities for operations and maintenance are all elements that contribute to the issues of water management, and sustainable and reliable provision.

"We have not adequately reinvested in water infrastructure after 20-odd years and, during a crisis, we are scuttling around to find water for those left behind, owing to this focus on revenue rather than equity of access," says Bhagwan.

In the post-Covid period, government’s resources will be extremely limited and, as the country seeks to restart the economy, it will be vital to ensure that interventions are carefully prioritised and well-targeted to support employment and economic activity, says Goba.

The SAAE’s first advisory note on water in June highlighted the need to prioritise strategic investments to ensure that Covid-19 does not further delay progress on the big, long-term water projects to keep water secure.

These projects include the Lesotho Highlands Water Project Phase 2, the uMkhomazi dam, which will supply the eThekwini-Msunduzi region, and the Berg river augmentation scheme, designed to increase supplies to Cape Town.

Rethink

Bhagwan says current approaches continue to focus on big infrastructure rather than on the real issues that communities experience, particularly the lack of reliable, safe and sustainable water and sanitation.

Providing infrastructure only is not sufficient – the focus thereafter needs to be on operations and maintenance, reliability and sustainability. Thus, more protection and enablement must be provided for people in terms of water and sanitation, he adds.

South Africa is struggling to achieve good water management and must consider implementing new models and nuances around community-based provision, as well as alternative forms of governance, informed by experiences in other parts of the world, which can respond to the failures of the current water governance model, says Bhagwan.

Meanwhile, operating subsidies available to water and sanitation services in municipalities are often inadequate, even if revenue collection is at an acceptable level, highlights Goba.

The SAAE proposes a drastic reduction in the number of municipalities that are accredited to provide water services and suggests that there should be no more than 50 water service authorities. This would enable them to be financially viable, and recruit and retain qualified staff.

It is also encouraging the DWS to restart the Green and Blue Drop monitoring programmes, which report on the state of management in every municipality.

Cooperation

The DWS, in conjunction with other government departments and agencies, will work with the private sector and civil society to ensure that the crisis in the water and sanitation sector is addressed to attain a secure water future with reliable and safe water and sanitation services, with these services also contributing towards meeting the national development objectives, the NWSMP states.

“The SAAE has identified new partnership projects to meet economic and social needs, such as the refurbishment of the Vaal Gamagara pipeline, in the Northern Cape, and further phases of the Olifants River Development Project, in Limpopo,” says Goba.

Private-sector partners that want to use the water are willing to help fund development if they can be assured the funds will be well spent, he adds.

The SAAE proposes that public and private organisations work with citizens to improve water management by sharing information on the state of services and natural resources, and mobilising local action to address local problems.

Through its current initiatives to focus attention on the water sector, the SAAE is committed to promoting informed public debate and action to address the challenges of water and sanitation.

Objective 6.B of the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations requires States to support and strengthen the participation of local communities in improving water and sanitation management, the NWSMP reiterates.

The key objectives of the NWSMP define a ‘new normal’ for water and sanitation management in South Africa, and speaks to the main challenges in the water sector, including the creation of a resilient and fit-for-use water supply, enabling universal water and sanitation provision, and the equitable sharing and allocation of water resources, as well as effective infrastructure management, operation and maintenance, and a reduction in future water demand.

Edited by Martin Zhuwakinyu
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

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