Water & Sanitation Africa

Managing Editor: Kirsten Kelly kirsten@infrastructurenews.co.za

Digital Manager: Ziyanda Majodina

Designer: Beren Bauermeister

Sub-editor: Tristan Snijders

Contributors: Preyan Arumugam, Chris Ashmore, Richard Friend, Lester Goldman, Clive Lipchin, Raquel Nosie Mazwi, Chetan Mistry, Dan Naidoo, Mbali Sibiya

Advertising Sales: Hanlie Fintelman c +27 (0)67 756 3132 hanlie@infrastructurenews.co.za

Digital Sales: Gontse Zuma c +27 (0)64 513 0904 gontse@infrastructurenews.co.za

Publisher

Tel: www.infrastructurenews.co.za

ISSN: 1990 - 8857

WISA Contacts:

HEAD OFFICE

Tel: 086 111 9472(WISA)

Fax: +27 (0)11 315 1258

Physical address: 1st Floor, Building 5, Constantia Park, 546 16th Road, Randjiespark Ext 7, Midrand

Website: www.wisa.org.za

BRANCHES

Eastern Cape:

Branch Contact: Dan Abrahams

Company: Aurecon

Tel: +27 (0)41 503 3929

Cell: +27 (0) 81 289 1624

Email: Dan.Abraham@aurecongroup.com

Gauteng

Branch Lead: Zoe Gebhardt

Cell: +27 (0)82 3580876

Email: zoe.gebhardt@gmail.com

KwaZulu-Natal

Chairperson: Lindelani Sibiya

Company: Umgeni Water

Cell: +27 (0)82 928 1081

Email: lindelani.sibiya@umgeni.co.za

Limpopo

Chairperson: Mpho Chokolo

Company: Lepelle Northern Water

Cell: +27 (0)72 310 7576

Email: mphoc@lepelle.co.za

Western Cape

Chairperson: Natasia van Binsbergen

Company: AL Abbott & Associates

Tel: +27 (0)21 448 6340

Cell: +27 (0)83 326 3887

Email: natasia@alabbott.co.za

•

•

•

• n South Africa, protests against poor public services are common, sometimes turning violent and destructive as citizens express their frustration with inadequate water supply, sanitation, housing, and electricity. At the forefront of protesters’ demands are calls for an end to widespread corruption that they say undermines the state’s ability to deliver high-quality public services.

Meanwhile, citizen trust in public institutions that are supposed to address corruption has been dwindling. A study by Edelman Trust Barometer in 2021 reports that only 27% of South Africans trust their government.

This makes it increasingly difficult for government to engage with the public and businesses alike around critical policy measures. Every time a new policy is announced, political trust is brought into question. All levels and positions in the state apparatus come under scrutiny: from the president to the provincial premier, municipal mayors, the judiciary, political parties, corrupt mediators, even politicians’ families.

Recently, Minister of Water and Sanitation Senzo Mchunu had to defend the establishment of the South African National Water Resources Infrastructure Agency (NWRIA). The main rationale for establishing the NWRIA is to create an enabling institutional environment for raising more private sector finance for water resource infrastructure. The bill had not been supported by 75% of the submissions. Concerns have been raised on whether the NWRIA will turn into a corrupt, underperforming state-owned enterprise that will further drain the fiscus. This lack of trust has caused the rejection of what could be a very good solution to the funding problem around water infrastructure.

One only needs to read the comments section of articles where government institutions call on the public to use water sparingly. Citizens take exception to being ‘blamed’ for the shortage of water; they in turn ‘blame’ government and any water conservation message is lost.

This was emphasised by Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality when I asked how they could improve on water demand management (page 26). Communities would take government ‘Day Zero’ warnings more seriously if there were more trust. When I asked Shyam Misra, group MD from the South African Water Works (page 6), how water reuse gained acceptance in Ballito, trust was one of the first words he mentioned.

Every possible solution to every water problem requires collaboration and coordination between public and private stakeholders. Trust facilitates long-term collaboration and fosters cooperation and compliance.

As the many passionate, competent, and committed people in the public sector continue to work towards attaining clean water and sanitation for all, I hope trust starts to build again. We so desperately need it.