6 minute read
WATER MASTER PLAN
South Africa’s
quest for universal water access
The Department of Water & Sanitation’s Water Master Plan has been hailed as a strategic piece of work which has the world’s attention and, with its release, is something that South Africa can be immensely proud of.
“We launched the Master Plan so that by the time it is brought to Cabinet and Parliament it represents the views of all stakeholders. I am extremely grateful for the supportive work done by my panel of advisers,” said Minister of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation, Lindiwe Sisulu.
“In my budget speech I said my induction into the department when I took over a year ago was heavy and intense. We came in and found a department that no longer enjoyed the confidence of the people it served, having been eroded by a number of cases of corruption. In essence I was By Minister Lindiwe Sisulu told I had inherited a bankrupt department with problems accumulated over many years. The Portfolio Committee on Water and Sanitation instructed me sort out the department and its finances - and I did just that,” she added.
Fighting corruption
When Minister Sisulu assumed office the amount of irregular and wasteful expenditure in the department amounted to R16 billion, later revised upwards to an amount of R31 billion.
“I have ordered investigations into these matters. Here the Stabilisation Committee served well to ensure that as we proceed with disciplinary cases,
the work of the department continues,” she said.
Minister Sisulu has also ordered investigations into the affairs of the Lepelle Northern Water Board in Limpopo, the Amatola Water Board in the Eastern Cape, while a third investigation is underway at Sedibeng Water Board. In the course of the investigations, the Boards of Lepelle and Amatola Water placed their Chief Executive Officers on suspension and have now commenced with a disciplinary process against them. Both executives have received their charges and dates for the hearings were set during for August.
“I considered all the findings and recommendations from the investigations and decided to pursue civil and criminal charges against those implicated in unlawful and corrupt conduct at Amatola and Lepelle,” she explained.
“The reports from the departmental investigators into the affairs of both CEOs have been handed over to law enforcement agencies. In both cases we are joined by a number of law enforcement agencies, including the NPA and the Public Protector, while the SIU is continuing a number of investigations at Lepelle. Both the Boards of Amatola and Lepelle have been placed under administration to ensure that we can stabilise them as we continue with the cases.”
Minister Sisulu said that the work of the SIU, the Hawks and the entire justice system would assist the Department of Water & Sanitation to find closure on all these matters, ensuring that all officials understand that corruption will no longer be tolerated.
“The Auditor-General has always complained about the lack of consequence management within the department. We are now saying there is consequence management and we hope this will filter through, also to the service providers who are corrupt. We want to send a public message that we are cleaning up the department,” she said.
“We have had to take all these measures to restore the good image of the department. Both the Water and Sanitation Master Plans, we depend a great deal on investments to deliver and for that to happen we have to convince investors that they can rely on us and should invest in us.”
Water access
Minister Sisulu said that work is also underway to improve on the water licence turnaround time.
“The department has been able to make the necessary changes to its regulatory regime to give effect to the 90-day turnaround time with effect from 1 April 2020. The shift from 300 days to 90
Minister of Human Settlements, Water & Sanitation, Lindiwe Sisulu
days has resulted in significant changes to the business process, necessitating a workshop where the changes are discussed exhaustively with the applicants.”
The Department of Water & Sanitation has committed to offering assistance to the black and women emerging farmers to enable them to meet the requirements of the 90-day process. Minister Sisulu said that catchment management officers will guide each applicant on the process and identify the information required to support the application. The department will also work with other departments and other institutions responsible for farmer support.
“I am glad to report that I, together with my counterpart from the Kingdom of Lesotho did a sod turning event that marked the construction of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project Phase II. This project is aimed at achieving water security and at delivering water to South Africa by November 2026,” reported Minister Sisulu.
Since the inception of the Regional Bulk Infrastructure Grant programme in 2007, 3.1 million households have benefitted from water and sanitation projects implemented. In this financial year the Department of Water & Sanitation is committing R3 billion (under schedule 6b) to continue with the implementation of 136 bulk water and sanitation projects, and R2 billion under schedule 5b to implement 69 projects.
Tribute to Andrew Mlangeni
“I would like to use this opportunity to pay a special tribute to an outstanding leader, a moral compass, a man of passionate commitment to the liberation of all the people of our country. A man who gave the best part of his life to the realisation of these freedoms that we enjoy. A man who represented all the values of a cadre of the African National Congress. A man who was a member of this House and therefore a former colleague of many of us, Andrew Mlangeni.
In the last days of his life he asked for nothing more than this: that he should be remembered as one of those who brought us our democracy. We have a responsibility to live up to the ideals that he fought for. Ideals of integrity and intolerance of corruption. We are enjoined to ensure that we live up to his sacrifices and remove corruption from every corner of this government, especially this department. This is the ideal of an ethical society that he gave up the better part of his life for and I will, in my departments, make sure that we will be counted, finally as having responded to his lifelong dedication to the freedom that we enjoy.
The last of our Rivonia Trialists. The end of an era. And now the responsibility rests on us to give back to society the democracy we enjoy today, by having an ethical government, led with integrity. This is the only way we can pay back for the huge sacrifice of his generation. In his honour I hope there will be dedicated legislation that clearly indicates what the fundamentals of this democracy means. A government that leads with integrity and complete intolerance of corruption.” – Minister Sisulu
