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Water security through partnerships across all sectors
Water security through partnerships across all sectors
Strengthening service delivery
Public-private partnerships and a focus on the entire water value chain hold the secret to ensuring water security for South Africa.
Speaking at the recent Water Institute of Southern Africa (WISA) Biennial Conference & Exhibition in Sandton, Minister of Water and Sanitation Senzo Mchunu said his department has several plans in place to ensure water security in the country.
The conference is a flagship event of the southern African water sector, bringing together water professionals, companies, regulators , and stakeholders.
Reducing water scarcity through prudent use
South Africa is a water-scarce country, receiving only half of the global average rainfall. In addition, water resources are not distributed evenly in the country, and millions of citizens drink water that is captured in reservoirs in excess of 400km away.
Because of this water scarcity, South Africans must be prudent in their water consumption, said Minister Mchunu. However, while there are some water scarcity concerns in parts of South Africa, the county does not face the risk of running out of water, he added.
“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 said.
Minster Mchunu added that there are several projects underway to increase water security. This includes interventions in water-strained communities such as the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro. He added that his department is working to plan future projects, to ensure they are ready for implementation as the correct 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. Minster Mchunu added that the department is also 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.
Around 11% of all households experience water service infrastructure backlogs – about which Minister Mchunu said the department is engaging with provincial and local governments.
He added that these engagements had shown that many municipalities did not have the necessary skills and trained personnel to deliver at the capacity required of them. Reduced budgets and decaying infrastructure also added to their challenge, said Minister Mchunu.
Partnering for a water secure future
He also said that the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) would change its focus from bulk water resources management to assisting in the declining capacity of municipalities to deliver water to consumers. He said the new focus would see attention given to the entire water value chain.
“As DWS we can’t just point fingers at municipalities because consumers don’t know about and aren’t interested [in] what the different spheres of government are responsible for; they just want water. So where there is no water, DWS will assist without disrupting the powers delegated to the municipality,” he said.
To strengthen water service delivery and municipal capacity, Minister Mchunu has called on the private sector to enter into partnerships with the government.
“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 water-scarce municipalities where municipal water and sanitation services are deteriorating, linked to the reinstatement of blue, green, and no drop regulatory monitoring tools,” he said.
This call echoed statements made at the recent International Water Association (IWA) World Water Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark, where Minter Mchunu said there is a need to increase private sector involvement in water services to achieve the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
In his speech, Minister Mchunu said where there is a constraint in the municipalities in terms of finance and expertise, there is substantial expertise in the private sector.
“However, private sector involvement in municipal water and sanitation services is considerably low compared to other middle-income countries. The reason for this is a lack of capacity in municipalities to take bankable projects to the market, coupled with a Public Private Partnership (PPP) regulatory framework, which means it takes eight to 12 years to facilitate a PPP,” he said.
To change this, the government is committed to putting in place public-private collaboration agreements with industries, such as the mines and agriculture, for joint funding of infrastructure projects. It is also putting in place a Water Partnerships Office (WPO) with the Development Bank of Southern Africa to assist municipalities to contract for PPP and independent water producers. This regulatory framework is currently being finalised by the National Treasury.
