Turning the tide on South Africa’s water woes

The recent two-day water and sanitation indaba at Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand was a success.

But its triumph must be measured by our ability to translate the resolutions and plans into action, which will guarantee our country a reliable water supply and a water-secure future.

The indaba, whose focus is water security and water provision, was attended by key representatives, drawn from national government and national entities, provincial government, local government, South African Local Government Association (Salga), academia and research bodies, the private sector, as well as water and sanitation experts.

From the onset, the indaba received a keynote address from President Cyril Ramaphosa, who recognised that water and sanitation sector is a key cog in economic growth and called for practical solutions to avert a water crisis.

I had an opportunity to deliver a closing address in my capacity as chair of the water task team, established to mitigate water crises in municipalities and intervene to resolve water challenges in the country.

The summit also received inputs by Salga deputy president Xola Pakadi, Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa, Water and Sanitation Minister Pemmy Majodina and a progress report by water and sanitation director-general Sean Phillips.

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All of these speakers emphasised that water is not just a commodity but a vital resource, one that is essential for survival of our communities and households, for businesses to operate, for the economy to grow, as well as being a central element for sustaining life itself.

The indaba was a palpable demonstration of government’s commitment to tackling South Africa’s water security challenges, as well as ensuring reliable, sustainable water and sanitation services for all citizens.

However, Phillips, cautioned about an impending crisis wherein, if we don’t act swiftly to avoid it, we will experience “increasing water supply disruptions, deteriorating water quality and increasing sewage pollution”.

This can subsequently pollute rivers and have damaging consequences for our fragile ecosystem. All of this would have a rising detrimental impact on human health, quality of life, investment, economic growth and the environment.

Therefore, there is an urgent need to confront a plethora of issues that have the ability to affect water delivery to communities.

This include dealing with organised criminality and malfeasance, including attacks on critical water and energy infrastructure, corruption , weak financial management , poor credit control, inaccurate billing, illegal connections, infrastructure decay and governance instability.

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While it was noted that most of our communities and sectors are experiencing widespread water and sanitation delivery failures and a lack of responsiveness, including water insecurity, scarcity, intermittent supply or no supply at all, the indaba served as a critical turning point for the country to address and prevent such calamity.

Among other things, the indaba resolved, for instance, to work faster on our delivery and implementation models, including the full establishment of the National Water Resource Infrastructure Agency by mid-2026; full establishment of catchment management agencies by July 2025; all water services authorities to implement a utility model for water and sanitation to ensure operational efficiency without losing municipal ownership, within three years.

In this regard, a utility can mean a ring-fenced internal department, municipal entity, water board, special purpose vehicle, or concession, among others.

Finally, we also resolved that Salga, Cogta and department of water and sanitation (DWS) implement the plan that has been developed for a coordinated Municipal Systems Act Section 78 consultative process according to the timeframes in the plan.

This should lead to the appointment of capable water service providers across the country as a matter of urgency.

The Presidency, as the nerve centre of government, also provides targeted support and intervention measures with respect to Cogta and DWS’ ability to drive water and sanitation programmes and to ensure projects are completed on time.

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In the main, this includes addressing the risk factors such as dealing with criminal syndicates and extortionists, corruption and guarding against wasteful expenditure in the process.

We all have a stake in the business of saving water and providing it to our communities and industries in a manner that is efficient, sustainable and of good quality to its users.

We will therefore continue to support municipalities and work with water entities and boards across the country to provide water to our communities.

We must increase investment on water research and development and technology transfer; recognise the existing body of knowledge, including indigenous systems; and promote the inclusion of women, youth and people with disabilities in water and sanitation.

Over the coming weeks and months, we will continue traversing the length and breadth of our country to trouble-shoot and support service delivery interventions in water and sanitation.

Let us continue to work together towards a sustainable water future. With every action that we take, we must always keep in mind that water is indeed life.

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