Water supply at a bulk level stable: Senzo Mchunu

Mchunu said this at a gala dinner hosted by the iMvula Trust on Tuesday to celebrate 30 years of water and sanitation service delivery and beyond.

Water and Sanitation Minister Senzo Mchunu has reiterated that water supply at a bulk level is stable, with many projects being implemented to augment the current water supply.

Mchunu said this at a gala dinner hosted by the iMvula Trust on Tuesday to celebrate 30 years of water and sanitation service delivery and beyond.

The celebration took place during National Water Week, and ahead of World Water Day which is celebrated annually on 22 March. 

In his opening remarks, Mchunu said great strides have been made towards achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 on water and sanitation by 2030, and World Water Day is an opportunity to contribute to speeding up progress.

He highlighted some of the projects led by the department, and these include Phase 2 of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project, uMkhomazi Water Project in KwaZulu Natal, Olifants River Water Resource Development in Limpopo, and uMzimvubu Water Project in the Eastern Cape, among others.

Mchunu acknowledged that the department is currently facing the challenge of water and sanitation services management, saying while dams are full, some taps are running dry, while other areas have no taps at all.

“The main reason for this current problem is that South Africa has exclusively relied on municipalities for the provision of drinking water to households and businesses, while same have been declining in recent years.

“Government, at all levels, is aware that the capacity of municipalities is found to be wanting in the main, the provision of water could not have been an exception in the decline of basic services rendered by municipalities,” Mchunu said.

As a response to this challenge, the Minister said the department has been assisting and engaging municipalities to deliver on their mandates. 

He said since the Water and Sanitation Summit in 2022, the department has gradually shifted its attention to building, renewing, and in some cases, refurbishing and upgrading water and sanitation infrastructure.

“We recently convened a two-day Water Summit, where we engaged with municipalities, in their capacities as Water Services Authorities, on the findings in the Blue, Green and No Drop Reports released by the department last year.

“During the summit, it was agreed that fundamental changes would be implemented within the existing legal framework, such as changing the allocation of the Water Services Authority function, appointing another municipality to provide the Water Services Provider function,” Mchunu said.

The Minister also highlighted the importance of private sector involvement in water and sanitation services to achieve the SDG goals. 

“Overall, understand us to be assuring you that we are hard at work in ensuring water security and provision for years to come. We call upon you, those in the private sector, to come on board and work with us in making the water and sanitation sector a success.

“The establishment of the Mvula Trust in 1993 came as South Africa transitioned into its new democracy and fast-forward to present day, we recognise and appreciate your efforts over time and your readiness to engage and work with government to better the lives of South Africans,” Mchunu said. 

(With Inputs from South African Government Press Release)