Govt Introduces Public-Private Partnership Model in Water Supply to Avert Crisis: Mashatile

Mashatile announced that, together with the Minister of Water and Sanitation, he will soon visit Giyani to assess progress in providing water to the local population.

The government is launching a public-private partnership (PPP) model in water supply to proactively address potential water crises, according to Deputy President Paul Mashatile. This initiative, supported by the National Treasury and the Department of Water and Sanitation, aims to replicate the success of similar efforts in tackling the country's energy and load-shedding issues.

"We need to act before there is a crisis," Deputy President Mashatile emphasized during his keynote address at the first Three-Sphere Planning session of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) of the seventh Parliament, held in Cape Town on Tuesday.

In his role as Leader of Government Business in Parliament, Mashatile highlighted the implementation of critical interventions through the District Development Model (DDM) in Waterberg, Limpopo, with the involvement of the private sector. These efforts are designed to create opportunities for local communities and ensure sustainable water supply.

He also pointed to improvements in the water situation in eThekwini, attributing positive changes to the concerted efforts of the government. "In eThekwini, we have been resolving the water crisis to the extent that we are beginning to see much-needed changes in the functioning of the municipality," he said.

Mashatile announced that, together with the Minister of Water and Sanitation, he will soon visit Giyani to assess progress in providing water to the local population. He stressed that this proactive approach will be a hallmark of the seventh administration, aiming to prevent a national water crisis by directly addressing issues in communities.

The Deputy President underscored the importance of swift execution in the success of the DDM, advocating for its adoption across all three spheres of government. "We need to ensure that from the point of view of the Executive, we are entrenching the discipline of getting things done," he stated. He also highlighted the need for timely introduction of legislation in Parliament and ensuring compliance with constitutional processes to avoid litigation.

Mashatile urged NCOP members to sharpen their focus on the three overarching policy priorities of the seventh administration as they convened under the theme "Establishing an Oversight Agenda for the Seventh Parliament: Defining Key Oversight Priorities for the NCOP in the Seventh Parliament."

The planning session is part of Parliament’s strategic innovation to emphasize joint and integrated planning, promoting collaboration in program implementation across government. The session aims to institutionalize a comprehensive Three-Sphere Planning oversight framework and mechanism, aligned with the constitutional mandate to uphold the principles of cooperative governance.

The government believes that these efforts will enhance the effective implementation of key transformation priorities, in line with the National Development Plan Vision 2030.