Water and Sanitation Deputy Ministers, Judith Tshabalala and David Mahlobo, have called for municipalities to re-invest money collected from revenue into water and sanitation services to ensure sustainability of infrastructure that will stand the test of time.
The Deputy Ministers made the call during an oversight visit to Mbombela Local Municipality in Mpumalanga to assess the state of water and sanitation services in the municipality.
Addressing a meeting held with Ehlanzeni District and Mbombela Local Municipalities officials and various stakeholders, Mahlobo decried the increasing levels of non-revenue water, which he attributed to old and dilapidated water infrastructure, as well as illegal connections.
Mahlobo underscored the need to drastically reduce water losses and the need for a concrete plan to reducelosses. This includes asset management and revenue enhancement to help stabilise the municipalities.
“Operation and maintenance, and renewal of water and sanitation infrastructure is of critical importance, and we need to invest in this consistently. Part of the money that people pay for services needs to be used for maintaining the existing infrastructure so that we don’t experience problems in the long run,” Mahlobo said.
Mahlobo urged the Mbombela Local Municipality not to rely too much on water tankering, and advised them to use it only when it is necessary on an interim basis to avoid the high cost for the service.
If the municipality has to use water tankers, Mahlobo said, the tankers must be government owned and not privately owned because this promotes the “black market”, a phenomenon of groups of people, who allegedly damage water infrastructure deliberately in order to benefit from it.
Tshabalala said the department is committed to supporting Mbombela Local Municipality in its quest to turn things around, and ensure sustainable provision of basic services to the people.
Tshabalala reiterated that water and sanitation services are basic constitutional rights that people are entitled to, and government is duty bound to provide these services in a sustainable manner.
“It is our interest as national government to give support to municipalities as Water Services Authorities to render these services. We are here to support you, but you must give us concrete plans with clear timeframes, [and] we will dispatch our teams to give you all forms of support, including technical support,” Tshabalala said.
The meeting agreed that a steering committee will be established to deal with water issues in the province focusing on all the regions.
The committee will include representatives from all spheres of government, as well as Inkomati-Usuthu Catchment Management Agency, an entity of the department in Mpumalanga.
The committee is expected to meet urgently to devise plans that will restore the dignity of communities and ensure sustainable water and sanitation services in the province.
The oversight ended with a visit to Kanyamazane and Karino Water Treatment Plants for the Deputy Ministers to get first-hand experience of the challenges that hinder water provision to the communities. – SAnews.gov.za
