Sonjica to host the National Water Summit
3 May 2006
Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry, Ms Buyelwa Sonjica, MP, attended and
addressed the nine provincial water summits that sat through 2005/06. In all
summits, Minister Sonjica followed President Thabo Mbekiâs State of the Nation
Address at the beginning of 2006 that directly challenged the Department with
regards its work delivering basic needs of water and sanitation to all.
The delivery of water is an important part of governmentâs overall
performance indicator and is crucial for all facets of life, thus the theme of
the Summit being âWater for growth and developmentâ. This theme recognises that
the delivery of this service is vital and therefore it is addressed through the
Strategic Framework for Water Services. This Framework talks to issues of
delivery of a set quantity of water within a set distance, as well as safe and
reliable sanitation services.
The delivery of water and sanitation is impacted upon by challenges of
provincial complexities. Included in these are issues of sustainability,
institutional readiness as well as sector readiness.
In order to address the backlog challenges facing the Department of Water
Affairs Forestry (DWAF), i.e. those of 2008 and 2010 for water and sanitation,
there is critical need of increased funding allocations.
A vibrant relationship between the water services sector and the water
resource management sector is critical. A water resource is the backbone to
economic development and is thereby critical to Accelerated and Shared Growth
Initiative of South Africa (AsgiSA). Water resource management provides the
platform without which services cannot be delivered in a sustainable manner.
DWAF also emphasizes planning imperatives such as the Water Services
Development Plans. These are reviewed regularly to ensure quality.
The National Water Act provides for the progressive establishment of
Catchment Management Agencies (CMA), and the purpose of the CMA is to delegate
water resource management to the regional level. Further, it also involves
local communities in decision making.
The National Water Act provides for the transformation and establishment of
localised institutions, i.e. water user associations. These then provide
opportunity for local users to bring their resources together and thus impact
on transformation.
Lastly, the following are the objectives of the National Water Summit:
* To report back on the outcomes of the nine provincial summits;
* To provide a concrete plan of action on issues rose at the Provincial Water
Summits;
* To raise awareness of critical stakeholders of DWAF with regard to the
national mandate of the Department and the relevant legislation that regulates
the Department, i.e. National Water Act, Water Services Act and the National
Water Resource Strategy.
The expected outcomes are as follows:
* To develop a concrete plan of action on issues rose at the Provincial Water
Summits;
* Development of a co-operative governance model;
* Case studies on best practices;
* Collaboration strategy between all role-players.
* To develop a Sector Strategy that will ensure contribution to growth and
development through AsgiSA.
Enquiries:
Sputnik Ratau
Cell: 082 885 8317
Issued by: Ministry of Water Affairs and Forestry
3 May 2006
