B Sonjica: National Water Summit

4 May 2006

Programme Director,
Deputy Minister of Department of Provincial and Local Government,
Chairperson and Members of the Water Portfolio Committee,
Ambassador Brylle of Denmark,
Representative from the Embassy of Cuba Mr Ramos,
Executive Mayors,
Other Members of the Executive Council,
Mayors and Councillors- Special welcome to new Councillors,
The Director General of Water Affairs and Forestry,
Provincial and National Officials,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,

A week ago we celebrated the Freedom Day, a day which carries huge
significance for this country. On Monday, we celebrated Worker’s Day and this
day is also very significant in the history of our country. Whilst by nature
these two days are about celebrating the contribution made by our people
towards our freedom, it is also a sad reminder that our poor still remain
entrapped in poverty and many are still without services.

In the fourth World Water Forum held in Mexico in March of this year, our
country was recognised for the strides it has made in making water a human
right. We therefore cannot remain unconcerned about the masses of our people
who live in dire conditions of poverty and are still without water and
sanitation services.

Having this national event attended by all of you here is a dream comes true
for me and my Department. Programme Director, allow me to share with you the
vision that we should embrace to guide us as a country in general and the
Department in particular. We have to cherish a vision of being a country that
uses water and forestry productively and sustainably for social and economic
activities, in a manner that promotes growth, development and prosperity of all
our people to achieve social justice and equity.

Over the last year, we went around all the nine provinces where we held
provincial summits. Naturally, the key objective of these summits was to
deliberate on all water related issues. However, the most important objective
from my side was to find ways of supporting all the provinces in meeting their
Provincial Growth and Development objectives. This is our role as a leader, a
supporter and a regulator of the sector, which we take very seriously.
Furthermore, in the context of the above legislative mandates, the meeting of
the Millennium Development Goals is of key interest to my Department.

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all of you who supported
these summits. It is through your leadership and participation that I can
confidently say all the provincial summits were very successful. Today I can
safely say we have a very sound understanding of the challenges and
opportunities facing the water sector.

I am very excited to be part of this important national summit, which is
aimed at attaining two important objectives: improving delivery of water and
sanitation, and seeking ways in which water can contribute to growth and
development in our beloved country.

My Department has been undergoing an interesting process of evolution and
transformation in terms of its legislative mandate. We are all aware that the
National Water Act of 1998 defines the role of the Department as that of a
supporter, regulator, and a leader. Until now, the understanding of the
implications of this legislative mandate in the sector has been very limited.
As we progress with the implementation of this Act through the National Water
Resource Strategy, we begin to appreciate how profound and important our
responsibility is as a custodian of this resource, water. This National Water
Summit is therefore a useful platform where this understanding can be shared
with all of you as key role players.

Many of you may be aware of the National Water Resource Strategy (NWRS),
which the Department developed at the end of 2004. In essence, this strategy is
about putting our legislation and the principles of water resources management
into action. It is also about looking after water and making sure that it is
used in such a manner that our communities, society at large and our economy
grow. What is even more exciting is that the NWRS is in fact embracing the
fundamental principles of Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South
Africa (AsgiSA). All the initiatives that my Department is embarking on are
encompassed in the NWRS and I would like to encourage all of you to read this
document, which has been included in your summit package.

Our government has set very ambitious targets for meeting the Millennium
Development Goals. We are saying that by 2008 all people should have received
basic water and by 2010, all our communities should have received basic
sanitation. The Mpumalanga Province has already made remarkable progress in the
eradication of the bucket system, and this can only mean one thing, if we set
our minds and effort to this challenge, it can be overcome. Our people have
waited for more than ten years for water and sanitation services, and for those
who are still without these services, freedom is but an elusion.

Members of the Water Sector, today I would like you to address yourself to
these two fundamental questions: what contribution can each one of us make?
what can we do differently to ensure that the above challenges are
addressed?

Ladies and gentlemen, we have an obligation to respond to the call made by
our President in his State of the Nation Address, where he identified AsgiSA as
one of the programmes that is key to achieving growth and development in our
country. Water is not only life, water is key and fundamental to any kind of
development. Water is therefore an important catalyst and component of AsgiSA,
no economic growth can be attained without it.

In the fourth World Water Forum, the role of Integrated Water Resource
Planning (IWRP) came as key to the progression of developing countries. In
essence, what this means to us as the Water Sector is that, other sectors are
dependent on the success we make in availing this resource in order for them to
meet their own targets. Ladies and gentlemen, this is a responsibility we need
to take very seriously. It is therefore not a coincidence that the theme for
this summit is “Water for Economic Growth and Development”. My Department is
making it a priority to work closely with the offices of the Premiers in all
the provinces in order to provide meaningful support to their Provincial Growth
and Development Strategies.

In the fourth World Water Forum, a call was also made for local institutions
responsible for water services delivery to have an understanding of water
resource issues in order to appreciate the value chain of water delivery. This
is a challenge that my Department is looking at as we will be rolling out the
training programme for the new Councillors in June 2006.

Like all other departments, our Department has a challenge of ensuring that
we contribute to the growth and development that AsgiSA seeks to achieve. I
would like to take this opportunity to briefly share with you what these
initiatives entail.

One of the programmes that my Department has earmarked for accelerated
growth and development is the Water Allocation Reform which I launched in 2005.
In our country, due to the historical imbalances and the legacy of apartheid,
water investments and support were directed to the commercial farmers. There is
therefore a need for some reform in terms of allocation of water resources to
address this problem and this is what this programme seeks to achieve. If the
water reallocation process is well aligned with the Land Reform Programme, we
should not only see poor farmers benefiting, but see these farmers graduating
to commercial activities. I am sure that you will agree with me when I say,
growth in this area is very critical as it will benefit the poorest of the poor
who reside in the most rural parts of our country. The three main provinces
that immediately come to my mind here are the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and
Limpopo.

Let us be reminded that the objective of AsgiSA is to reduce unemployment by
50% in the second decade of our democracy. In an effort to contribute to this
objective, my Department has a new project that is focusing on “Job creation in
Sanitation Delivery” This project is aimed at improved delivery in sanitation
whilst also focusing on job creation.

At this point in time, we are also appealing for support in our new
initiative, “Sanitation and Job Creation Project.

As some of you may be aware, my Department is embarking on big
infrastructure development projects that will ensure that more water is
available to meet both basic needs and economic growth, and that jobs are
created in the process. The Olifants Dam is being constructed in the Limpopo
area to cater for water needs of envisaged mining activities in that area. The
whole project including other infrastructure will cost about R4,8 billion. More
work is being done to improve supply to ESKOM and Sasol and the construction of
the pipeline is worth R2,5 billion. In the Western Cape, The Berg Water Project
is underway to deal with impending water shortages in the metropolis. This
project of R2 billion is due for completion by end of 2007. I am hoping that
these initiatives will address some of the concerns raised by the Limpopo
Province and the Agricultural Sector in the Western Cape.

A fundamental principle in the NWRS is the involvement and participation of
local people and institutions in the management of the water resource. It is in
this context that my Department is involved in the institution reform process
that seeks to ensure better management of water resources, equitable
allocation, cost efficient and cost effective delivery of water services. These
are the kinds of strategies and processes that will enhance the chances of
involvement and empowerment of communities and ensure better efficiencies in
the management of water resources. May I also say at this point, these are some
of the initiatives that put our country in a positive spotlight at the recently
held World Water Forum in Mexico.

Ladies and gentlemen, as I indicated some time ago, these summits are not
mere talk shows. I would like to share with you critical common issues that
came out of the provincial summits, and more importantly, what progress has
been made to address key issues that you identified.

It was to be expected that in all the provinces, the issue of capacity of
the sector and specifically of Local Government to meet the challenges of
service delivery came out as a priority. As a sector leader and supporter, my
Department is extremely concerned about this issue. There are various
initiatives that are being co-ordinated within the sector by the Development
Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), the Department of Provincial and Local
Government (DPLG), Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF), the Private
Sector and the South African Institution of Civil Engineering (SAICE), etc, to
tackle this challenge. A presentation focusing on this issue is on tomorrow’s
programme. In addition to initiatives by the above role-players, my Department
is currently reviewing how it can better structure itself and reinforce its own
capacity in order to provide more meaningful support to the sector, especially
municipalities that are struggling.

As you would imagine, capacity constraints at local government level
manifest themselves in various ways. The state of infrastructure throughout the
country is one of the most common concerns that came out of all the summits. It
is, according to provincial reports, a glaring fact that most municipalities
are not effectively operating and maintaining their infrastructure. An analysis
of the underlying factors to this problem has been done by my Department and I
would like to see a definite Programme of Action coming out of this summit to
address this urgent matter.

Poorly managed infrastructure has serious consequences, and one of them is
reflected through drinking water quality problems. From the summits’ report, it
became clear that most municipalities require assistance in managing their
drinking water quality. As some of you may be aware, South Africa is one of the
countries in the world where you can drink water from a tap without any fear. I
am appealing to all of you to work hard on ensuring that high standard is
maintained.

From a regulatory perspective, our Department has a responsibility of
ensuring that municipalities adhere to standards which we have set. We are
currently working on a comprehensive Drinking Water Management Programme that
focuses on regulating the sector and also providing proactive support to
municipalities. I would like to further state that, following maggots that were
allegedly found in drinking water in certain parts of the country, my
Department appointed a Task Team that investigated this matter. I am glad to
announce that the results of this study confirm one fact; our water is safe to
drink. We will continue to improve on our drinking water quality monitoring
programmes. The Free State province with the support of Council for Scientific
and Industrial Research (CSIR) has set a very high standard that other
provinces need to catch up on. Given the importance of this aspect, I would
like to appeal to all municipalities to take the management of drinking water
quality very seriously.

Ladies and gentlemen, South Africa is a water scarce country, and we all
have an obligation to use this resource with responsibility. One of the key
findings that came from the summits’ report is the need for municipalities to
adopt more progressive strategies of saving water through water conservation
and water demand management strategies. This is also an area where I see the
role of the non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and our youth working
together with the sector in educating our people.

As a regulator and sector leader, I am also deeply concerned about the
pollution of our rivers by industries, and sadly enough, in some cases, by
municipalities. I urge all municipalities to make sure that they pay attention
to bulk infrastructure in terms of operation, maintenance and investment. My
Department is working very hard on ensuring that there is enforcement and
compliance, especially in the following areas:
* Drinking water Quality
* Pollution
* Illegal abstraction, storage and use of water. We are working with the
Department of Environmental Affairs in this regard and there are very useful
lessons we can learn from them.

My Department is also aware of the challenges around the implementation of
Free Basic Water. This is an area we are looking at with the objective of
providing more support to municipalities who are charged with this
responsibility.

I was pleasantly surprised to learn about follow up actions taken by most
provinces after the summits. Most provinces successfully developed Provincial
Water Sector Plans, which actually put into effect recommendations that came
from the provincial summits. Furthermore, Gauteng and Free State provinces held
their own regional summits that were focusing on more region specific issues.
This can only be an illustration of your commitment, and this I fully
appreciate!!

Let me say all this good work is only the beginning. All of us in this hall
should not rest until the last person is served with water and sanitation
services!!

I would therefore like this summit to attain three important objectives:

* Collectively Identify challenges that should be regarded as National Water
Priorities and develop programmes around them.
* Development of a Programme of Action that will ensure that provinces develop
Provincial Water Sector Plans which in turn will be aligned to Provincial
Growth and Development Strategy. It is therefore expected that the Provincial
Water Sector plans will also be aligned to the Municipal Integrated Development
Plans. It is important that all the plans mentioned, reflect the principles of
the National Water Resource Strategy.
* Strengthen collaboration and a culture of working together in the sector
within the framework and spirit of the Intergovernmental Relations Framework
(IGRF).
* To have a focused sector strategy that will ensure that we meet our
targets

I am encouraged by the fact that there is a strong sense and culture of
collaboration in the water sector and I feel privileged by this support. This
spirit has been well illustrated by how all of you present here have
prioritised attendance to this summit. The challenges mentioned above are
therefore not insurmountable. I am consequently looking forward to a fruitful
and successful summit that should contribute towards the improvement of the
lives of all our people.

I thank you.

Issued by: Department of Water Affairs and Forestry
3 May 2006